February 18: Sarah Halter

Rotary welcomes Sarah Halter, Executive Director, Indiana Medical History Museum on Tuesday, February 18.

The historic Old Pathology Building of the former Central State Hospital has changed little since it opened as a cutting-edge pathological research laboratory in 1896, but the Indiana Medical History Museum which it houses has experienced significant change in recent years. The organization’s focus on increasing its impact in the community, on expanding its interpretation to include the former patients of the hospital and sharing their lived experiences, and on preserving the one-of-a-kind Old Pathology Building has opened new doors and led to exciting new projects and programs that seemed out of reach just a decade ago.

Sarah Halter, the executive director of the Indiana Medical History Museum, will give a brief overview of the history of Central State Hospital and its Pathological Department, how it became a museum in 1969, and on recent projects like joining the Indianapolis Public Library’s Shared System and “Rehumanizing the Specimen Collection” that are changing the ways the Museum serves its communities and fulfills its important mission.

Sarah earned a B.A. in Anthropology and an M.A. in Museum Studies from IUPUI. She is vice president of the League of Women Voters of Indianapolis and secretary of the Southern Association for the History of Medicine and Science. She also serves on the Advisory Boards of Easterseals Crossroads of Central Indiana and the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at IUPUI, the John Shaw Billing History of Medicine Society at IU School of Medicine, the Association of Indiana Museums, and Youth Enhancement & Training Initiative.

All are welcome at Rotary programs. The lunch buffet opens at Ivy Tech Culinary and Conference Center at 11:45 a.m. and the program runs 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. See you there!