University of Minnesota. Institute of Technology

The Institute of Technology (IT) was established at the University of Minnesota by the Board of Regents on October 19, 1935. Its purpose was to consolidate the programs offered by the College of Engineering and Architecture, the School of Mines and Metallurgy and the School of Chemistry into one academic unit to allow students to easily move between related disciplines. Samuel C. Lind, director of the School of Chemistry, was appointed as dean of IT.

Lind retired in 1947, being replaced as dean in 1949 by Athelstan Spilhaus. In 1949, the School of Architecture was recognized as an independent collegiate unit within the Institute of Technology. In 1959, the Board of Regents established a two-year engineering certificate that could be awarded to students who completed the lower division curriculum in IT. The first Certificate in Science was awarded at the June 1959 commencement.

In 1962, the University reorganized the College of Science, Literature and the Arts (SLA), to strengthen liberal arts instruction. It was renamed the College of Liberal Arts, with the program the Departments of Astronomy and Geology being transferred from SLA to the Institute of Technology. Dean Spilhaus resigned in June 1966, and was replaced by Professor Warren B. Cheston, director of the Space Science Center at the University. At the time of Dr. Cheston's appointment as dean, the Institute of Technology consisted of the School of Physics and Astronomy, the School of Chemistry, the School of Earth Sciences, the School of Mathematics, the School of Architecture and the College of Engineering.

In 1970, the School of Mines and Metallurgy was abolished, with its programs being transferred to the newly redesigned departments of chemical engineering and materials science, and civil engineering. The department of computer science and engineering was also established in 1970. Richard Swalin replaced Warren Cheston as dean in 1971. In 1979, Roger Staehle was appointed as dean of IT.

In 1980, the Institute of Technology and the Control Data Corporation established a national center for research and development in microelectronics and computer science related technologies. The Center for Microelectronic and Information Sciences was the first of its kind in the country, focusing on research and development in computer design. A new curriculum focused on the building of computer systems, computer engineering, was established in IT in 1982. At the time, the program at the University was only one of a handful offered at colleges and universities across the country. In 1984, Ettore Infante was named dean of IT.

In 1989, the Institute of Technology won a military contract to establish the Army High Performance Computing Research Center. The center, working in conjunction with the University's Supercomputer Center, focused on basic research in computational mathematics, science and engineering in relation to warfare applications. Also in 1989, the School of Architecture separated from IT, becoming the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. From 1993-1995, Francis Kulacki served as dean, being replaced by H. Ted Davis in 1995. Steven L. Crouch was named dean in 2005.

From the guide to the Institute of Technology papers, 1933-1945, 1954-1961, (University of Minnesota Libraries. University Archives [uarc])