JAMES A. GLASS, PH.D.
James A. Glass is currently Principal of the firm Historic Preservation & Heritage Consulting LLC. Earlier in his career, he served twice as Director of the Indiana Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology and Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer and for 13 years as Director of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation at Ball State University and founder of the Center for Historic Preservation. He has also served as a member of the Board of Advisors, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and on the boards of Indiana Landmarks and the Indianapolis Propylaeum.
Glass holds a Ph.D. in architectural history and historic preservation planning from Cornell University, an M.A. from Cornell in the history of urban development, an M.A. in Latin American history from Indiana University, and a B.A. in history and Spanish from the University of Indianapolis.
As a consultant, Glass has advised clients on historic rehabilitation tax credit applications and Section 106 reviews of the effect of federal projects on historic properties and conducted studies of Heritage in Brown County and of County Homes in Indiana. He also has co-written the National Historic Landmark nomination for the Indiana Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument.
Since 2013, he has presented illustrated public lectures on the architecture of other countries, based on his travels and research: Spanish Architecture, Architecture in Greece and Turkey, Roman and Renaissance Architecture, Chinese Architecture, Architecture in Mexico, and in 2019, Architecture in London. In 2021, he presented a lecture on Architecture in Indianapolis, 1880-1920, at the Indiana Landmarks Center and in 2022 presented a related lecture on Residential Architecture in Indianapolis, 1820-1920. On November 13, 2023, he will present a lecture on Architecture in Indianapolis: Buildings of Worship, 1820-1920.
From 2003 to 2019 Glass wrote a monthly column on Indianapolis and Indiana heritage for the Indianapolis Star. Among the subjects were columns on streetcars in Indianapolis, the Wheeler Mission, early African American rural communities, early Indiana river communities, the history of Tech High School in Indianapolis, and Indiana’s role in World War I.
Glass has just completed a fully illustrated 2-volume history of architecture in Indianapolis between 1820-1920. Indiana University Press will be publishing the book, with Volume 1, 1820-1900, appearing in the fall of 2024 and Volume 2, 1900-1920, in the spring of 2025.
Rachel Berenson Perry
Rachel Berenson Perry is fine arts curator emerita of the Indiana State Museum, where she organized and curated all the art exhibitions from 2003 through 2011. She has written numerous articles for American Art Review and Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History (Indiana Historical Society), winning the Jacob P. Dunn Award for best article in 2014. She has written nine books about Indiana artists, published by either Indiana University Press or the Indiana Historical Society. She was awarded the Dorothy Riker Hoosier Historian Award for making notable contributions to historical scholarship in 2017.
Originally from Bloomington, Rachel makes her home in Nashville, Indiana, where she enjoys hiking in nearby woods and making ceramics and linocut prints.
Ken and Virgina Scott
George Hanlin
George Hanlin serves as director of grants at Indiana Humanities, a nonprofit organization that seeks to connect people, open minds, and enrich lives by encouraging Hoosiers to think, read, and talk. In his role, George provides tax-exempt groups across Indiana with funding for public programs in humanities fields such as history, literature, languages, philosophy, and ethics. One of the most rewarding aspects of his job is the opportunity to visit libraries, museums, historical societies, and other organizations throughout the state and see the important work they’re doing to engage their communities in cultural programming.
George grew up in Pennville, Jay County, Indiana, on a farm that his family has owned since 1836. He developed a passion for all things Indiana early in his career when he began working for the Indiana Historical Society. For 11 years he edited award-winning books and periodicals for the IHS. Although he left to join the corporate world (at FlashPoint, a leadership consulting firm) he continued to pursue his passion for local history, writing text and captions for the book Historic Photos of Indianapolis and leading a history group for his east-side Indianapolis neighborhood.
George received his bachelor’s degree in journalism and Spanish from Indiana University and his master’s degree in nonprofit management from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. He’s a member of Indiana Landmarks’ Black Heritage Preservation Program advisory council and the Ray Bradbury Center’s advisory board and volunteers for Meals on Wheels. He used to sing for the Indianapolis Men’s Chorus and served for several years on its board.
George has been a member of the Portfolio since 2006. He lives in the Emerson Heights neighborhood on Indianapolis’s east side, in a bungalow built in 1920. George likes taking road trips, collecting old postcards, visiting museums, learning about local history, reading, buying art, kayaking, and hiking.