The IU School of Medicine Department of Orthopaedic Surgery was established in 1948 with the appointment of George J. Garceau, MD, as chairman for the department. Primarily known for his work in pediatric orthopaedics, Garceau guided the department through 1966 when James Wray, MD, was appointed as the first full-time professor and chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Wray recruited a group of young orthopaedic surgeons to serve as the core of the full-time academic department. He also established a basic science research department within the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery with full-time technicians and support by the National Institutes of Health.
Throughout the years, the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery has grown exponentially in size and strength of all aspects of orthopaedic surgery, either directly represented by its full-time faculty or through affiliations with the Indiana Center for Surgery of the Hand and the Thomas A. Brady Sports Medicine Clinic. Currently, the department is composed of 32 full-time faculty, 20 faculty who have primary appointments in different departments, 29 graduate students and more than 50 supporting staff members.