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With planned development and a groundbreaking on 51 acres, 2025 will be the year that the vision for UTA West will start to become reality.
University of Texas at Arlington leaders have been pushing forward with plans for their new college campus, which ultimately will serve 12,000 students at the western edge of Fort Worth near Aledo.
Since the campus was first announced in August, UTA President Jennifer Cowley says officials have spent a lot of time listening and meeting with chamber leaders, neighborhood associations and economic development professionals.
“We sent a postcard in the mail saying, ‘Hey, tell us what you’d like to see.’ We’ve had more than 1,200 responses to that survey,” said Cowley in an interview with the Report. Cowley said the postcard was sent to all households within 10 miles of the planned campus, with an additional option to fill out an online survey.
“I see it as a regional educational needs assessment and then figuring out, where do we best fit in? How can we collaborate with key partners to make good things happen?” she said.
There are some ideas that they’re working on, such as courses for working professionals to advance their skills and summer camps for kids, that they plan to do before the projected opening of the first building in fall 2028. Those ideas, which also include a dental hygiene program, have been passed along to community college partners.
As they formulate what the campus will offer, university leaders are taking more concrete steps to kicking off construction of the structures.
The purchase of 51 acres for Parker County’s Walsh development has not been finalized. Cowley said a deal is “imminent.” The university is hiring a vice president for regional campuses, who will be charged with leading the development of UTA West.
The university’s search committee for the new vice president may offer a clue as to what its course offerings will be. There are faculty on the committee from industrial, manufacturing and systems engineering, nursing, anthropology, and adult education. The dean for the College of Business is also a participant.
“We’re working very closely with economic development agencies on what growth is forecasted and what kinds of industry segments are coming out into this part of our region,” said Cowley. “Where does it make sense to replicate but bring our own distinguishing mark to those programs that will ensure that we’re providing the talent that’s needed?”
Later this spring, they plan to host an official groundbreaking. They’re currently interviewing contractors to handle the design and development of the infrastructure and buildings. In the first few months of 2025, UTA plans to open an office in a shopping center near the future campus. At the office, officials can meet with area groups and leaders and have key staff work from there.
Tarrant County has been at the center of a higher education boom, as Tarleton State and Texas A&M take on major expansions to meet the demand for degree-seeking students. UTA West is following suit in nearby Parker County, where open pasture land has been transformed into housing and commercial businesses over the past decade.
“There are some fields where demand is so high that no one institution can produce enough graduates to meet all of the needs,” said Cowley.
Now, Cowley said, UTA will look to fill the economic development needs of the region in its own distinctive way.
Shomial Ahmad is a higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report, in partnership with Open Campus. Contact her at shomial.ahmad@fortworthreport.org.
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