 From 1967 to 1986, Berdahl was a history professor at the University of Oregon.In addition to his duties as professor, he served as dean of the university's College of Arts and Sciences from 1981 to 1986.Later on, Berdahl would go on to serve as vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, from 1986 to 1993.