1970s
In July, Dr. Bryce Jordan becomes the first president of UT Dallas. Jordan previously served as the president of The University of Texas at Austin. He would serve UT Dallas for the next decade, going on to become vice chancellor for academic affairs for The University of Texas System in 1981.
Lee H. Smith is appointed dean of faculties.
President Bryce Jordan and his assistant Donna Beth McCormick design UT Dallas’ first logo, with the letters “UTD” in a box with orange, white and green colors.
In an effort to continue the founders’ dream of a state-of-the-art educational facility, UTD releases a campus development plan to build upon its Richardson campus.
Dr. Polykarp Kusch becomes the first Nobel laureate on the UTD faculty. His work in accurately determining the magnetic moment of the electron as being greater than its theoretical value led to innovations in the field of quantum electrodynamics. Yet, despite his prowess in the laboratory, Kusch’s heart was with his students. As he once put it, “I describe myself as an adequate scientist, but I am a superb teacher.”
UT Dallas receives a generous donation of 275 acres of land from the Hoblitzelle Foundation and the Texas Research Foundation.
Dr. Allan Dean Sherry joins the faculty as an assistant professor of chemistry.
After a rigorous review, UT Dallas earns its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
Dr. Roderick A. Heelis joins UTD as a research scientist in space science. He would later be appointed professor of physics in 1989.
UTD holds its inaugural graduation ceremony. The first graduates include Wang-Kong Lam in physics, Susan Seabury Mahlum in biology and Ronald Allan Hawkins in physics.
UT Dallas appoints Dr. Regina Mary Jane Kyle as executive dean for undergraduate studies.
Dr. Alexander Clark joins UT Dallas as vice president of academic affairs. During his time on campus, he recruits over 130 faculty members, conducting 550 interviews in 1975 alone.
Maureen B. Steiner is the first woman to receive a PhD from UT Dallas, earning her doctorate in geosciences. She becomes a pioneer in the studies of geomagnetism and paleomagnetism.
UT Dallas admits undergraduate juniors and seniors for the first time. At an affordable total cost of $195 per semester, students from neighboring Dallas County Community Colleges queue to enroll on Sept. 16, 1975. The first class numbers 3,333 students.
The Callier Center for Communication Disorders joins UT Dallas. The Callier Center provides innovative evaluations and treatments for people with speech, language and hearing disorders.
Dr. Rainer Schulte joins UT Dallas’ School of Arts and Humanities.
Dr. Lawrence J. Redlinger joins UT Dallas as associate professor of sociology.
The University appoints Dr. Carolyn Lipshy Galerstein as dean of the School of General Studies.
The Eugene McDermott Library, Cecil H. Green Hall, Erik Jonsson Academic Center, Hoblitzelle Hall and the University Theatre open.
Dr. Ramaswamy Chandrasekaran joins the faculty as associate professor in the School of Management.
Dr. Robert Xavier Rodríguez becomes assistant professor of arts and humanities.
The History of Aviation Archives, a world-class aeronautical archive and library, is added to UT Dallas’ Special Collections.
Margaret McDermott, wife of founder Eugene McDermott, donates the 10-foot-tall steel Jack sculpture, affectionately called the “Love Jack” by students. Created by American modernist sculptor and Texas native Jim Love, the Love Jack is currently located at the Edith O’Donnell Arts and Technology Building.
UT Dallas awards its first bachelor’s degrees at spring commencement.
James F. Reilly II graduates with a bachelor of science in geosciences. Reilly goes on to earn a master’s (1987) and PhD (1995) from UT Dallas. After his time on campus, Reilly would go on to explore the Hobbs Coast of West Antarctica, the deep ocean with the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and U.S. Navy, and outer space as an astronaut for NASA. In 2018, Reilly is appointed director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The Alexander Clark Center and Visual Arts Building open. The Visual Arts Building, also known as the Art Barn, provides art students with gallery space to present their work. Both the Clark Center and the Visual Arts Building are torn down in the 2010s to make room for more development.
Dr. J. Michael Coleman joins the faculty as an assistant professor in the School of Human Development (School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences).
Co-editor of the Translation Review, former president of the American Literary Translators Association and a medievalist by training, Dr. Dennis M. Kratz becomes associate professor of arts and humanities. He later becomes dean of the School of Arts and Humanities.
Dr. Bert Moore joins UTD as program head of psychology. He goes on to lead the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences as dean for 26 years. During his work at UT Dallas, Moore would serve as a professor of clinical psychology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, a member of the American Psychological Association and serve on review panels for the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Anthony Champagne joins the University as associate professor in the School of Social Sciences.