Rogers, curator of Union Terminal, retires

Ruby Rogers, a Westwood resident who has worked to protect Cincinnati's history for 23 years, retired on March 18.

Mayor Mark Mallory declared the day Ruby Rogers Day in the City of Cincinnati.

Rogers began her work locally in 1988 as founding museum director for the Cincinnati Historical Society and helped facilitate the opening of the Cincinnati History Museum. In 1999, she was named director of the Cincinnati Historical Society Library and Community History and official curator of Union Terminal.

But Rogers has a far more extensive history in the museum and history field, having received her bachelor's in American history from Earlham College in 1967 and her master's in history museum studies from State University of New York College at Oneonta in 1972.

She then worked in the field as assistant curator at the New York State Historical Association, curator of the Winona County Historical Society, curator of collections at the Michigan State Historical Museum, chief of Lansing Museum programs, and chief of the Museums and Historical Proprieties Section at the Bureau of History at the Michigan Department of State.

Rogers is also the managing editor of the Ohio Valley History Journal, the largest circulating Midwest historical journal. Last fall, she received The Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History.

"For over 40 years, Ruby Rogers has served her community and the history field with a commitment to the principles that made the Cincinnati History Museum and Cincinnati Historical Society Library relevant to our community," said Doug McDonald, president and CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center, in a prepared release. "Through care and stewardship of historical resources, to preserving community stories and historical scholarship, Ruby has advanced the museum and library field with her personal and professional dedication. As Dr. Tonya Matthews, vice president of museums at Museum Center, often says, it will take four people to replace the variety of tasks that Ruby accomplished in her distinguished career."

In addition to the Cincinnati History Museum and the Cincinnati Historical Society Library, the Cincinnati Museum Center includes the Duke Energy Children's Museum, the Museum of Natural History & Science, and the Robert D. Lindner Family OMNIMAX Theater.

More than one million people visit the Museum Center annually.

Photo courtesy of the Cincinnati Museum Center

Previous reading on BC:
Panel discussion makes case for Issue 6; Museum Center wins national award (10/6/09)
Museum Center to host 'historic' meeting (9/30/09)
Museum Center seeking expanded landmark status (5/26/09)