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UC San Diego Community Mourns the Loss of Ellen Revelle

Ellen Revelle, a treasured member of the UC San Diego family and matriarch of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, died May 6, 2009. She was almost 99 years old. She was the wife of Roger Revelle, internationally acclaimed researcher in climate and marine science, who passed away in 1991. It was Roger’s genius and perseverance – and Ellen’s loving support – that helped establish UC San Diego.

Ellen had a lifelong affiliation with our campus. In addition to being the great-niece of Ellen Browning Scripps, one of the founders of Scripps Oceanography, Ellen also became the “First Lady of Scripps Institution of Oceanography” when Roger Revelle became the fifth director of Scripps in 1950. Ellen helped Scripps and our community of scholars and researchers to grow and flourish, including helping secure housing for new faculty when the UC San Diego campus was established.

Ellen deeply admired her great-aunt and emulated her example, especially in public service and philanthropy. Ellen and her family have provided generous funding for a variety of areas across campus. When the Scripps Pier, which her great-aunt funded in 1912, needed to be replaced in 1986, Ellen contributed to help build the Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier. Most recently, Ellen and her family supported Scripps’ new Robert Paine Scripps Forum for Science, Society and the Environment, and established the Roger Revelle Chair in Environmental Science, the largest endowed chair in Scripps’ history. To learn more about Ellen Revelle’s life and legacy, please visit: http://sio.ucsd.edu/Ellen_Revelle/

We will forever be grateful for Ellen Revelle’s kindness and support, and the impact she had on our campus and community. She will be truly missed by us all.

Marye Anne Fox Chancellor Tony Haymet Vice Chancellor – Marine Sciences