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James R. Sims papers, 1924-2002

 Collection
Identifier: MS 596
Finding aid note: Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Scope and Contents

The papers contain documents, photographs and printed material which document the career of James R. Sims, who taught civil engineering at Rice Institute (later Rice University) beginning in 1942 as an instructor, to becoming the Herman and George R. Brown Chair of Civil Engineering until his retirement in 1987. He then served as the Herman and George R. Brown Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering from 1987 until his death in 2009.

Dates

  • 1924 - 2002

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Access restrictions

This material is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the Sims papers must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center.

Biographical Sketch

James R. Sims helped change the face of Rice in the ’60s and ’70s by leading a $35 million campus renovation project while simultaneously chairing the then-Civil Engineering Department. A 1941 graduate of Rice Institute with a degree in civil engineering, Sims worked briefly as a structural engineer before returning to the university as an instructor in 1942. He earned a master’s degree and doctorate in engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1950 and 1956, respectively. The pinnacle in Sims’ career was serving as the national American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) president, a post he held in 1982 in which he advocated the interests of more than 72,000 civil engineers across the nation. Sims also fought tirelessly for stringent educational standards and ethical behavior in the profession and led various committees and working groups at the national, state and local levels of ASCE. The Texas Society of Professional Engineers named Sims Engineer of the Year in 1976 and the Engineers’ Council of Houston gave him its Award of Honor in 1977. He was named Rice Engineering Alumni Outstanding Engineering Alumnus in 1983. The James Redding Sims Scholarship in Civil Engineering, administered by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is an endowed scholarship at Rice. James Redding Sims was the Herman and George R. Brown Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering and former vice president of business affairs, when he died in 2009 at the age of 91.

Extent

1 Linear Feet ( (1 carton))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract:

The papers contain documents, photographs and printed material which document the career of James R. Sims, who taught civil engineering at Rice Institute (later Rice University) beginning in 1942 as an instructor, to becoming the Herman and George R. Brown Chair of Civil Engineering until his retirement in 1987. He then served as the Herman and George R. Brown Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering from 1987 until his death in 2009.

Arrangement

The James R. Sims papers are organized into two series:
  • Series I: Rice University
  • Series II: Personal
    •

    Subjects

    Record Groups

    Related Names

    Creator

    Finding Aid & Administrative Information

    Title
    Guide to the James R. Sims papers, 1924-2002
    Status
    Completed
    Author
    Andy Damico
    Date
    2012
    Description rules
    Describing Archives: A Content Standard
    Language of description
    English
    Script of description
    Latin
    Language of description note
    English

    Repository Details

    Repository Details

    Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

    https://library.rice.edu/woodson
    Contact:
    Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
    6100 Main St.
    Houston Texas 77005 USA

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    Harmful Content Statement
    © 2023 Woodson Research Center
    Fondren Library, Rice University
    Physical Address: 6100 Main, Houston, Texas 77005-1827
    Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892