The records of the SIO Heritage Committee include materials collected by the committee's first two chairs, Robert Hessler and Deborah Day. They document the establishment and charge of the committee, administration of the Ritter Memorial Fellowship, and the maintenance and restoration of two historic buildings, the Old Scripps Building and the Old Director's House (T-16).
Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Heritage Committee Records, 1939-1998 (SAC 41)
Extent: 0.4 Linear feet (1 archives box and 1 map case folder)
The Old Scripps Committee was appointed by the Chancellor in 1976 to ensure the preservation of the Old Scripps Building. Chaired by Fred Noel Spiess, the committee successfully oversaw the restoration and secured the continued use of the building by early 1988. Its goal achieved, the committee was slated to be discharged. The Old Scripps Committee recommended that a new standing committee be established to act as a watchdog group on behalf of the building, and to administer the Ritter Memorial Fellowship. SIO Director Ed Frieman supported this recommendation, and in May 1988 the SIO Staff Council Committee on Committees approved the by-law changes necessary for disbanding the Old Scripps Committee and establishing the Heritage Committee. Robert Hessler was appointed the committee's first chair in November 1988.
The Heritage Committee was tasked with several functions. They were to maintain the historic configuration of the G. H. Scripps Memorial Marine Laboratory (Old Scripps) Building and any future buildings with historic designations. They would support at least one open house of the Old Scripps Building every year, and would act as a history-oriented resource for the marine sciences portion of UC San Diego. Finally, they would administer the income from a fund established by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Cody for the William E. and Mary B. Ritter Memorial Fellowship.
The records of the SIO Heritage Committee include materials collected by the committee's first two chairs, Robert Hessler and Deborah Day. They document the establishment and charge of the committee, administration of the Ritter Memorial Fellowship, and the maintenance and restoration of two historic buildings, the Old Scripps Building and the Old Director's House (T-16).
The transition period between the Old Scripps Committee and the Heritage Committee is documented in the files on the establishment of the Heritage Committee and the administration of the Ritter Memorial Fellowship. Other activities of the committee are well documented in the correspondence, meeting notes, and reports to the SIO Staff Council.