A&M System Regents Approve Initial Construction of Tarleton State University Fort Worth campus
STEPHENVILLE, Texas—The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents today approved final construction plans and an almost $41 million budget for the first phase of Tarleton State University’s planned Fort Worth campus along the Chisholm Trail Parkway.
Groundbreaking is expected in early 2018. The first phase—a three-story multipurpose education building—will open for classes in fall 2019.
“This is a watershed moment for Tarleton, the entire A&M System, Fort Worth and North Texas,” said Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp. “Tarleton is helping fill the professional workforce needs of the region. This new state-of-the-art facility and future campus will stimulate job growth, spur innovation and improve overall quality of life in the region.”
The first building will be constructed at the highest point of 80 acres donated by The Walton Group of Companies as an anchor at the heart of its Rock Creek development. With 74,000 square feet, the facility will allow Tarleton to expand current programs and add new ones.
“Final approval for construction of this first building on our new Fort Worth campus is truly a dream come true,” said Tarleton President F. Dominic Dottavio. “Thanks to the generosity of The Walton Group and the support of the A&M University System Board of Regents, more North Texans will have the opportunity for an affordable, high-quality university education.”
Tarleton-Fort Worth currently serves more than 1,900 students, growing an average of 16.5 percent per year since starting classes in 2006 at the Hickman Building on Camp Bowie Boulevard. Tarleton offers 48 undergraduate, graduate and certificate programs in Fort Worth.
The school’s popular Medical Lab Sciences program, located on Enderly Place in the Fort Worth hospital district, started with eight students in 1978 and today populates North Texas medical labs with Tarleton graduates.
When the first building opens on Chisholm Trail Parkway in 2019, classes offered at the Hickman Building will move to the new campus while the university plans to retain its lease on the R.C. Schaffer Building for Medical Lab Sciences.
Projected enrollment at move-in for the first building is 2,500. Depending on future resource allocation to construct additional buildings, the campus could serve as many as 9,000 students by 2030.
In addition to classrooms, gathering spaces, and administrative and student support offices, the first building will include a counseling training center to provide services to Tarleton students as well as area residents. The university’s Department of Counseling currently partners with Tarrant County Mental Health Connection—at its invitation—to improve access to quality mental health services for people of all ages.
“This first building is a nod to Tarleton’s rich heritage and bright future,” Dottavio said. “It is fitting that approval to begin construction comes as we wrap up our centennial celebration as founding member of The Texas A&M University System.”
For more information on Tarleton-Fort Worth, including a copy of the master plan for the planned campus, go to www.tarleton.edu/fortworth/.
About Tarleton State University
Tarleton, celebrating 100 years as founding member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven educational experience marked by academic innovation and exemplary service, and dedicated to transforming students into tomorrow’s professional leaders. As a member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) with campuses in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian and online, Tarleton engages with its communities to provide real-world learning experiences and to address societal needs while maintaining its core values of tradition, integrity, civility, leadership, excellence and service.
About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $4.55 billion. Through a statewide network of 11 universities and seven state agencies, the Texas A&M System educates more than 148,000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceeded $972 million in FY 2016 and helped drive the state’s economy.
Contacts:
Laylan Copelin, Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications
The Texas A&M University System
(979) 458-6425
(512) 289-2782 cell
lcopelin@tamus.edu
Harry Battson, Assistant Vice President for Marketing & Communications
Tarleton State University
254-968-1620
battson@tarleton.edu