School Alumni Associations

IU School of Social Work Alumni Association

Alumni Profiles

Ruth Rogers

Many of you may know Ruth Rogers from the years she spent working at Larue Carter Hospital in Indianapolis.  I know her as a friend and as the older sister of my graduate school classmate, Marti Brose, who we tragically have lost to cancer.

Ruth was born on a farm in Ohio, close to the town of Chatfield.  She was the oldest of six children, five of whom were girls.  She attended grade school and high school in Ohio.  Her uncle, who was a Minister, had heard of Taylor University in Upland, Indiana.  He recommended the school to Ruth and he agreed to pay for her first year there.  She intended to become a teacher but her psychology professor recommended social work to her.  When she was a senior, her sociology professor arranged a field work placement for her at the welfare department in nearby Marion, Indiana three afternoons a week.  After graduation, Ruth worked at the welfare department in Marion for two years and she then took the exam to earn a stipend for graduate school. 

She got the stipend and attended the IU Division of Social Service in Indianapolis, predecessor of the IU School of Social Work, from 1950 to 1952.  Her field work placements were at the Marion County Welfare Department and the Childrens Bureau.  Ruth delighted in telling me about her experience with her supervisor at the Childrens Bureau.  During the mid-term break of her fourth semester, the supervisor said to Ruth, "Isn't there something else you can do?  You're not gonna make much of a social worker!"  Ruth thought long and hard about this information which came from a supposedly older and wiser person.  By the end of the week, Ruth decided  to disregard her supervisor's statement and many, many people are grateful that she made that decision.

To fulfill her stipend commitment, Ruth went to work at the Marion County Guardians Home in Indianapolis upon receiving her Master's Degree. She was the first professional social worker they had ever had and there was a lot of basic work to be done. She worked there, in the trenches, for two years.

While working at the Guardians Home, Ruth met and then married her husband who was the part-time Recreation Director of the Home.  He joined the Marines and was stationed in North Carolina.  They lived in Jacksonville, NC and Ruth worked for the welfare department in a nearby county for about two years.  This was during a time when there was blatant racial segregation in the south and her experiences there left a long lasting impression on Ruth about the plight of oppressed people.  She became an advocate for the disadvantaged then and has continued to do so throughout her career.

Ruth's husband was then assigned to the Naval Avionics Facility in Indianapolis and she returned to work at the Guardians Home for a short time.  She then worked as a social worker in the public schools for about two years during which time she worked at Larue Carter Hospital during the summers when school was not in session. 

In 1958, Ruth started working at Larue Carter Hospital full time.  She worked on the women's service for two years and then on the adolescent service for two years, during which time she became a supervisor.  She eventually became the Assistant Director of Social Service and then became the Director in 1962.  From time to time, due to staff shortages, she would see patients on the childrens', adolescents', and womens' wards along with outpatients.  Ruth supervised social work students from Indiana University and Atlanta University.  She helped work out undergraduate field placements with Ball State University and Anderson College.  She also instituted all day psycho-social workshops on Saturdays for families of schizophrenics.  Ruth retired from Larue Carter Hospital in 1990.

In 1977, Ruth had started working evenings and weekends at the Suburban East Pastoral Counseling Agency.  In 1990, she became their Director and she retired in 2004.  However, she continues to serve on their board.

Ruth has taught social work history courses to undergraduate students at Marian College and Indiana University.

She was named Social Worker of the Year in Central Indiana by the National Association of Social Workers in 1972.

Ruth recently celebrated a milestone birthday and she's still going strong.  She is divorced and has one daughter, Abigail Murphy, who is an Episcopal Priest on Long Island, NY.  She has a four year old grand-daughter, Katie, who was adopted from China.  She enjoys classical music and likes to read historical novels and biographies.  She is very involved in the United Methodist Church mission projects such as the Gennesaret Free Clinics and Operation Classroom in Liberia, Africa.

I value Ruth's friendship and professional knowledge and experience. 

Written by Irene Weinberg       

See the IUPUI Office of Alumni Relations Calendar of Events for upcoming School of Social Work alumni programs.

School of Social Work web site 

IUPUI Office of Alumni Relations contact:
Karen Deery, (317) 274-8959 or kdeery@iupui.edu