Feature Photo: UNT Dallas President Warren von Eschenbach and UNT System Chancellor Michael Williams Were Among Leaders and Dignitaries Shoveling Dirt at the LETC Groundbreaking Ceremony. Image: UNT Dallas.
Posted: 9-13-2026
Dallas (Dallas County) — UNT Dallas faculty will teach Dallas police academy recruits, and the city’s officers will earn credit hours toward a degree in a new Criminal Justice Center – all part of the cutting-edge Law Enforcement Training Center (LETC), for which ground was broken earlier this month.
The multi-building development will sit on 20 acres of the UNT Dallas campus. It includes classrooms, indoor and outdoor physical training areas, computer labs, an event and community space, and other teaching spaces.
“For too long, police training and higher education have run on separate tracks — one preparing officers for the job, the other preparing them for a degree,” said UNT Dallas President Warren von Eschenbach, PhD. “This facility brings those tracks together. It’s a unique and innovative model that we believe the rest of the country will be watching, and one we hope others will follow.”
The LECT will be the premier law enforcement education and instruction facility in the U.S. and the only one built upon such a novel partnership between the city and a public university. It will provide basic and advanced training in a one-of-a-kind setting, with a successful criminal justice and sociology department already in place.
Much of the funding for the $200+ million center comes from a May 2024 bond approved by voters, as well as the State of Texas and generous gifts from private donors and the Communities Foundation of Texas. The remaining amount needed to close the gap is expected to come from an ongoing outreach and fundraising campaign and a second bond election in November.
The department needs to hire hundreds of new officers and a new police academy of this stature is long overdue. It will replace an aging, rented warehouse where training has been conducted since 1990.
“They (new officers) will carry what they’ve learned into the neighborhoods of the City of Dallas,” said Sen. West.
UNT Dallas faculty and staff will help evaluate DPD programs, advise on policy, and conduct research into the effectiveness of various initiatives.
“The backbone of public safety is the men and women who wear the uniform,” said Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson. “They deserve world-class training, tools, and resources. Dallas will set a new standard for police training.”
The LETC’s design has evolved over the past several years through input from the city and police leaders, the university, the community, and architects specializing in such facilities. The primary design firm is HKS; others will be involved in construction and project management, including Swinerton, which is serving as the general contractor.
Edited from news release.
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