About - Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library

About - Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library
Skip to content
Welcome to KVML
The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library champions the literary, artistic, and cultural contributions of the late writer, artist, teacher, and Indianapolis native Kurt Vonnegut. The library and museum serve as a cultural and educational resource unique to the nation.
Plan Your Visit
Preserving Kurt's Legacy
The KVML started with an idea in 2008 to commemorate Vonnegut’s legacy and a generous donation by Katz and Korin, P.C. In 2019, through the generosity of donors and supporters, KVML was able to move to 543 Indiana Ave – also dubbed as “Our Forever Home.”
At The Museum
KVML houses artifacts, art, a museum store, and books related to Vonnegut. When you visit KVML, you’ll be able to see Vonnegut’s typewriter, Purple Heart, reading glasses, artwork, and other personal items loaned by the family. We also house original exhibits related to Vonnegut and galleries dedicated to veteran artists. The KVML is not only a building full of artifacts. We strive to be a community asset, offering classes, workshops, and a gathering space for our neighbors on Indiana Ave., Indianapolis, and beyond.
Plan Your Visit
Board of Directors
John Barth
Indianapolis City/County Council Member District 7 | Molina Healthcare
Fred Biesecker
General Counsel, Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council, Retired
Chris Cecil, Jr.
Business Development Manager, Visit Indy
Ashley Christie
Director, Katz, Sapper & Miller
Mary Lee Gambone
Engineer, Rolls Royce
David Jose
Partner, SmithAmundsen LLC
Gregory Kuhn
Vice-President, First Mid-Illinois Bank & Trust
Sampson Levingston
Founder, Through2Eyes Tours
Shea McMahon
SHP
Dwight Simmons
Comedian
Joyce Sommers
President and Executive Director Emeritus, Indianapolis Art Center
Neil Teixeira
Director, Online Learning · University of Southern California Annenberg, School for Communication and Journalism
Mark Vonnegut, MD
MVPediatrics
Aaron Walker
Partner, Ice Miller
Julia Whitehead,
Founder and CEO of Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library
Charlotte Yeung
2022 Indianapolis Youth Poet Laurette
Our Sponsors
Become A Member
Advisory Board
Zach Adamson
Indianapolis/Marion Co. City-County Council District 17
Bill Briscoe
Historian for KVML and Delta Upsilon International Fraternity
Terry Burns
Communications Consultant
John Cimasko
Radio Personality
Chris Gahl
Visit Indy
David Hoppe
Visit Indy
Jason Kelly, Ph.D.
Director, Arts and Humanities Institute, IUPUI
Emily Krueger
President and CEO, 16 Tech
Reed Levine, MD
Synovation Medical Group
Jim McDonald
J.P Morgan
Rai Peterson
Associate Professor of English – Ball State University
Kelly Pfledderer
Founder of Apparatus
Matt Schwartz
Chair, US Finance Practice and Head of Venture & Growth Lending, DLA Piper Global Law Firm
Kevin M. Toner
Partner, Baker & Daniels, LLP
Magnus Toren
Director, Henry Miller Library
Sam Van Aken
Artist, Associate Professor at Syracuse University
Hugh Vandivier
Wabash College
Scott Vonnegut
Architect, Kurt Vonnegut’s Nephew
Honorary Board
Lewis Black
Author, Actor, Humorist
Linda Ellerbee
Journalist, Author, Producer
Shelly Fitzgerald
Arts Advocate
Gary Gulman
Comedian
Michael Moore
Filmmaker
Tim O’Brien
Author and veteran
Sidney Offit
Author
Kevin Schehr
Judge and Vonnegut Book Collector
Daniel Simon
Publisher of Seven Stories Press
Edith Vonnegut
Artist and Daughter of Kurt Vonnegut
Nanny Vonnegut
Artist, Writer, and Daughter of Kurt Vonnegut
Legal Counsel
David Jose
In Memoriam
Lonnie Nefouse
Donald Farber
Jim Lehrer
Andy Jacobs Jr.
Mary Jane Failey
Gil Holmes
Morley Safer
Daniel Wakefield
Howard Zinn
Executive Committee
John Barth
Chair
Mary Lee Gambone
Vice Chair
Dwight Simmons
Secretary
Ashley Christie
Treasurer
Julia Whitehead
Founder & CEO
Founders Circle
William Rodney Allen, Ph.D.
Retired Faculty, Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts
Terrian C. Barnes
Principal/Owner, Fe-smart LLC
Kenan Farrell
KLF Legal
Mark Lakshmanan, MD
Physician, Eli Lilly and Co.
Marc Leeds, Ph.D.
Researcher, Writer, Lecturer
Christopher Stack
Retired Bone-Setter
Museum Staff
Julia Whitehead
Founder & CEO
Chris Lafave
Curator
Chris Speckman
director of vonnegut youth writing program
pat downey
General Manager
Tyrone Beladja
Chief of Staff
jean lampert
volunteer resources manager
yannick ndongo
museum assistant
Rediet Assefa
Museum associate
ETHAN HODES
Museum Associate
Sean Nash
Museum Assistant
Susan Miller
Museum Associate
Shalon Robinson
museum assistant
Zach Amrhien
Museum Associate
Joseph whitehead
Museum Assistant
Volunteer
The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library is always in search of volunteers to help with museum operations and special events. We welcome anyone interested in carrying Vonnegut’s legacy of common decency.
To join our volunteer network, complete the online application below. We will add you to our volunteer mailing list to keep you informed of upcoming opportunities.
Volunteer
Employment
The Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library operates with a small and dedicated staff of full-time and part-time employees.
All current employment opportunities if available can be found on our
LinkedIn
profile. If you have any questions please email or call us:
[email protected]
or call (317) 423-0391
Diversity Statement
New knowledge is the most valuable commodity on earth. The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become.
The staff, boards, and volunteers of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library believe that every individual brings new knowledge for each of us to use. We also believe that each of us as human beings has a responsibility to treat others with dignity and respect at all times. Thus, we are committed to encouraging the respectful participation of everyone in our efforts.
We embrace differences in age, color, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics that make human beings unique.
Museum Rental
Rent The Museum
The KVML invites you to rent the Vonnegut Museum for your marvelous events. KVML hosts private events such as wedding receptions, team-building activities, and much more.  For more information about event rentals email us at
[email protected]
.
Kathi Badertscher, PhD
Director of Graduate Programs at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
Kathi Badertscher, PhD, is Director of Graduate Programs at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Dr. Badertscher teaches a variety of BA, MA, and doctoral courses, including Applying Ethics in Philanthropy and History of Philanthropy. She has participated in several Teaching Vonnegut workshops and is a member of the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library.

Dr. Badertscher has been a guest speaker on ethics in philanthropy, including at the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners – Indianapolis Council; Association of Fundraising Professionals – Indiana Chapter; and Zhou Enlai School of Government, Nankai University, Tianjin, China. In 2019 she received IUPUI Office for Women, Women’s Leadership Award for Newcomer Faculty. In 2019 and 2020 she received the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Graduate Teaching Award.
Dr. Badertscher’s publications include “Fundraising for Advocacy and Social Change,” co-authored with Shariq Siddiqui in Achieving Excellence in Fundraising, 5th ed., 2022; “Insulin at 100: Indianapolis, Toronto, Woods Hole, and the ‘Insulin Road,’ co-authored with Christopher Rutty, Pharmacy in History (2020); and three articles in the Indiana Magazine of History: “A New Wishard Is on the Way,” “Evaline Holliday and the Work of Community Service,” and “Social Networks in Indianapolis during the Progressive Era.” Her chapters on social welfare history will appear in three upcoming edited volumes on the history of philanthropy, including “The Legacy of Edna Henry and Her Contributions to the IU School of Social Work,” Women at Indiana University: Views of the Past and the Future, edited by Andrea Walton, Indiana University Press, 2022 (forthcoming). Dr. Badertscher is also the Philanthropy and Nonprofits Consulting Editor for the forthcoming Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, edited by David J. Bodenhamer and Elizabeth Van Allen, Indiana University Press, 2021.

Dr. Badertscher is an active volunteer in the Indianapolis community. At present, she is a
Coburn Place Safe Haven Board Member and a Children’s Bureau/Families First Brand and Marketing Advisor.

Dr. Badertscher holds the MA in History from Indiana University and the MA and PhD in philanthropic studies from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Volunteer With KVML
Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library Volunteer Application
Please contact
[email protected]
if you have any questions about this application’s content.