The UT System Board of Regents met with UTA President Jennifer Cowley and other stakeholders to discuss updates to UTA’s Campus Master Plan, the new University Center, UTA West funding and more during its Wednesday and Thursday meetings. The board approved the updated Campus Master Plan after a presentation from Cowley. The Campus Master Plan helps UTA re-examine physical campus improvements every 10 to 20 years and prioritize near, medium and long-term capital improvements. UTA has been following a road map to revise the master plan since fall 2023, using community feedback, data and analysis. Cowley said the plan is tightly aligned with UTA’s strategic plan, which leads to five main campus initiatives: enhancing the sense of place, aligning the student experience and mission, investing in academic and research space, building infrastructure and connecting with North Texas and beyond. The university is seeking funding for three near-term initiatives: a performing arts center, more student housing and an improved library mall. Cowley said the Fine Arts Building’s orchestra performance space isn’t big enough to fit UTA’s orchestra. Building a performing arts center is an “urgent need” that would address deferred maintenance and provide modern performance spaces, she said. The new library mall aims to reimagine the space as a plaza with outdoor gathering areas and a shade structure. “The spaces between our buildings, they create living rooms across our campus, and so we’re focused on the library mall,” Cowley said. With the growing need for student housing, she said she hopes to present a project to the board in the fall adding 770 apartment beds. “We need to have a mix of both the residence hall style [housing] and apartments to support our student needs,” Cowley said. The updated master plan also focuses on improving deferred maintenance for aging buildings, which for the main campus brings an estimated cost of more than $136 million. Replacing outdated buildings often improves energy efficiency, according to Cowley’s presentation. “Deferred maintenance is something we have to pay attention to, so a number of the buildings I talked about are ones that are reaching that point. It’s time for major renewal,” she said. Cowley also displayed a map highlighting the oldest buildings. The most at-risk structures are those on the immediate west side of the University Center such as Woolf Hall, the Earth and Environmental Sciences building and Science Hall. Later in the meeting, the board approved the new University Center project after Cowley presented key details surrounding the $175 million building. The oldest parts of the building will be demolished and replaced with a larger addition, she said. The building will have about 148,562 gross square feet demolished, with 96,220 gross square feet undergoing renovations and 166,444 gross square feet in new construction. The new addition will include meeting and event spaces, a computer lab, shared dining and common spaces, enhanced student engagement spaces and collaborative spaces. “This is helping to advance our goals around student success, making sure that we’re helping support a positive student experience and promoting community engagement,” Cowley said. On Thursday, the regents approved the City of Fort Worth’s $4 million reimbursement to UTA for the various infrastructure improvements resulting from the incoming UTA West campus. Two million dollars will be provided within 90 days of the contract being signed and the remaining $2 million within 90 days of UTA providing a copy of the Final Completion Report showing the completion of infrastructure work. @PMalkomes news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

Friends, family and Mavericks gathered Friday for UTA softball’s pre-game ceremony, honoring the late community benefactor and renowned professor Allan Saxe on his namesake — Allan Saxe Field. Saxe was a retired UTA political science professor and philanthropist known for his civic generosity. He died at 85 last June, and is survived by his wife Ruthie Brock, who threw the first pitch at the game against Seattle University. Angela Perry, assistant athletics director for governance and integrity, said the department wanted to have a ceremony for Saxe during softball season to keep his memory alive. “He’s been very involved with all of our upgrades here at UTA, and very supportive of athletics and softball, so we just think that it is a no-brainer. We want to honor him,” Perry said. An alumna, former student athlete and UTA softball coach, she said she’s only known the ballpark as Allan Saxe Field. It’s become synonymous with the sport. “It’s almost full circle for me, because I was a student athlete, I was a coach, now I’m an administrator, and I get to help facilitate and put this together,” she said. “It’s just an honor for us to be able to do that, honor him and his name and his legacy, what he means to our softball program community.” The ceremony kicked off with a video honoring Saxe’s impact and the legacy he left in Arlington, featuring various speakers, including UTA President Jennifer Cowley, head softball coach Kara Dill, deputy athletics director Debbie Garcia and Arlington Mayor Jim Ross. Before Brock threw the first pitch, she received a picture frame of Saxe from the softball team. While he wasn’t athletic, Brock said Saxe had a love for sports. He helped the athletics program greatly through donations and support. Brock said she was touched to see the impact Saxe had on the community and how UTA Athletics honored his work. “I’m here to just help keep Allan’s memory alive,” she said. Beyond philanthropy and athletics, Saxe’s influence extended to academics. Athletics director Jon Fagg said there are stories of students lined up to take Saxe’s classes. “His legacy is as much teaching as anything. He was a beloved professor,” Fagg said. “I think reminding all our students, while you’re going through school, pay attention to your professors.” On a deeper level, Saxe’s deeds didn’t falter either. He fostered personal relationships and supported his neighbors. Arlington resident Beverly Damon, 61, and a neighbor of Saxe, said Saxe and Brock encouraged Damon’s family and would watch her daughter skate at the mall. Damon attended the ceremony to support Brock and said her family treasures their relationship. Since Saxe’s death, they’ve been honored to stay close and help care for Brock, she said. Saxe’s life was about helping others and making their lives better, Damon said. With the late philanthropist’s name plastered everywhere in the city, she said it was only a matter of time until UTA held another event in his honor. “He is an icon. He was the neighborhood celebrity,” Damon said. @amandaLaldridge @_.lexlie_ news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

Tre’s Bar-B-Q doesn't go about things the traditional way. In the back of the Maverick Dining kitchen, executive sous chef Austin Banks and his crew use an indoor smoker to slowly cook 18 to 22 briskets each night for next-day service. “We put in a system in place to where we always want to be ready for the next day,” Banks said. The setup was years in the making for Banks and Maverick Dining. Banks used to bring his own barbecue pit to smoke meat for catering events on campus, he said. After receiving positive feedback and hosting a few sold-out events, the concept slowly baked into a full-fledged campus restaurant in January 2025. Now, Tre’s Bar-B-Q looks to establish a unique experience among Arlington’s ever-growing barbecue scene — teaching student workers how to cut meats, offering vegetarians alternative options like baked potatoes with beans, corn or other toppings and introducing international students to the vast world of barbecue. “It's something that brings all cultures together,” Banks said. For sous-chef David Patton, these conversations with students opened his mind. “I can recall just a quick story of seeing international students and they're asking me questions where I'm like, ‘Oh you don't know what coleslaw is?’” Patton said. “But then having to backtrack and be like, ‘You know what? Maybe this person doesn't know what coleslaw is. They’ve never ever seen it.’” These interactions are what shape Tre’s Bar-B-Q’s flavors as it grows into its space within the university. The restaurant looks to bring barbecue to all parts of campus and do so with care. To do so, they also add something traditional. “We put love,” Banks said. “It's all about the love and what you put into it.”

Marc Fadel woke up at 7:40 a.m. on a Thursday. Around noon, he would start prepping for his barbecue food truck’s 5 p.m. Friday opening. Trim the brisket. Make the rubs and sauces. Prep the vegetables. But there was an issue. “I got to UTA so fast,” Fadel said. “I’m running across campus, and I got there, 8:02. Luckily, the professor still let me take the exam.” At 18 years old, Fadel is a construction management freshman at UTA who also runs his business, Habibi Barbecue, on West Arkansas Lane. During the week, he enjoys college life: taking some classes online at Tarrant County College, playing basketball at the Maverick Activities Center and eating Panda Express in the University Center. Starting Wednesday, he begins prepping his barbecue rub for Friday and Saturday openings. On one Saturday, his brisket and ribs sold out within two hours. “Almost 200 pounds of meat — gone,” Fadel said. The food truck, which opened in September, is already on Texas Monthly’s radar. It’s a family affair. His parents, both UTA alumni, help with prep and service. His girlfriend works the counter. Born to Lebanese immigrants, Fadel creates a fusion of traditional Texas barbecue with his favorite flavors from his culture — garlic potatoes, hummus, house-made garlic aioli and tzatziki. As Fadel talked about his food truck, his face beamed with pride as he went through every piece of equipment. It’s that attention to detail that he brings to his barbecue. The bark on his roundly trimmed prime brisket. The pork belly cubes, hand-seasoned one by one. He dry-brines his meat a day in advance, then makes all his rubs and sauces by hand, including a signature bright red sauce made with Big Red. He then smokes the meat with seasoned post oak sourced from Paris, Texas. Fadel credited his drive to high school. As an Arlington Independent School District senior, he juggled culinary competitions, working 40 hours a week as a pitmaster at Tex-Ethiopian restaurant Smoke’N Ash BBQ and filming a TV documentary called “BBQ High” on Max — all while being a student in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. “I put my heart and my soul in this. I love it. Sweat, tears, blood,” he said. “A lot of blood — I cut myself a lot.” Fadel doesn’t talk much about the future for fear of jinxing himself. However, he has thought of a restaurant with a few booths and a nice wood finish in five years. He wants it to be in Pantego, Texas, or Dalworthington Gardens in Arlington. He has been playing “Restaurant Tycoon” on Roblox to prepare for that moment. For now, though, he’s enjoying UTA, which he loves despite it not being his first choice. He’s staying in school in case the barbecue business doesn’t work out as planned. He doesn’t mind being recognized on campus or while shopping for ingredients for his documentary appearance. And on Sundays, Fadel puts on his “body by brisket” shirt and enjoys sleeping in. @DangHLe news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu