Texas A&M Breaks Ground on New Campus in Fort Worth
The Texas A&M University System recently announced that it has broken ground on the first building of its new urban research campus in Fort Worth, Texas. The university also announced at the ceremony on Wednesday, June 21, that it has signed an agreement with Fortune 500 company Lockheed Martin to enter a public-private collaboration to jointly develop education courses, research programs, and workforce training at the new campus, according to a university news release.
The groundbreaking marked the start of construction on an eight-story, $150-million Law & Education Building. The facility will play home to the Texas A&M School of Law as well as other classes from Texas A&M, Texas A&M Health, and Tarleton State University. The university is also working with the city of Fort Worth and Tarrant County to develop two more campus buildings. The second facility, the Research & Innovation Building, will provide space for university agencies to work with private-sector tenants. The third facility, the Gateway Building, will contain administrative space, classrooms and meeting spaces, and a conference center.
“Lockheed Martin is proud to continue collaborating with Texas A&M University through this memorandum of understanding, establishing an additional talent pipeline of quality engineers in Fort Worth,” said Bridget Lauderdale, Lockheed Martin Vice President and a Texas A&M graduate. “Together, we will continue our joint, cutting-edge research to deliver innovative solutions for 21st-century security challenges, providing transformational capabilities in support of national security.”
Local news reports that the collaboration leaves the possibility open for Lockheed Martin researchers to work alongside university staff and students.
“The Texas A&M System is building exactly what Fort Worth needs in this moment in our history,” said Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker. “This groundbreaking today represents countless future careers in law, medical technology, nursing and engineering, all of which are vital to meeting the need for a highly skilled workforce in Fort Worth and North Texas for decades to come.”
According to the university website, discussions about creating a new campus began in November 2020. Representatives from Fort Worth and Tarrant County met with Chancellor John Sharp to solicit the university’s presence in the city. About a year later, the plan solidified to create Texas A&M–Fort Worth across four city blocks in southeast downtown Fort Worth. The campus’ presence will also further the City’s and County’s efforts to establish a technology and research innovation district in that part of town.
Funding for the Law & Education Building comes from the university, according to the website. The university will partner with the City of Fort Worth to finance the two additional buildings to speed up construction.
The Law & Education building has an estimated completion date of 2025. The goal is to complete all three campus buildings by 2027, according to the news release.
About the Author
Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].