History of the Dorothy L. Gebauer building

The Dean's Office of the College of Liberal Arts is located in the century old Dorothy Gebauer Building, directly east of the Tower on the central UT campus. Designed and built in 1904 by the San Antonio firm of Coughlin & Ayres at a cost of nearly $85,000, it has the distinction of being the oldest academic building still standing on the original 40 acres. (Atlee B. Ayres was the grandfather of UT Austin Professor James Ayres, former director of the University's Shakespeare at Winedale program.)

Since its construction, Engineering, Journalism, Geography, Speech, several area studies centers, and the Dean of Students' Office have occupied the building at various times. In 1984 it was renamed to honor Dorothy L. Gebauer, former Dean of Women and a driving force in campus life for several decades. During the installation of an elevator in 1991 it was found to be unsafe and the recommendation made to condemn it. However, it narrowly escaped the wrecking ball, instead undergoing extensive renovations beginning in 1997. Since April 2000, it has housed the College of Liberal Arts.