John J. Moores Elected Chair of Scripps Research Board of Trustees

The Scripps Research Institute Board of Trustees has unanimously elected San Diego business leader and philanthropist John J. Moores as its new chair. Moores has been a Scripps Research trustee since 1997.

Moores succeeds the Honorable Alice D. Sullivan (Ret.), who has served as chair for the past three years. Judge Sullivan will continue to serve on the board.

"Scripps Research is remarkably fortunate in its board leadership," said Scripps Research President Richard A. Lerner. "Alice is noted nationwide for her great skills in mediation and consensus-building-an invaluable quality in a board chair. She has guided the organization as it has grown and prospered, while never letting us lose focus on our core mission to advance biomedical science. She has helped lead us through the long process of successfully establishing Scripps Florida, the institute's first campus outside La Jolla.  

"And John's leadership abilities in so many areas are well known to all-in business, technology, finance, philanthropy, and professional sports. He will bring enormous skill and energy as head of our board. We are lucky to have Alice staying on. We are lucky to have John taking over."

The Board of Trustees, comprised of 31 individuals from business, science, law, medicine, government, finance, and philanthropy, meets frequently and reviews major decisions concerning the policies, finances, operations, and direction of Scripps Research. It oversees governance of both the institute's La Jolla-based campus and its new division in Palm Beach County, Florida.

About John J. Moores

John J. Moores is a business leader, prolific philanthropist, and committed volunteer trustee of numerous institutions, including the Regents of the University of California, where he was chair from 2004-2005, The Carter Center, where he succeeded President and Mrs. Carter as chairman of the board last year, and The Scripps Research Institute, which he has served and supported for many years.

Moores is one of the founders of Scripps Research's Institute for Childhood and Neglected Diseases. In September 2005, he contributed $4 million to Scripps Research to establish the Worm Institute for Research and Medicine (WIRM) to combat the painful, disfiguring, and debilitating diseases borne by worms that afflict hundreds of millions of people in much of the world. This contribution was an extension of his long-term interest in these conditions. He founded the River Blindness Foundation in 1989 to distribute a treatment for that disease in developing countries, principally sub-Saharan Africa. In 1997, the foundation was absorbed into The Carter Center of Atlanta, where Moores had been a trustee since 1994.

Moores is a native of Texas and received two degrees from the University of Houston. He worked as a computer programmer for several companies, including IBM and Shell Oil, while completing his education. In 1980, Moores founded BMC Software. He wrote software products at BMC that improved mainframe computer operating system performance and built BMC into a significant player in the software industry. He served as chief executive officer of BMC until 1987 and chair until 1992. He continues to be active in providing his creative talents for the development of computer software for many start-up software companies.

Currently, he is chair of the San Diego Padres Baseball Club, which he acquired in 1994.

In addition to his generosity to Scripps Research totaling more than $22 million, Moores has made major gifts to the University of California at San Diego, San Diego State University, the University of Houston, The Carter Center, St. Vincent de Paul of San Diego, San Diego Zoo, The Children's Clinic of the Californias, Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego Center for Children, among other organizations. He received an honorary doctorate from Scripps Research and its Kellogg School of Science and Technology in 2003.

John and Becky Moores have been married since 1963 and have four children and four grandchildren.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

John J. Moores will lead the Scripps Research Board of Trustees, comprised of 31 eminent individuals from business, science, law, medicine, government, finance, and philanthropy.