TEXAS TECH CONTINUES ACADEMIC BUILDING BOOM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: September 21, 2004
CONTACT: Sally Logue Post, sally.post@ttu.edu

LUBBOCK – New athletic facilities may get the most attention, but the bulk of current and planned construction on the Texas Tech University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center campuses is geared toward academics.

“Thousands of people have the opportunity to see and use our athletic venues throughout the year,” said Mike Ellicott, vice chancellor for facilities planning and construction. “What they may not be as aware of is the multi-million dollar academic building boom that is sweeping the campus.”

Since 2000, $254.2 million in athletic, academic facilities, student-oriented construction and campus beautification projects have been completed on the Texas Tech University and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center campuses.

The amount of money dedicated to academic construction continues to grow, with $178.6 million in construction projects currently underway. For the Health Sciences Center, those projects include the renovation of an existing clinic building and the construction of a new basic sciences faculty building on the El Paso campus. On the Texas Tech campus, the project include a new residence hall, an experimental sciences building, the animal and food sciences building and the continued expansion and renovation of the Student Union Building.

“We have devoted a lot of resources to academic and student facilities on all of our campuses,” said David R. Smith, M.D., chancellor of the Texas Tech University System. “A lot of our construction is taking place or will take place in the heart of the campus, so it may not be as readily apparent. Texas Tech and the Health Sciences Center are both undergoing a lot of changes that we believe will enhance our basic education and patient care missions and will create a top-flight learning environment for all of our students.”

More than a dozen new projects totaling about $218.3 million are currently in the design or planning stages. For the Health Sciences Center, those projects include a clinical tower, a new home for the International Pain Center and the Combest Health and Wellness Center, all in Lubbock. In El Paso a medical education building is the second of three planned for a new four-year medical school in El Paso.

For Texas Tech, the design for several new facilities is underway including a new home for the College of Human Sciences’ Child Development Research Center and Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery. Also in design is a new student health and counseling center, a state-of-the art courtroom addition for the School of Law, a large expansion and renovation project for the College of Engineering, a new building for the Rawls College of Business Administration and the renovation of the current Rawls College building to turn it into a general purpose classroom building.

“Our emphasis is on our students and providing the very best facilities possible to make their academic experience the best it can be,” said Ellicott.

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