The University of Texas at Arlington announced a westward expansion plan to buy 51 acres of land in West Fort Worth for a new UTA West campus within the Walsh Ranch development.
The UT System board of regents authorized the use of its Permanent University Fund to buy the property, paving the way for the new campus dedicated to fostering economic development and meeting the educational needs of one of the fastest-growing areas in the country, UTA said.
“Anytime the UT System can expand greater educational opportunity, access, and affordability to Texans, we’re going to do it,” Kevin Eltife, chairman of the UT System board of regents, said in a statement. “We’ve recently done it in east Texas and south Texas and now we’re heading west. We’re looking forward to planting a UT Arlington flag in west Fort Worth, currently the nation’s fastest growing city.”
A major milestone
Rendering of UTA West in Fort Worth. [Image: UT Arlington]
Located at the intersection of Interstates 30 and 20 at the western gateway of Fort Worth, the campus is expected to begin welcoming students as early as fall 2028, UTA said.
UTA West will be developed as part of a multiyear plan to serve more than 10,000 students, the university said.
“Years from now when we look back at major milestones in the life of the Fort Worth region and UT Arlington’s history, this new campus will rise to be among the top,” UT System Chancellor J.B. Milliken said in a statement. “As cities prepare for rapid growth, the presence of great universities contributes immensely to their vibrant transformation, and we applaud the very special relationship between UT Arlington and Fort Worth as they plan for the future in such an insightful and strategic way.”
UTA President Jennifer Cowley said UTA has a longstanding connection with Fort Worth.
“The western part of the metroplex has an ever-growing population, a plethora of student talent, and a wide breadth of opportunity for explosive economic advancement,” Cowley said in a statement. “UTA has long been a top supplier of talent to companies across Fort Worth, and this expansion will allow UTA to broaden its impact across our region,.”
Rendering of UTA West in Fort Worth. [Image: UT Arlington]
A decades-long partnership with Fort Worth
Robert Allen, Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership president, said the new campus will help shape the region’s future.
“UTA West represents a transformative investment in our community’s future,” Allen said. “By aligning educational resources with the region’s economic needs, UTA is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping a skilled workforce capable of meeting the demands of 21st-century industries.”
UTA said the new campus expands the university’s decades-long partnership with Fort Worth.
In 1986, for example, the UTA Research Institute was established in east Fort Worth. Today, it conducts $16 million annually in research focused on advanced controls and sensors, airborne computing networks, automation and intelligent systems, bio-signal processing, biomedical technologies, and predictive performance.
In 2007, the UTA Fort Worth Center was created in downtown Fort Worth and focused on serving working professionals by connecting education with careers, offering high-quality academic programs, that meet the needs of students and the 21st-century workforce.
The university said that in 2023, the UTA Institute of Urban Studies, the principal research center for the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs, opened at UTA’s Fort Worth Center. The institute’s mandated mission is to conduct research and provide technical assistance to city and county governments, governmental agencies, and nonprofit organizations and to offer education and teaching opportunities to individuals either already in or contemplating public service careers.
Large, innovative, and diverse
UT Arlington is a comprehensive teaching, research, and public service institution dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through scholarship and creative work.
It has an enrollment of roughly 41,000 students and is the second-largest institution in the UT System.
In 2021, UTA’s combination of outstanding academics and innovative research contributed to its reaffirmation as a Carnegie R-1 “Very High Research Activity” institution, a significant milestone of excellence.
UTA is designated as a Hispanic Serving-Institution and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education and in 2022 it earned the Seal of Excelencia for its commitment to accelerating Latino student success.
UT Arlington ranks No. 2 nationally for veterans (Military Times, 2024), No. 3 in Texas for advancing social mobility (U.S. News & World Report, 2024), and No. 5 in the United States for its undergraduate ethnic diversity (U.S. News & World Report, 2024).
Get on the list.
Dallas Innovates, every day.
Sign up to keep your eye on what’s new and next in Dallas-Fort Worth, every day.
R E A D N E X T
-
Tarleton State University received the go-ahead for a new biotechnology institute as part of Texas A&M-Fort Worth's burgeoning downtown research campus. Approved in mid-August by the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, the biotech institute is situated in one of the nation's fastest-growing life sciences hubs. "More than 5,000 biotechnology manufacturing and research and development firms — think Novartis, Alcon, AstraZeneca — call Texas home," according to the university. And DFW now ranks seventh in the U.S. for life science and biotech jobs. The Tarleton State Biotechnology Institute will focus on discovery and innovation in bioinformatics and computational modeling.…
-
North Texas has plenty to see, hear, and watch. Here are our editors' picks. Plus, you'll find more selections to "save the date."
-
You'll find deadlines coming up for a new accelerator program; and many more opportunities.
-
Situated in a reimagined space shared with Roots Coffeehouse in Near Southside, Create FW is Fort Worth's latest hub for startups and creatives. The City of Fort Worth and The DEC Network are showcasing the new entrepreneurial center on November 8. Take an advance look here.
-
MAA has long made its presence known with marquee projects across the Panther City. Now it's put down roots with a new office on West 7th Street, adding to its offices in Dallas, Austin, Cincinnati, and Charlotte.
