Texas A&M-Fort Worth\u2019s campus downtown has embraced a Nike just-do-it mentality from the start. It has been boldy Aggie in its daring, shrugging off limitations the way Johnny Football once shed tacklers.<\/p>\n
And if enrollment numbers are any indication, inspired students are following fast.<\/p>\n
The Texas A&M System\u2019s increased presence here has fueled a steady rise in student numbers. This fall, more than 5,200 students are expected to be enrolled across the A&M System\u2019s Fort Worth campuses, including the presence downtown, Tarleton State\u2019s satellite site, and at Tarrant County College, an A&M engineering partner.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s up more than 360 from a year ago and more than 1,500 from five years ago.<\/p>\n
Yet the increase \u2014 and however those numbers continue to grow over the coming years \u2014 isn\u2019t the goal. Texas A&M\u2019s approach in Fort Worth has been about meeting the educational and workforce needs of both the local business community and the broader region, not simply chasing enrollment targets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not trying to get to a particular number,\u201d says Bobby Ahdieh, Texas A&M Law School dean and COO of Texas A&M-Fort Worth. \u201cWe\u2019re saying, \u2018Is there a need out there that we can potentially meet?\u2019 Let\u2019s go and try to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ahdieh attributes the growth to a mix of local engagement and strategic programming. The Texas A&M Engineering Academy at Tarrant County College, for example, allows students to complete foundational coursework locally before transferring to College Station.<\/p>\n
The flexibility appeals to both students who want to stay closer to home and those planning to return to the region after graduating. \u201cWe\u2019re enabling students who otherwise would go further afield to stay,\u201d Ahdieh says. \u201cAnd we\u2019re drawing others who may eventually return.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are others who are \u201cstudying abroad\u201d in Fort Worth. That is, those in College Station or in Stephenville at Tarleton State spending a semester here with visions of beginning a career here.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, the campus will serve as a Tier One hub for research and education, anchored by a broad mix of programs in innovation, workforce development, technology, and public service. Offerings will span Texas A&M University, Tarleton State, the School of Law, and A&M\u2019s engineering, agriculture, emergency management, and health science disciplines. Many of those are already being offered.<\/p>\n
One program that has become immensely popular is the school\u2019s Master of Laws and Master of Legal Studies curriculum. There are now upwards of 1,300 students enrolled in the program, far more than actual law school students. It appeals because there are increasingly more professionals who, though they don\u2019t need a law degree, require a basic understanding of law, regulation, compliance, contracting, and HR. The program is specific to 11 industries.<\/p>\n
Ahdieh jokes that the law school will one day be bigger than A&M\u2019s engineering school.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s not going to happen, obviously, but the growth rate has been insane,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
A big part of the mission, of course, is appealing to the proverbial \u201cbest and brightest\u201d from across the country to come to Fort Worth to study and conduct research.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we’re being honest all over the world and bring ’em to Fort Worth, and then a lot of those folks will stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n
And even if they don\u2019t stay, they\u2019ll likely go back with a big bullhorn talking about the great qualify of life here.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one that people fight me on most is what about the person we bring in from Houston or New York or London and then goes back, right? Wasn’t that a waste? Not at all. I mean, to my mind, those folks become champions of Fort Worth, of North Texas, of Texas, across the state, across the country, and across the globe. And so even that population, I think of as really serving an important function for us as a city, a region, and a state.\u201d<\/p>\n