Today, the University of Texas System Board of Regents voted to allocate $60 million from the Permanent University Fund (PUF) to construct a new building at the University of Texas at Arlington. The building, which has been a top priority for the university for several years, will house the School of Social Work and the College of Nursing’s Health Innovation Smart Hospital.
“This is fantastic news for UT Arlington, and I commend the Board of Regents for making this important investment,” said state Representative Chris Turner, who represents part of Arlington and serves as Chairman of the House Committee on Higher Education. “UT Arlington is a world-class institution and the School of Social Work and College of Nursing are universally respected for their excellence. Students and faculty in both programs deserve to learn and teach in modern, state-of-the-art facilities.”
The existing School of Social Work is housed in a building that was constructed nearly 100 years ago as the original Arlington High School campus. The outdated facility has numerous structural and environmental issues and is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Turner authored legislation this year to provide funds for campus capital projects around the state, including this building for UT Arlington. Despite the measure passing the House with strong, bipartisan support, it did not pass the Senate. Turner subsequently requested that the UT System allocate PUF funding for the project.
“I congratulate President Vistasp Karbhari for his leadership on this project and thank Chairman Kevin Eltife, Chancellor James Milliken and the entire Board of Regents for this smart investment in UT Arlington,” Turner added.
