The current library is named after Curtis Laws Wilson. Wilson was the Dean of the Missouri School of Mines from 1941 through 1963. During his administration the size of the campus more than doubled, the number of faculty more than tripled and number of support staff went from 147 to over 800. He has been described as hardworking, well organized, efficient and fiscally conservative. There are also rumors that he was not the most popular of deans and was put in place by the UM administration to make sure that the Missouri School of Mines did not break away from the University of Missouri system. The Library building was unnamed from the time of its original dedication in 1968 until it was named in memory of Dean Wilson in a Founder's Day dedication ceremony in March of 1979.