Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences Records

The College of Liberal Arts was founded in 1937 as a junior college emphasizing the liberal arts. In 1961, it became a four-year institution offering day and evening classes; 1974 marked the introduction of its first graduate program. In 1975, it became an upper-division college and graduate school. Now that the University offers four-year programs, the college continues its commitment to offering a variety of unparalleled graduate programs and outstanding undergraduate programs. In 1982, the College of Liberal Arts was named for Yale Gordon, a University of Baltimore alumnus and businessman who understood the central importance of the humanities in higher education and in the life of a community. With his wife, Peggy, he established the Peggy and Yale Gordon Trust, which supports organizations such as the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences that are dedicated to advancing the humanities. In 2009, the Liberal Arts and Policy Building was opened after extensive renovation of the historic Knights of Pythias Hall south of the Thummel Business Center at 1300 N. Charles Street. In 2010, the college was renamed the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences to reflect a strengthened, expanded foundation of general education and arts and sciences courses to enhance student success. The Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences includes three divisions and a school, each of which has its own specialized focus, the Division of Applied Behavioral Sciences, the Division of Legal, Ethical and Historical Studies, the Division of Science, Information Arts and Technologies and the School of Communications Design. The School of Communications Design was renamed Klein Family School of Communications Design in September 2013. The School of Information Arts and Technologies joined with Liberal Studies Division to form the Science, Information Arts and Technologies Division in 2011.

Deans of Liberal Arts

The Junior College William H. Wilhelm, 1937-1940 P. Lewis Kaye, 1940-1959

The College of Liberal Arts Harvey S. Reed, 1959-1964 Robert Lisle, 1965-1968 Lawrence D. Bridgham, 1968-1975 Neil Kleinman, 1977-1981 Minna Doskow, 1982-1985 Rand B. Evans, 1987-1988 Lawrence W. Markert, 1988-1994 Carl W. Stenberg, III 1995-2004 Larry W. Thomas, 2005-2010 Diedre Badejo, 2010-2011 Larry Thomas, interim, 2011-2012 Laura Koppes Bryan, 2012-2016 Christine S. Spencer, 2016-