Our History
Moody College — making history, one word, one film, one broadcast, one landmark gift at a time. Learn more about our origins and 125 years of impact.
Moody College through the years
1883: The University of Texas at Austin officially opens with eight professors and 221 students.
1899: The Department of Public Speaking, now the Department of Communication Studies, is established.
1900: The University founds the student newspaper, The Daily Texan, now the largest and most award-winning university publication in the nation.
1913: The Daily Texan transitions from a weekly to a daily paper.
19:14: The Department of Journalism is established. It is later renamed the School of Journalism.
1921: A radio station is established at UT to conduct experimental work in radio communication. Texas Student Publications Inc., today known as Texas Student Media, is formed to oversee the University’s publications, including The Daily Texan and the Cactus Yearbook.
1937: The University establishes the Speech and Hearing Clinic, the first such clinic in Texas, housed in the Department of Public Speaking.
1939: The broadcasting degree program is established.
1941: The Communication Sciences and Disorders program is established. It is the oldest program of its kind in Texas and is now known as the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences.
1958: KUT-FM radio is established, providing informational, cultural and educational programs to the University community, as well as throughout Central and West Texas.
1965: The School of Journalism, Department of Speech and a newly formed Department of Radio-Television-Film officially organize as the School of Communication. DeWitt Carter Reddick is appointed to be the school's first dean.
1974: The School of Communication moves into a new three-building communication complex at the corner of Guadalupe and Dean Keeton streets. The accredited sequence of advertising, which was then part of the Department of Journalism, is established as a separate Department of Advertising.
1979: The School of Communication becomes the College of Communication.
1982: The three-building communication complex is renamed the Jesse H. Jones Communication Complex, in honor of Jesse H. Jones, founder of the Houston Endowment and donor of the college's first and largest endowment.
2002: Texas Student Publications becomes Texas Student Media, an umbrella organization that includes 11 University media entities.
2005: The UTLA program is created to help students pursue careers in the entertainment industry by studying in Los Angeles.
2000: The College of Communication establishes the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life to educate, inspire and connect the next generation of Texas civic leaders.
2012: The Belo Center for New Media, now the G.B. Dealey Center for New Media, opens its doors for classes. The 120,000-square-foot building includes lecture halls, auditoriums, student offices and meeting rooms, as well as spaces for film screenings and conferences for all college departments. It also houses the KUT Public Media Studios.
2013: The College of Communication is renamed the Moody College of Communication after the Moody Foundation gives a $50 million endowment. The gift was, at the time, the largest endowment for the study of communication at any public university in the country.
2014: Moody College establishes the Center for Health Communication, bringing together researchers across diverse areas into one organizational unit where they can collaborate and advance their scholarship.
2015: The Department of Advertising becomes the Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations.
2016: The Moody Pedestrian Bridge is constructed to connect the Jesse H. Jones Communication Complex and the G.B. Dealey Center for New Media. The Communication and Leadership Degree is created to prepare students for careers in public service, philanthropy, nonprofit and nongovernmental organization administration.
2017: The Cain Foundation makes a historic investment to establish the Wofford Denius UTLA Center for Entertainment and Media Studies.
2018: Moody College announces the new UT in New York program, giving UT Austin students the opportunity to study in New York City.
2019: Moody College unveils its new 70-feet-long and 20-feet-high, state-of-the-art green screen.
2020: The Drag Audio Podcasting Production House releases its first podcast, “The Orange Tree,” which rises to the top 25 in Apple Podcasts. Part of Texas Student Media, the production house gives students professional experience in longform, short-form and conversational podcasting.
2020: Moody College establishes The Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research to advance understanding about the nature and effective treatment of stuttering.
2021: The School of Advertising & Public Relations launches The Lab, which is home to its capstone Integrated Communications Campaigns class and operates as a student-led, independent agency.