The Texas A&M University System officially opened its new downtown Fort Worth campus Aug. 5 and immediately broke ground on the next phase of a long-term investment in the city’s students, workforce and economy.
Texas A&M-Fort Worth welcomed System Regents, Chancellor Glenn Hegar, System and Texas A&M AgriLife leaders, faculty, staff and community partners to celebrate the grand opening of the eight-story, 228,000-square-foot Law and Education Building.
The ceremony concluded with the groundbreaking of the Research and Innovation Building-A, a facility designed to bring university researchers, state agencies and private-sector partners together. Texas A&M AgriLife Research will have approximately 37,000 square feet in the building when it is completed.
The Texas A&M University System officially opened its new downtown Fort Worth campus on Aug. 5 and immediately began work on the next phase of a long-term investment in the city’s students, workforce and economy. (The Texas A&M University System)
The two buildings will serve as the academic and research anchors of the Switchyard Innovation District, a planned hub for education, research, entrepreneurship and business collaboration in southeast downtown Fort Worth.
Planning for Texas A&M-Fort Worth was driven by a comprehensive needs assessment that helped identify the programs, research and partnerships needed to address the region’s evolving workforce needs. Additionally, an economic impact study projects that, upon completion, the campus will support more than 25,000 direct and indirect jobs and generate more than $3 billion in annual economic activity.
“Growth takes skilled people, sound infrastructure, useful ideas and partners willing to invest for the long haul,” said Robert L. “Bob” Albritton, chairman of The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. “Texas A&M-Fort Worth brings those things together in one place.”
Academics across disciplines
The Law and Education Building will house academic programs from Texas A&M University and Tarleton State University.
The new building is home to the A&M School of Law and other programs including engineering, business, healthcare, pharmacy, biotechnology and medical laboratory sciences. Students learn alongside researchers, public service professionals and industry partners while gaining hands-on experiences that prepare them to lead in rapidly evolving industries.
Both AgriLife Research and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will also call the building home, extending learning beyond the classroom through applied research, technology development and public service.
“This is not simply another downtown building or a collection of academic programs,” said Hegar. “It is a place where a student can meet a future employer, a researcher can sit across the table from a company facing a real problem and a good idea can become a product, a business or a job.”
Interactive displays showcase academics, research and innovation
Following the ceremony, guests and media explored interactive displays and immersive demonstrations showcasing academics, research and innovation in action. Highlights included engineering and robotics demonstrations featuring advanced manufacturing technologies, advanced aviation and transportation research, immersive nursing simulation suites and the Mobile Health Assessment Center from the Institute of Advancing Health Through Agriculture.
“These experiences reflect how learning happens at Texas A&M-Fort Worth,” said Bobby Ahdieh, chief operating officer of Texas A&M-Fort Worth and dean of the Texas A&M University School of Law. “Students don’t just earn degrees. They engage with researchers, public service professionals and industry partners, gaining the experience, connections and perspective to lead in rapidly changing fields”
Building what’s next
Immediately following the grand opening, leaders broke ground on the Research and Innovation Building-A, an 11-story facility that will expand opportunities for university researchers, Texas A&M System agencies, including AgriLife Research and AgriLife Extension, and private-sector partners to collaborate in aerospace, engineering, agriculture, health sciences, virtual production, medicine, food and nutrition science, biotechnology and transportation.
Scheduled for completion in 2029, the building will expand the campus’ research capabilities and strengthen the emerging Switchyard Innovation District as a hub for innovation, workforce development and economic growth.
“Texas A&M AgriLife has had a long-standing relationship with the Dallas-Fort Worth area through our AgriLife Extension office in Tarrant County and the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas,” said Jeffrey W. Savell, Ph.D., vice chancellor and dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences. “Texas A&M AgriLife is here to serve Texans, and we’re honored to be a part of serving this region’s needs through agriculture, health and innovation. It’s a great day to celebrate the future of Fort Worth Texas.”
This story first appeared on The Texas A&M University System website.
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