Eyes on the Future
Planned $45M academic building to meet growing need for business, tech education, a&m-texarkana says
TEXARKANA, Texas — Texas A&M University-texarkana is embarking on another large-scale construction project.
On Thursday, the university announced it will break ground May 30 on a $45 million academic building to house the business, engineering and technology programs. Funding for the construction was provided by the Texas Legislature during the 87th Legislative session in 2021.
“The new three-story building will be just over 50,000 square feet in size and will be situated on the southwest side of the university campus. The new building will connect to the existing Science and Technology Building via walkways on the second and third floors,” the university said in a news release.
Construction is expected to start in June.
In February, the university revealed plans to construct the RRCU Athletics Complex. Groundbreaking is scheduled for this spring, with construction expected to be complete within 18 to 20 months.
The academic building will house the Center for Financial Literacy and Investment and a number of laboratories for mechanical engineering and design. It will include a 225-seat lecture hall/auditorium to support large lectures and other events.
The goal of the construction is to support what the university reports is a growing demand for degrees in business and technology-related fields.
“Local businesses are in dire need of engineers to support their current business needs but also to expand. A local business mentioned the need for a particular type of engineer, and we will be launching and industrial engineering program as a result,” Dr. Melinda Arnold, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, said to the Gazette.
Arnold said there also are plans to launch computer science programs that focus on machine learning and cybersecurity, as well as programs in banking and finance.
Along with ground-up construction, the project will update existing spaces in the current Science and Technology Building, most notably the laboratories used by the electrical engineering program.
“The new Business, Engineering and Technology building will bring numerous opportunities for interdisciplinary study and research; creating synergies and allowing us to leverage these high-impact, in-demand fields in innovative ways to support state-ofthe art learning and to provide workforce-ready employees to businesses in East Texas and beyond,” Arnold said in the news release.
University President Dr. Ross Alexander said the academic building project is possible through funding secured in the state Legislature by Rep. Gary Vandeaver and Sen. Bryan Hughes.