Indianapolis’ Indiana Historical Society is cutting 11 staff jobs and ending its statewide National History Day program after the state pulled a major piece of financial support, turning a budget fight into an immediate blow for students, teachers and museum workers. The reductions hit just as Indiana’s history organizations were preparing for another school year and the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The Indiana Historical Society said the cuts followed a careful review of its organizational structure and resources, according to IndyStar’s report. The newspaper also found that the society’s staff directory listed 54 employees on July 7 before the organization stopped publicly listing staff members; IHS said four of the 11 eliminated positions were part-time.
The cuts eliminated the society’s Education and Engagement and Exhibits departments, according to National History Day. Cathy Gorn, National History Day’s executive director, told IndyStar she learned on Friday that Indiana was ending the program and described the decision as shocking.
Indiana Students Lose A Four-Decade History Competition
National History Day in Indiana has operated for more than 40 years through the Indiana Historical Society. The program serves students in grades four through 12, who research historical topics and present their work through documentaries, exhibits, performances, papers or websites.
The scale of the loss is not exactly small potatoes for Indiana classrooms. The society said 50 Indiana students from 16 schools advanced to the 2026 national contest, where one Carmel High School team won first place; the organization’s own contest announcement described the program as a yearlong academic experience built around original research.
State Budget Shift Put New Pressure On The Society
The financial pressure traces back to Indiana’s 2025 budget, which removed state maintenance support tied to the society’s downtown headquarters. In its FY2026 strategic plan, the Indiana Department of Administration said House Enrolled Act 1001 eliminated financial assistance for the Historical Society, producing an estimated state cost reduction of roughly $950,000 to $1.2 million.
Before the budget deal, the state had been covering about $1 million a year in building and site maintenance under a long-term land lease. The final agreement allowed the society to keep its headquarters and begin taking ownership of the land, but shifted more of the operating burden onto the nonprofit, as detailed by the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
The latest cuts also land amid a broader squeeze on Indiana’s public history infrastructure. Axios reported last year that more than 50 state employees were laid off during budget reductions, including 16 at the Indiana State Library, while the state’s eight-person historical bureau was reduced to one employee.
National History Day Searching For A New Indiana Partner
National History Day said it is seeking a new institutional partner to keep the Indiana affiliate program alive. The organization asked Indiana students and teachers to continue working on their 2027 projects while it determines how the statewide competition might continue.
For the Indiana Historical Society, the immediate challenge is balancing the costs of maintaining a major museum, archive and research operation against the programs that made those collections useful to schools and communities. The state may have trimmed a line item, but the people who turn Indiana history into something students can actually do are now the ones paying the bill.
