The Scripps Institution of Oceanography Business Manager was responsible for the oversight of all funding, the development of the campus grounds, and served as the Institution's liaison with academic, state, government, and private supporting entities. The Office of the Director business records document the early SIO fiscal history from 1903-1947.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Office of the Director Business Records, 1903-1947 (SAC 4)
Extent: 9 Linear feet (4 archives boxes, 13 flat boxes, and 1 oversize folder)
In 1903, UC Berkeley biologist William E. Ritter and San Diego physician Fred Baker, with the financial support of philanthropists E. W. Scripps and Ellen Browning Scripps, founded the Marine Biological Association of San Diego. Established as a seaside research laboratory for the University of California's Department of Zoology, the purpose of the Association was to advance the study of marine sciences. Ritter was appointed as its first Director and supervised the activities of temporary research stations in San Diego Bay. He was responsible for directing all of the institution's scientific and administrative work, and for obtaining the material, personnel, and financial support that made research possible.
In 1905, the Association leased property above La Jolla Cove and established a marine laboratory. Ms. Scripps added a codicil to her will in 1909 bequeathing a gift to the Regents of the University of California for a permanent marine biological station, and construction of the first building on the current campus, the George H. Scripps Memorial Marine Biological Laboratory, was completed in 1910. In July of 1912, the Association deeded its property to the Regents and became the Scripps Institution for Biological Research, formally becoming part of the UC System.
It was around this time that Ritter created the position of Business Manager in order to disperse some of the administrative work of the Institution. In 1913, Wesley Clarence Crandall was named the first Business Manager. His major duties were to oversee all funding and to supervise the development of the campus grounds. This included the building of the cottages, the director's house, the original pier, and the library building. Crandall was also the Institution's liaison to University of California administrative offices, government agencies, Ellen Browning Scripps, and E. W. Scripps. In 1919, Tillie Genter joined the staff to assist Crandall, working as secretary and librarian.
Ritter retired in June 1923, and he was succeeded in the directorship of the Institution by T. Wayland Vaughn, who was appointed second director in February 1924. Vaughan abolished the Office of the Business Manager, and assumed responsibility for the Institution's scientific and administrative work. He continued to be assisted by Genter, who became responsible for much of the administrative work at the Institution, and by Ruth Raglan, who worked as a librarian. In 1925, Scripps Institution for Biological Research was renamed the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Vaughan replaced the local board of directors with an administrative committee of department heads, who began to take on administrative duties in addition to their research. W. E. Allen managed microscopes and supplies; G. F. McEwen oversaw oceanographic instruments; P. S. Barnhart directed collections and museums; E. G. Moberg supervised ship operations. It would not be until 1951, under Director Roger Revelle, that the position of Business Manager would be officially reinstated within the Office of the Director.
Today, the Vice Chancellor, Marine Sciences (VCMS) Business Office is responsible for managing the financial resources available to the VCMS, and serving as the administrators for financial resources for all SIO units and divisions, and for analyzing and reporting on SIO's finances and personnel operations.
The Scripps Institution of Oceanography Business Manager was responsible for the oversight of all funding, the development of the campus grounds, and served as the Institution's liaison with academic, state, government, and private supporting entities. The Office of the Director business records document the early SIO fiscal history from 1903-1947. The bulk of the material is comprised of the records of Wesley Clarence Crandall, the first SIO Business Manager, from 1913 until his position was abolished by incoming second director T. Wayland Vaughan in 1924.
Arranged in four series: 1) ADMINISTRATIVE FILES, 2) CAMPUS IMPROVEMENTS, 3) ACCOUNT BOOKS, and 4) SCRIPPS FAMILY BUSINESS MANAGER.