Feature Photo: UTA leaders and students at the groundbreaking ceremony. Image: UTA.
Posted: 4-6-2025
Fort Worth (Parker County) — The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) has broken ground on UTA West, its highly anticipated campus on the city’s western edge.
Situated on a 51-acre site within the Walsh Ranch development on the border of west Fort Worth and Parker County near Aledo, UTA West will feature cutting-edge academic and research facilities that will bring together students, faculty and industry leaders to drive innovation and workforce development.
By fostering collaboration in high-demand fields, the campus will be crucial in supplying a highly skilled homegrown workforce to support the region’s continued growth. UTA West’s strategic location near interstates 20 and 30 intersection positions it as a key educational and research hub for the expanding North Texas economy.
“We’re standing, literally, at the border of the second-fastest-growing major city in the country. This area is growing fast, and so is the need for access to a top-tier university,” said UTA President Jennifer Cowley, emphasizing the importance of this development. “We know the people of Fort Worth and Parker County want a national research university to provide workforce development and R&D support to area businesses—and to keep their great students close by.”
“That includes growing our UT institutions to meet the needs of a booming region,” Kevin P. Eltife added. “The regents and I are especially grateful to President Cowley and Fort Worth and Parker County leadership for setting UTA West in motion.”
UTA West is projected to welcome its inaugural class in fall 2028. The campus is designed to expand with regional population growth, which is expected to continue well into the next decade. From 2020 to 2024, Parker County’s population increased by 19.4 percent, making it the third-fastest-growing county in Texas, while Fort Worth remains one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation.
“UTA West will be an economic powerhouse to this region,” said John Hall, UTA vice president for administration and economic development. “The first year alone, the campus is projected to generate over $200 million in economic impact. The campus will serve as a hub for innovation, industry partnerships and workforce development, all key drivers of progress in Fort Worth and North Texas.”
Ryan Dickerson, CEO of Walsh Companies, said universities create ideas, leaders, opportunities and quality urban development.
As a Carnegie R1 institution, UTA ranks among the top 5 percent of research universities in the United States. The establishment of UTA West reflects its commitment to increasing access to high-quality education while driving economic development in the region.
To facilitate community engagement and provide information about the new campus, UTA will open an office later this spring in Willow Park. Prospective students and their families can visit this location to learn about admissions, advising, financial aid and other essential services.
“Our Arlington campus started 130 years ago in a small wood-frame building. The scene probably looked a little like this,” Dr. Cowley said. “But we grew alongside the region, becoming a national research university and an engine for growth—academically and economically. That’s our shared vision for UTA West.”
Cowley acknowledged the vital role of UTA’s civic partners in Fort Worth, Aledo, Weatherford, Willow Park, Arlington, and Tarrant and Parker counties in making UTA West a reality. She also recognized the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership, Aledo ISD, Weatherford College, Tarrant County College, and the Fort Worth, Parker County, and Weatherford chambers for their support in expanding educational opportunities in the region.
“The desire for a top-tier research university in this region is undeniable,” Cowley added.
The new UTA campus expands the University’s decades-long partnership with Fort Worth.
In 1986, the UTA Research Institute was established in east Fort Worth. Today, the facility conducts $16 million annually in research focused on advanced controls and sensors, airborne computing networks, automation and intelligent systems, bio-signal processing, biomedical technologies and predictive performance.
In 2007, the UTA Fort Worth Center opened in downtown Fort Worth. The center, focused on serving working professionals by connecting education with careers, offers high-quality academic programs that meet the needs of students and the 21st-century workforce.
In 2023, the UTA Institute of Urban Studies, the principal research center for the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs, opened at UTA’s Fort Worth Center. The Institute’s mandated mission is to conduct research and provide technical assistance to city and county governments, governmental agencies, and nonprofit organizations and to offer education and teaching opportunities to individuals either already in or contemplating public service careers.
Edited from news release.
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