1946
The Minnesota State Teachers College Board approved Duluth State Teachers College becoming a four-year liberal arts institution, beginning in the fall of 1946.
1947 February
The Minnesota House began consideration of a bill by Rep. A.B. Anderson for the conversion of the DSTC into a branch of the University of Minnesota.
1947 July
The name and organization of the college were changed to the University of Minnesota Duluth Branch (UMD). UMD gained permission to grant AA, BA, BS degrees.
1952
Professor Wendell Glick, English, started at UMD.
1953
Professor Frederick Witzig, geography, came to UMD. He later became the dean of the College of Letters and Science.
1953 October
Master of Arts degree offered through the Graduate School at UMD.
1954 September
Kirby Center opened.
1956 February
The new UMD library is dedicated.
1956 May
Ceremonies were held for the new Humanities Building and the Tweed Gallery.
1956 November
A radio station began broadcasting. KUMD became the official name in 1958.
1961 February
Eric Sevareid, CBS news, gave the first Dalton A. LeMasurier Memorial lecture.
1965
Professor Walter Baeumler, sociology, came to UMD. The Baeumler-Kaplan Holocaust Memorial Lecture Series was later established at UMD.
1966
The first annual Feast of Nations was held at UMD.
1967
Jane Maddy joined UMD’s Department of Psychology. She was one of the early pioneers for making Women’s Studies a recognized discipline at UMD.
1967
Frank McCray graduated from UMD with a BA in English and in 1971 received his MA in English.
1971 November
A plan to develop UMD into a major University Center was explained to newsmen by Provost Raymond W. Darland and Vice Provost for Academic Administration David Vose.
1972
The American Indian Studies program received a strong start when Robert E. Powless was hired to direct the program. Anishinabe Days was held annually at UMD for many years.
1974 October
The Board of Regents approved UMD academic reorganization from four divisions to two colleges and four schools. One of the colleges was named the College of Arts and Letters.
1975
George R. Rapp Jr. served as the dean of the College of Letters and Science until 1983.
1980 September
The first year-long study abroad program (Study in England) was initiated at UMD.
1983
Robert Franz Jr. served as the dean of the renamed College of Letters and Social Sciences until 1986.
1984 September
Establishment of the annual Albert Tezla Scholar/Teacher Award was announced.
1985
The College of Letters and Science became the College of Liberal Arts.
1986
Judith Gillespie served as the dean of the College of Liberal Arts until 1990.
1987
The Royal D. Alworth Jr. Institute for International Studies was established.
1990
John Red Horse served as the dean of the College of Liberal Arts until 1994.
1994
Harold Hellenbrand served as dean of the College of Liberal Arts until 1999.
1994 September
A new library task force was appointed. The task force sought support to erect a new library building which was opened in 1998.
1995 November
Kathryn A. Martin became the first female Chancellor.
2001
Linda Krug served as the dean of the College of Liberal Arts until 2010.
2010
Susan Maher served as the dean of the College of Liberal Arts until 2019.
2019
Jeremy Youde began serving as the dean of the College of Liberal Arts.