However, the COVID-19 pandemic posed a new challenge<\/a> for the city \u2014 threatening its economic growth. Price, alongside business leaders John Goff and Elaine Agather, knew Fort Worth needed a pivot.\u00a0<\/p>\n Join us for the latest iteration of our Candid Conversations series.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n The pressing question our panelists will address: How do we build a higher education hub and why?<\/p>\n Panelists include:<\/p>\n Chris Cobler, CEO and publisher for the Fort Worth Report, will moderate the discussion.\u00a0<\/p>\n When<\/strong>: Breakfast at 7:30 a.m., discussion begins at 8 a.m. Aug. 19. Tickets are available by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Where<\/strong>: Tarleton State Fort Worth\u2019s Grand Room, 10850 Texan Rider Drive\u00a0<\/p>\n The discussion will be livestreamed to the Fort Worth Report\u2019s YouTube page<\/a>, where a recording will be published following the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe were brainstorming one day and thought, maybe we can have a big announcement at a corporate office that we can land that will bring big jobs,\u201d Price said. \u201cJohn Goff said, \u2018Corporations come and go, but universities come and grow.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Since that moment, Fort Worth has focused on not only continuing the excellence of schools that have nailed their colors to the mast but making the city a national powerhouse of higher education.\u00a0<\/p>\n New players in town<\/p>\n Texas A&M\u2019s newest development in Cowtown started with an hour-and-a-half meeting in 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n For years, Aggie leadership had been wanting a new building to house their downtown Fort Worth law school.\u00a0<\/p>\n When Robert Ahdieh became the dean of the law school in 2018, he saw a city ripe with opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA&M has historically owned the countryside and didn\u2019t really have anything urban, aside from a sporadic presence in Houston,\u201d Ahdieh said.\u00a0<\/p>\n As Price, Goff and Agather worked under the Fort Worth Now<\/a> task force \u2014 created to help the city stay economically competitive during the pandemic \u2014 expanding Texas A&M\u2019s reach seemed a natural fit, officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ahdieh recounted that Goff once visited the A&M law school to get a feel for what expansion would look like.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe went up to the roof, and then he said two things,\u201d Ahdieh said. \u201cHe said, \u2018This is a slam dunk. I\u2019ve never seen a more obvious development than what\u2019s going on here in the southeast corner of downtown.\u2019 Then he said, \u2018This will be a game changer for Fort Worth if we can pull it off.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, construction is underway on the Texas A&M-Fort Worth campus that will house the law school alongside other programs. The first building<\/a> is slated to open in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n For Ahdieh, who also serves as the chief operating officer for the new campus, Texas A&M-Fort Worth is one of the first steps in creating a \u201chigher education hub\u201d in the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the spirit of creating a collaborative campus, the building that will house the law school will include three floors dedicated to Tarleton State University.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tarleton State, which is a member of the Texas A&M University System, is growing<\/a> its campus in southwest Fort Worth, to go along with its main campus in Stephenville.\u00a0<\/p>\n Texas A&M has grabbed a lot of local headlines, but most Fort Worth universities have big plans.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2024, the University of Texas at Arlington announced that it would build a new campus<\/a> in the Walsh Ranch development, near west Fort Worth.<\/p>\n The university already has two buildings in Tarrant County, the University of Texas at Arlington Research Institute in the eastern part of Fort Worth and the UTA Fort Worth Center downtown.<\/p>\n UT-Arlington President Jennifer Cowley said plans for the campus began in 2023 after school officials identified a lack of higher education west of Dallas-Fort Worth\u2019s urban center.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, population estimates show fast growth for the area<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe felt like it was the perfect opportunity for us to make an investment and to be able to serve that growing part of our region,\u201d Cowley said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The UTA West campus is planned to open in 2028.<\/p>\n By 2031, experts estimate that nationally about 70%<\/a> of jobs will require a bachelor\u2019s degree or some postsecondary education or training. For Texas, it is estimated that more than 60% of jobs<\/a> will require such a degree.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fort Worth, as a booming business city<\/a>, will be no exception, Price said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the big needs here has always been that we didn\u2019t have adequate training for the workforce that we were going to need to deliver for the growth we were having,\u201d Price said. \u201cThe expansion of the universities gives businesses the chance to expand and gives us a chance to grow our workforce from within.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Continued business expansion is one of the factors that brought the UTA West campus to life, Cowley said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe know over the coming decade there are going to be many new employers that are going to choose to move to this part of the region,\u201d Cowley said.\u00a0<\/p>\n UT-Arlington has already had conversations with the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership about how the university can maximize its impact with the new campus, Cowley said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAny time an employer is looking at moving into Fort Worth, the first question is: Are they going to have the talent they need?\u201d Cowley said.\u00a0<\/p>\n While other universities are beginning to expand, those that have already established their roots in the city are optimistic about the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tarrant County College, one of the country\u2019s largest community college districts with campuses across the county, just celebrated 60 years.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Since its inception, TCC has had a $2.3 billion impact, while alumni contributed $1.8 million in added income to the local economy, according to data from the college.\u00a0<\/p>\n Elva LeBlanc, TCC chancellor, said the college focuses on building the area\u2019s talent pipeline by ensuring offerings reflect industry needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe do an excellent job of taking students where they are and creating stars because they do incredibly well when they go to a university or when they go into the workforce,\u201d LeBlanc said. \u201cThat\u2019s what it\u2019s all about, and we stand ready.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The hometown teams<\/p>\n Some schools aren\u2019t expanding outward but building where they are.\u00a0<\/p>\n TCU, a private university founded in 1873, is the flagship institution of the city with about 13,000 students.\u00a0<\/p>\n In April, the university\u2019s board of trustees approved a master plan for new student housing and renovations across the campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n TCU Chancellor Dan Pullin said the university plans to have nearly 18,000 students by 2035 but stressed that the growth won\u2019t change its identity.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cGrowth for us is not about volume. It\u2019s about increasing access and meeting the rising demand for a TCU education,\u201d Pullin said.\u00a0<\/p>\n TCU\u2019s work has been lauded in recent years. This year, the school appeared<\/a> in the Princeton Review\u2019s 2026 top colleges list and is ranked 105th<\/a> among universities nationally, according to U.S. News & World Report.\u00a0<\/p>\n TCU isn\u2019t the only local university to get such honors for its work.\u00a0<\/p>\n Texas Wesleyan University recently joined the FirstGen Forward Network<\/a>, an organization that recognizes schools that focus on helping students who are the first in their families to attend college.\u00a0<\/p>\n The university, which is the oldest higher education institution founded in Fort Worth, is now one of only two schools in the city to have such a distinction.\u00a0<\/p>\n A united front<\/p>\n While each school has a different background and culture, two sentiments are uniform across the board from area leaders: The growth of higher education in Fort Worth will bolster the city\u2019s prospects, and each campus is ready to adapt to a growing population.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHigher education institutions of Fort Worth have realized that not everything is a football game,\u201d Ahdieh said. \u201cIn this context, all ships rise.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Ahdieh\u2019s ambitions for the area are high. His hope is that Fort Worth becomes an epicenter of higher education, much like Boston, which has 36 universities and colleges.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here are the colleges in Tarrant County:<\/strong><\/p>\n University of Texas at Arlington \u2013 Enrollment<\/a>: 41,613<\/p>\n Tarrant County College District \u2013 Enrollment<\/a>: 44,970<\/p>\n Texas Wesleyan University \u2013 Enrollment<\/a>: 2,666<\/p>\n University of North Texas Health Fort Worth \u2013 Enrollment<\/a>: 2,344<\/p>\n Tarleton State University Fort Worth \u2013 Enrollment<\/a>: around 2,300<\/p>\n Texas Christian University \u2013 Enrollment<\/a>: 12,938<\/p>\n Texas A&M University School of Law \u2013 Enrollment<\/a>: 394<\/p>\n Each university will play a role in making this dream a reality, Ahdieh said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe can have the potential to make Fort Worth a higher education hub that will cause companies to say, \u2018Why would we go to Austin or Houston or somewhere else in Texas or the country when we have everything we need here?\u2019\u201d Ahdieh said. \u201cWhen we can pitch that, companies that are here will choose to grow here.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris Moss is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at chris.moss@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n\n
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Tarleton State University\u2019s Fort Worth campus grand opening of Interprofessional Education Building on Oct. 22, 2024. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0724-UTAWest-05.jpg\")
The public and various UTA members enjoy the new UTA West storefront in Willow Park July 24, 2025. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/CAS_TCC-9.jpg\")
Tarrant County College Trinity River Campus on Aug. 21, 2023. (File photo | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/TCU_Aug20_CamiloDiaz4750.jpg\")
Texas Christian University campus Aug. 20, 2024. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
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