The Texas Tech University System Board of Governors approved several important items during its regular meeting in Lubbock last week, from changing the name of the flagship school's founding college to approving a multibillion-dollar master plan.
The board heard several items for approval from each of the system's five constituent universities, and all received unanimous approval from the board.
Texas Tech University receives approval to change name of one of its founding universities
Significant changes are coming to one of Texas Tech University's founding colleges. The Regents authorized Texas Tech University to change the name of the College of Human Sciences to the College of Health and Human Sciences.
Texas Tech University President Ron Hendrick said the university, which was founded in 1925 as the School of Home Economics, has always focused on aspects of human health such as nutrition, hygiene, home management, child care and family relationships. A vision statement has been set out as a guideline. “Improving and elevating the human condition.”
Dig deeper:Texas Tech University renames one of its founding universities and creates new faculty
The board also approved the creation of a College of Integrated Human Sciences within the university. The university says the new department will serve as a “typical organizational structure for integrating and standardizing department-level functions.”
TTU Health Sciences Center approved for $1 billion future plan
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center President Lori Rice Spearman spoke to the Board of Trustees about the university's master plan that shows how HSC will grow in terms of facilities over the next 20 years, potentially exceeding $1 billion. received approval from.
“This is the first time that the physical environment and facilities across our enterprise have been considered simultaneously in the context of a single university to deliver our core value of one team,” Rice said.・Mr. Spearman said. “This approach allows our HSC to maintain a comprehensive and continuous planning process, allowing us to make more informed decisions with adaptability as new opportunities, data, and resources emerge during implementation.” It makes the decision easier.”
The updated plan is based on the TTU/TTUHSC Lubbock Campus Master Plan approved by the Board of Directors in 2014.
The new plan also comes as the university recently opened its Dallas campus in early 2024, with the university's main campus in Lubbock and five regional campuses in Amarillo, Odessa, Midland, Abilene and Abilene. became six. Dallas.
“We have expanded our service area to now cover 121 counties with an estimated population of more than 10 million people, which is approximately 30% of the (Texas) population,” Rice Spearman said. Stated.
The plan includes new construction in some locations, but primarily renovates existing buildings, Rice Spearman said.
“We are poised to lead change in driving progress, innovation and access to care,” Rice-Spearman said. “By adopting this master plan, we have the opportunity to shape a brighter, healthier future for generations to come.”
Texas Tech Athletics names room after donor's $50 million-plus pledge to football facility
The Jones AT&T Stadium South End Zone Project and the Dustin Womble Football Training Facility Project have a total cost of approximately $242 million, which includes $103 million in gifts and pledges, according to previous AJ reporting. It is covered by His $50 million in donations and pledges caught the attention of the Board of Directors, who authorized TTU Athletics to name a room in the donor's honor.
TTU Athletics received 16 donations and pledges ranging from $125,000 to $10 million, raising nearly $40 million for the South End Zone project and creating 16 rooms named after donors. did. At the Womble Football Facility, his 13 donations totaling more than $10 million resulted in an equal number of rooms being named in the donor's name.
Related:TTU Athletics received a $50 million donation to build a new stadium.honorable donor
The board also heard an update on construction status from Red Raider Facilities Foundation Chairman Chris Huckabee, who said the south end zone will be ready for Texas Tech's first home game of the 2024 season on Aug. 31 against Abilene Christian. He said it is scheduled to be completed in time for the game against the university. Womble Football Center is expected to open in 20 to 30 days.
“This project was originally expected to take 30 to 36 months to complete, but is now scheduled to be completed in 21 months,” Huckabee said. “It's a success no matter how you look at it.”
National Ranching Heritage Center begins $28 million expansion
The Red Steagall Institute for Traditional and Western Arts is taking the first steps toward becoming a reality at the National Ranch Heritage Center in Lubbock. The board approved the institute's title in November 2023, but approved preliminary funding for planning and design services at its May 2024 meeting.
Billy Breedlove, TTUS vice chancellor for facilities planning and construction, estimates the total projected project budget will be $28 million and the planned space will be 270,000 square feet.
Jim Brett Campbell, executive director of the RHC, said the institute brings together aspiring artists and skilled professionals in areas such as painting, sculpture, photography, leather working, miniature spur making, poetry and songwriting. He said that he will act as a conduit for knowledge from other countries.
“To convey how we conduct and perform this kind of traditional Western art, so that people 50 years from now will know how we lived and how Western culture developed. “It's about being able to do that,” Campbell said.
The purpose is to teach others, but also to share the integrity, determination and spirit of West Texas with the nation, Campbell said.
Regent Clay Cash said the project will allow RHC to expand its national footprint.
“A lot of what we do at the National Ranch Heritage Center is somewhat West Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico-centric,” Cash said. “This (institute) really stretches from the East Coast to the West Coast.”
The new laboratory will occupy the site of Texas Tech Athletics' field event practice facility. However, TTU President Lawrence Schovanek said university and athletics leaders are already discussing where to move the facility.
