Merle Draper, Ph.D. was instrumental in the development of the School of Education at IU Indianapolis. A faculty member of the IU downtown campus before the creation of IU Indianapolis, Draper spent much time and energy on committee work to help establish the new IU Indianapolis education department. In the early 1970s, when the School of Education at IU Bloomington and the education department at IU Indianapolis merged into one program, Draper served on a number of planning committees. She served on the faculty affairs committee and the search and screen committee to name a new division director of the combined program.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Draper served as Director of the Guided Study Program, a mentoring program for students. In 1970, Draper became the director of IU Indianapolis's new branch of the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) after spearheading the effort to obtain approval to open the branch at IU Indianapolis. ERIC is a government program sponsored by the United States Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences to provide easy access to educational materials.
Draper was also a founding member of the Women's University Club in 1967-8 and remained an active member for many years. She retired in 1986.
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