Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Texas Research Institute of Mental Sciences (TRIMS) records
Date(s)
- 1957-1985 (Creation)
Extent
44 cubic feet (78 boxes)
Name of creator
Administrative history
The Texas Research Institute of Mental Sciences was founded as a Baylor College of Medicine project in 1955 and funded by the state legislature in 1957 as the Houston State Psychiatric Institute for Research and Training. It was under the administrative management of the Board for Texas Hospitals and Special Schools, with the requirement that it act as the research and training branch of the state mental health and intellectual disability service system. TRIMS originally occupied a mansion on Baldwin Street, borrowed from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (then M.D. Anderson Hospital); the research laboratories were in the carriage house. (Side note: Was this the Baker Estate?) It moved into its own building in 1961. That building, recognizable for its Midcentury design that featured series of arches in its roofline and glass exterior tile, was demolished in 2010 and the Institute moved into the Behavioral and Biomedical Sciences Building near Old Spanish Trail and Cambridge Street. The hospital branch was relocated to a nearby building in 1968 but the 1961 building continued to house the offices and library. The TRIMS name was adopted in 1967. A 1985 scandal relating to the validity of research data prompted a reorganization and transfer to the UT Health Science Center, during which it was renamed the University of Texas Mental Sciences Institute. The service role of the UTMSI has decreased since the 1980s but it continues to perform research and provide training in a wide variety of disciplines.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The TRIMs collection contains annual reports, annual financial reports, audit reports, highlights, news clippings and articles, constitution, bylaws, rules and regulations, dedication, publicity, linkages, correspondence, administration, organization of clinical services and committees, library information, audio visual, public information, communications, volunteer services, donations, program change proposals and approvals, evaluations, research advisory council, medical advisory committee, commissioners annual review, legislature visit to medical center, statistical information, comprehensive health planning, medical records, contracts, agreements, memos, manuals, salary increases, equal employment opportunity information and complaints, active medical staff, personnel, incidents, grievances, client abuse reports, travel reports, construction projects, minutes, reports of grants and donations, and other printed material related to the Texas Research institute of Mental Sciences. The collection also contains a DSM III training guide, Graduate Medical Education announcements, animal facility annual reports, animal colony reports, and other bound materials that have sustained water damage.
Subjects: Mental Sciences, Psychiatry
System of arrangement
Series I. Organization and Administration.
Series II. Training and Treatment Programs.
Series III. Correspondence.
Series IV. Professional Organizations.
Series V. Meetings and Symposia.
Series VI. Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.
Series VII. Houston Psychiatric Hospital.
Series VIII. Architectural Drawings.
Series IX. Audiovisual.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
No access restrictions. Open for research.
Physical access
Materials are in good condition with some water damage.
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright restrictions may apply.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Legacy finding aid is available.
Uploaded finding aid
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Deed-4
Dr. Mary Winkler, Archivist for the Houston Academy of Medicine/Texas Medical Center Library, contacted Dr. Joseph Schoolar, Director of TRIMS, concerning acquisition of the TRIMS papers. An agreement was reached for their transfer to the Archive, and a faculty committee at TRIMS, appointed by Dr. Schoolar, assisted in their organizing and transfer, which took place prior to TRIMS' closing on August 31, 1985.
Immediate source of acquisition
Faculty committee at TRIMS, appointed by Dr. Schoolar, assisted in their organizing and transfer, which took place prior to TRIMS' closing on August 31, 1985.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
- Citation: Texas Research Institute of Mental Sciences (TRIMS) records; IC 015; John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center, Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library. Please cite the box and folder numbers where appropriate.
Alternative identifier(s)
TARO
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
Finding aid prepared by Joan R. Ferry, March 1987