1980s

1980
March, 1980
Center for Translation Studies Opens
Dr. Rainer Schulte and Dr. Dennis Kratz begin the Center for Translation Studies to promote discourse across foreign languages and cultures.
September, 1980
‘Mercury’ Hits the Stands

The Mercury becomes the official student newspaper of UT Dallas.

1981
January, 1981
A Place To Hang Out

After starting construction in 1979, the Student Union opens its doors and soon wins an architecture award.

August, 1981
School of Social Sciences Adds a Professor

Dr. Edward (Ted) Harpham becomes assistant professor of the School of Social Sciences.

October, 1981
Dr. Clark Leads as Interim President

Dr. Alexander Clark is appointed interim president.

1982
January, 1982
From Geomorphologist to President

Dr. Robert H. Rutford becomes the University’s second president in May 1982, a position he occupies until 1994. A glacial geologist and expert in geomorphology and Antarctica, Rutford led a party into the Antarctic Ellsworth Mountains in the 1960s and served as director of the division of polar programs for the National Science Foundation from 1975 to 1977. His dedication to the UTD community would later be honored with his appointment as president emeritus in 2007.

April, 1982
‘Father of Marketing Science’ Joins UTD

Dr. Frank M. Bass becomes the UT System Eugene McDermott Professor of Management.

July, 1982
Concerns of the Lively Mind

In honor of UT Dallas’ first on-staff Nobel laureate, Dr. Polykarp Kusch, the University endows the lecture series “Concerns of the Lively Mind,” which would later be renamed the “Polykarp Kusch Lecture Series” in 1985. Notable lectures include Dr. Rainer Schulte’s “Translation: A Model for Intercultural Communication” in 2010 and Dr. Hobson Wildenthal’s “The Lifecycle of a Science from Conception to Metamorphosis” in 2017.

August, 1982
A Way to Return Home

The UT Dallas Alumni Association, now known as Alumni Relations, forms.

1983
January, 1983
A Place to Pitch

The Morris Hite Center for Marketing Science opens its doors for students to learn the latest research related to new products and management.

March, 1983
Dr. Ozsváth Joins Faculty

Dr. Zsuzsanna Ozsváth joins the UT Dallas faculty as an assistant professor in arts and humanities.

1986
January, 1986
UTD Engineering Begins

The University realizes its dream for an engineering school when the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Sciences opens its doors.

February, 1986
Dr. Berry Joins Staff

The youngest scientist to ever be elected to the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Brian Berry joins the School of Social Sciences.

March, 1986
Sandra Bond Chapman Earns PhD

Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman earns her PhD at UT Dallas. Thirteen years later, she establishes the University’s Center for BrainHealth.

April, 1986
Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies

Dr. Zsuzsanna Ozsváth, a Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor, translation expert, and professor of 19th- and 20th-century European literature and history, establishes the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies. UT Dallas is just one of two schools in the nation that offers a master’s or PhD in Holocaust studies.

1989
January, 1989
Paving the Way for Freshmen

The Texas Legislature passes HB 42, authorizing UT Dallas to enroll freshmen and sophomore students. Enrollment is limited to 2,000 entering freshmen with lower division enrollment limited to 5,000 students. This legislation marks the expansion of UTD into a full-scale university, from freshmen students all the way to PhD candidates.