From the Archives: Early Days of Computers
Friday, October 10, 2025
As Minnesota Carlson explores the frontiers of artificial intelligence, here’s a look back at the early days of computers on campus.
In 1962, the business school received its first computer, a Remington Rand UNIVAC Solid State 80. Worth $500,000, the computer weighed several tons and took up an entire room inside Vincent Hall. Even with air conditioning, the room stayed around 80 degrees.
Students in accounting and marketing research courses used the computer by day, while Remington workers ran research at night. The Gopher annual touted the computer’s ability to run “a computation of tables containing 13 rows of 13 digits in less time than it takes to say, ‘Jack Sprat.’”
Professor Gordon Davis supervised the use and, alongside Professors Gary Dickson and Tom Hoffman, went on to create the school’s Management Information Systems (MIS) academic program and Management Information Systems Research Center in 1968. Due to these historic contributions, the school played a vital role in the development of MIS. Decades later, the center remains at the forefront of the industry, supporting faculty and scholars within Carlson and beyond.
Photos Courtesy of The Gopher, Volume 75, 1962
This article appeared in the Fall 2025 alumni magazine
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