Miss Scripps Prevails

The eccentric Virginia Scripps, institution benefactor and amateur naturalist, draped herself with wild shrubbery for this portrait taken during a visit to Japan

In spite of E. W.'s occasionally testy relationship with the academics, Ellen's dedication remained steadfast. She continued to finance expansion of the campus and to elicit funds from her half brother and other family members on behalf of the struggling young institution.

The first structure built on the permanent campus was erected in 1910. Dedicated as the George H. Scripps Memorial Marine Biological Laboratory, it would become a major landmark in the history of oceanography. Ellen requested that their deceased elder brother, newspaperman George H. Scripps, become the institution's first namesake because of his interest in science. The "Old Scripps Building," as it is now commonly known, housed laboratories, aquaria, a classroom, a library, and even the director's residence. Funding came as a gift of $50,000 from Ellen in 1905—a portion of her inheritance from the estate of brother George.

Eventually, the University of California, Berkeley, which took over the laboratory in 1912, asked to adopt the general family name for the institution in honor of the support provided by many Scripps family members. Scripps Institution of Oceanography continues to enjoy the generosity of the Scripps family to this day.

Over the years, Ellen's donations covered as much as one-third of the institution's annual budget. In 1930, a new laboratory was built with $40,000 that she contributed, along with matching grants of $40,000 each from the state of California and the Rockefeller Foundation. Ellen established an endowment of $400,000 to Scripps in her will that for nearly 70 years has continued to provide support for the institution that bears her family's name.