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<\/p>\nWhen the Fort Worth Now task force was presented with issues and opportunities in the city, one deficit was glaring, co-chair John Goff said: The city was the largest in the country without a Tier 1 research institution.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The task force, created by former Mayor Betsy Price to support the city\u2019s economy as it grappled with the impacts of the pandemic, got to work. It addressed immediate pandemic-related business issues as well as looked at the bigger, more challenging picture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more difficult part was, how do we take Fort Worth and make it stronger economically as we exit the pandemic?\u201d Goff said.<\/p>\n
Five years later, Fort Worth is one of the fastest growing large cities in the nation. Economic development and higher education are closely linked as the area looks to attract both students and businesses, according to a group of college leaders featured on a Fort Worth Report panel.<\/p>\n
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The roots of the current effort can be traced to when Goff connected with Texas A&M School of Law Dean Robert Ahdieh. Ahdieh showed Goff the law school\u2019s downtown campus, including a view from the roof.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Goff saw big opportunity in Texas A&M\u2019s room to expand.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got up on top, and I looked down at this land, and I said, \u2018This is amazing. It\u2019s just sitting here ripe for development of a major campus,\u2019\u201d Goff said.<\/p>\n
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John Goff, Crescent Real Estate founder and chairman, speaks during a Fort Worth Report Candid Conversation event on Aug. 19, 2025, at Tarleton State Fort Worth. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
A&M is just one of seven area institutions<\/a> that are growing. It is planning for five new buildings in downtown Fort Worth, the first of which will be the Law and Education Building expected to open in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n Farther out from the city\u2019s center, Tarleton State Fort Worth recently opened the second building<\/a> on its southwest Fort Worth campus.<\/p>\n Texas Christian University<\/a> plans to increase its student body by 5,000 as part of its 10-year strategic plan. It is also building developments along Berry Street that will house students and host retail shops.<\/p>\n The University of Texas at Arlington broke ground<\/a> in April for UTA West, a new campus in the Walsh development, with a planned opening in 2028.<\/p>\n UTA President Jennifer Cowley said the expansion of her Tier 1 research university came from a desire to draw businesses to the area and prevent an educational desert.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re the closest comprehensive research university to that part of our region,\u201d Cowley said. \u201cIt made perfect sense for us to say, \u2018OK, we\u2019re thinking not just about what the needs are today, but what they need to be 30 years from now.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n UTA formed a strong relationship with the aerospace corporation Lockheed Martin, the largest employer in the county. Kenneth Ross, director of communications and public affairs for Lockheed Martin, said the company provides opportunity not just for students, but the students also constitute a talent pipeline for the company.<\/p>\n \u201cEducation is the lifeblood for everything we do,\u201d Ross said. \u201cI talk a lot about engineering, but it\u2019s finance, it\u2019s HR, it\u2019s material management. You name it, across the board, we have those needs all the way down to the technical skills for our artisans.\u201d<\/p>\n Goff highlighted the movement of the game company<\/a> ProbablyMonsters to Fort Worth. He said its migration came from the company\u2019s need for graduates.<\/p>\n \u201cFort Worth, in a million years, would have never attracted a game design company, ever, had it not been for just a chance meeting in my office of the CEO of the company and someone at A&M who was going to start a visualization program here in the city,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n As higher education in the area spurs economic development, institutions also face challenges.<\/p>\n The Trump administration has made cuts to federal funding<\/a> for research and development. Funding research \u2014 or lack thereoff \u2014 has long-lasting effects, Cowley said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know the federal budget is tight, but this question of whether or not we\u2019re going to invest in R&D in robust ways has a direct impact on the innovations that we\u2019re going to see for generations to come,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The funding decrease will not last forever, Ahdieh anticipates. He expects the negative impact of reduced research on the country\u2019s economy will mean things eventually head back in the other direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe economic benefits of this federal-higher ed partnership are so substantial that this has to be a pendulum,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The state is also experiencing brain drain when talented Texas high school graduates seek postsecondary education out of state.\u00a0<\/p>\n Universities nationwide are grappling with a decrease in graduating seniors. Tarleton State University President James Hurley said schools in nearby states are responding by recruiting from Texas, and they are taking the best.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re coming for our top 10% students,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Students need a reason to stay, and universities can help by forming partnerships with employers.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s forcing universities, rightly so, to be more smart and thoughtful and systematic about, what are the programs that we\u2019re offering?\u201d said Ahdieh, who is also chief operating officer for Texas A&M-Fort Worth. \u201cHow are we collaborating with industry?\u201d<\/p>\n This is not an issue that is going away in the future as the city continues to grow, Hurley said.<\/p>\n Fort Worth officially became the 11th-largest city<\/a> in the country in May 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cThat growth isn\u2019t going to stop,\u201d Hurley said. \u201cIt takes all of us working in unison to ensure that our young people and students alike have opportunities right here, so they do not leave the state of Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n McKinnon Rice is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at mckinnon.rice@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Disclosure: All seven higher education institutions in Tarrant County and John Goff have been financial supporters<\/a> of the Fort Worth Report.<\/p>\n 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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Goss-CandidConvo-13.jpg\")
Kenneth Ross, second from right, laughs as panelists banter during a Candid Conversation panel on Aug. 19, 2025, at Tarleton State Fort Worth\u2019s campus. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Goss-CandidConvo-10.jpg\")
From left: James Hurley, Tarleton State University president; Robert Ahdieh, Texas A&M-Fort Worth chief operating officer and law school dean; and Jennifer Cowley, University of Texas at Arlington president, banter during a Candid Conversation event on Aug. 19, 2025, at Tarleton State Fort Worth\u2019s campus. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
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