Dr. Dolores J. Hoyt served as an IUPUI acquisitions librarian. While in that position, she began organizing an IUPUI collection of papers and books that included copies of the minutes and other documents from Indianapolis German American Societies. This collection, corroborated with Ruth Reichmann's research into the history of Indiana's German American population, showed the influence of German Americans on the Indiana community. This research served as the foundation for the Reichmanns and Hoyts to establish the Indiana German Heritage Society. The couples also created the Hoyt-Reichmann Faculty Chair in German American Studies and German Language and Culture in the IUPUI School of Liberal Arts. The endowed chair was a result of the colleagues' shared and life-long dedication to developing the study of German language and culture and German-Americana both within the university and across the state.
Hoyt was also a co-founder of IUPUI's Max Kade German-American Center. As the associate dean for University Library at IUPUI, Hoyt worked to build the library's special archives collection of German-Americana, creating one of the best collections in the region.
In 2020, Dolores and Giles Hoyt were presented the Bicentennial Medal for their distinguished service to Indiana University.
