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 Replacing outdated buildings often improves energy efficiency, according to Cowley’s presentation.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.
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