1981

• 11 March 1981
  Recommendation of the expert commission appointed by the state government to establish a Law department.
• 16 April 1981
  Organisational change of the university by octroi by the Ministry of Science after no agreement can be reached in the university committees. Formation of nine instead of four departments (FB): FB 1 Education, FB 2 Communication/Aesthetics, FB 3 Social Sciences, FB 4 Economics and Law, FB 5 Philosophy/Psychology/Sports Science, FB 6 Mathematics/Computing Science, FB 7 Biology, FB 8 Physics, FB 9 Chemistry.
• 1 June 1981
  The University establishes a branch office in Wilhelmshaven for its coastal and marine biology research work.
• 3 July 1981
  Positive votes on single-phase teacher training (ELAB) by three expert reports commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs of Lower Saxony. Nevertheless, the pilot scheme is cancelled by the state government.
• 16 December 1981
  Unanimous resolution by the University Senate in which the state government is "requested" not to initiate any preliminary disciplinary investigations against civil servants and employees "who are accused of being candidates for the DKP alone".

1982

• 23 June 1982
  Decision by the University Senate to establish Institutes.
• 15 October 1982
  Handover of the new buildings on Uhlhornsweg with the university library, sports facilities and canteen.
  
  University grows: new building complex on Uhlhornsweg
• 8 December 1982
  Decision by the University Senate to introduce Magister degree programmes alongside Diplom and teaching degree programmes. The Master's degree programmes are opened in the summer semester of 1984.

1983

• 21 April 1983
  Signing of the first co-operation agreement with an Eastern European university, the Nicolaus Copernicus University of Torún (Poland).
• 15 August 1983
  Signing of a first agreement with a US university, the University of South Dakota.

1984

• 16 February 1984
  Rejection of the establishment of a law faculty in Oldenburg by the state parliament of Lower Saxony by 85:83 votes.
• 28 June 1984
  Opening ceremony for the natural sciences complex at the Wechloy site.
• 1 October 1984
  The DIALOG office is established to facilitate better cooperation between the university and industry.

1985

• 17 March 1985
  First participation in the Hanover Fair with the presentation of research in the field of "Renewable Energy Sources".
• 22 October 1985
  Commencement of studies in the subject ofComputing Science with 55 students.
  
  First steps into the public eye: Computing Science Day 1988

1986

• September 1986
  In order to reach the public, the university presents its research for the first time in an exhibition in the city.
  
  Exhibition opening with President Horst Zilleßen (2nd from right)
• 1 October 1986
  Prof. Dr Michael Daxner takes up his 12-year term of office as President of the University of Oldenburg.
• October 1986
  The University Senate passes a resolution to establish the Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM).
• 10 December 1986
  Adoption of the "Guidelines for increasing the proportion of women in science".

1987

• 22 September 1987
  Cooperation agreement with Towson University (Maryland, USA).

1988

• 1 April 1988
  Start of research work on the critical complete edition of Carl von Ossietzky's works with funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG).
• 4 - 8 May

  The Ossietzky Days "Republicans without a Republic" are attended by, among others, SPD Federal Chairman and Nobel Peace Prize winner Willy Brandt, futurologist Robert Jungk and poet Erich Fried.

  
  Willy Brandt at the University - welcomed by President Michael Daxner (l.) and Lord Mayor Horst Milde (r.)

1989

• 1 January 1989
  Foundation of the Federal Institute for the Culture and History of Germans in Eastern Europe (BKGE) in Oldenburg, which becomes an affiliated institute of the University in 2000.
• 30 May 1989
  Green light from the state government for the expansion of marine research in Oldenburg and thus for the Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM). By 1994, 40 million marks are invested in construction and equipment.
  
  The ICBM measuring pile off the island of Spiekeroog enables important data to be collected in the Wadden Sea regardless of the season .

1990

• 3-4 April 1990
  Launch of the "Karl Jaspers Lectures on Contemporary Issues" with the Indian philosopher Raimondo Panikkar, initiated by Prof. Dr Rudolf zur Lippe. Guests of the lecture series, which takes place annually: Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, Lew Kopelew, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Ivan Illich, Jürgen Habermas, Willard V. O. Quine and others.
• 20 March 1990
  Announcement of the publication of a 25-volume critical Tucholsky Complete Edition by the German scholar Prof. Dr Dirk Grathoff and the political scientist Prof. Dr Gerhard Kraiker, who are also among the editors of the Ossietzky Complete Edition. The last volume of this edition will be published in 2010.
• July 1990
  Establishment of the first DFG-funded Research Training Group at the university with the topic: "Environmental and Resource Economics".
• 11 October 1990
  Student numbers rise to over 10,000 for the first time.
• 12 December 1990
  In a joint declaration, the universities of Oldenburg and Bremen commit to the formation of a "Northwest Science Region".