Ellen
Browning
Scripps
1836-1932
By the 1920s, Miss Scripps focused on one final project to build a lasting legacy:
A college for women's education.
Even as her health gradually declined, she remained involved with philanthropy and firmly rooted in her feminist beliefs, inspiring and empowering a new generation of young women.
Scripps College
There is nothing so fundamental— and hence so vital— to the service of the people as true education.
In 1908, Ellen and her sister Virginia first visited Pomona College in Claremont, a small city east of Los Angeles, to attend the college's Dedication Day. They met many attendees, most notably James A. Blaisdell, president of the young co-educational college. In the years following, Miss Scripps remained involved with the Pomona College community, funding a speaker series for students and becoming well-acquainted with professors and administrators. In 1919, upon Blaisdell's request, she donated money for the construction of a women's dorm to accommodate the large number of female students.
Due to the growing number of women enrolling in Pomona's 1922-23 student body after World War I, Blaisdell had the idea of founding an entirely separate women's college in Ellen's name. The establishment of the Scripps College for Women was the beginning of a larger "group-college" community, with a consortium of small institutions similar to that of Oxford.
Ellen agreed to the plan, though she had an inclination to steer away from publicity and preferred that the college bear a different name. However, Blaisdell maintained that her name would help the college gain traction with those who knew of Miss Scripps' achievements. Indeed, it worked— Ellen was featured on the cover of TIME magazine for her founding of the college, announcing her gift nationwide.
Ellen Browning Scripps on the cover of February 22, 1926 issue of Time Magazine recognizing her contributions toward funding Scripps College and an affiliated consortium of colleges.
Ellen Browning Scripps on the cover of February 22, 1926 issue of Time Magazine recognizing her contributions toward funding Scripps College and an affiliated consortium of colleges.
Through their frequent exchanges, Blaisdell, Harper, and Scripps all agreed that Scripps College be an institution devoted to "breadth and tolerance and freedom." In a letter to trustee Allen C. Balch, Ellen further highlighted her goals for the college: "[t]he aim is to preserve small college values, especially more intimate contact between student and teacher than is possible in mass education."
She formally endowed the college in 1926, and its first classes began during the fall of 1927. Although Ellen was never able to visit the new college campus due to her declining health, she and J. C. Harper greatly influenced its development.
Scripps College remained one of her greatest prides until her final days: she kept and displayed a miniature model of the campus in La Jolla and invited the first graduating class to South Molton Villa. Miss Scripps considered the students of Scripps College to be the true beneficiaries of her wealth, carrying out her ideals and values for many years to come.
Scripps College students celebrating around the fountain at Toll Residence Hall.
Scripps College students celebrating around the fountain at Toll Residence Hall.
Photographs of Toll Residence Hall on a young Scripps College campus.
Photographs of Toll Residence Hall on a young Scripps College campus.
Photographs of Scripps College's Mediterranean-style buildings.
Photographs of Scripps College's Mediterranean-style buildings.
Photographs of Scripps College's courtyards.
Photographs of Scripps College's courtyards.
The sustained giving of Ellen Browning Scripps financially supported organizations and projects over a number of years.
She turned down funding requests for many other organizations, directing the majority of her money toward four institutions: Scripps College (and the greater Claremont Colleges), Scripps Metabolic Clinic, the San Diego Natural History Museum, and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Her major contributions during the last two years of her life totaled over $10 million in today's dollars.
On August 3, 1932,
Ellen Browning Scripps passed away from lung congestion at the age of 95.
The response to her death was overwhelming, with her obituary printed in newspapers nationwide.
Her legacy lives not only with the projects that she had helped establish and fund, but also with the lives she changed with her generosity.
Her last will and testament directed the majority of her remaining wealth to community organizations.
Today, her work lies in museums around San Diego and the archives of the Claremont Colleges.
Ellen Browning Scripps in her library with a clergyman. Most of the books shown were donated to the Claremont Colleges after her death.
Ellen Browning Scripps in her library with a clergyman. Most of the books shown were donated to the Claremont Colleges after her death.
A bust of Miss Scripps sculpted by artist Salvatore Cartaino Scarpitta. It is currently on display in the Ellen Browning Scripps Room in Denison Library, Scripps College.
A bust of Miss Scripps sculpted by artist Salvatore Cartaino Scarpitta. It is currently on display in the Ellen Browning Scripps Room in Denison Library, Scripps College.
Her Collections Today
After her death, J.C. Harper distributed Ellen's collection of books and art to various institutions that she funded, especially to educational institutions, museums, and libraries. Nearly 2,500 of her books were given to the Claremont Colleges, where they can now be found in Scripps College's Denison Library and the Claremont Colleges Library.
The Ellen Browning Scripps Collection in Denison Library contain her personal letters, diaries, receipts, newspaper clippings, and photographs of important places and events in her life. The library also displays a life-like bust of Ellen Browning Scripps, which was carved by award-winning artist Salvatore Cartaino Scarpitta in 1925.
After being remodeled several times, South Molton Villa became the eventual location of today's Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, with a facade very similar to Irving J. Gill's modern architectural design.
The impact that Ellen Browning Scripps had on Southern California is undeniable, even a century later.
She was a philanthropist whose core intentions remained not with publicity, but with progressivism.
Celebrate her life.
Appreciate her legacy.
Most importantly,
continue her values.
Revisit Parts I and II:
For further reading:
McClain, Molly. Ellen Browning Scripps: New Money and American Philanthropy. Univ. of Nebraska Press, 2017.
“Ellen Browning Scripps 1836-1932, Journalist, Humanitarian, Educator.” The Claremont Colleges Digital Library, ContentDM, ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/p15831coll3.
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