Regents give green light to health science building project

Feb. 18, 2022 – DENTON – The Texas Woman’s University System Board of Regents today approved a plan to build a 175,000-square-foot health science center for the Denton campus to support growth in the colleges of health sciences and nursing and other collaborative efforts.

Specifically, the action authorizes the university to proceed with negotiations on design, construction and support contracts necessary to complete the building project. The board action follows legislative approval of $100 million to fund a university request in 2021 to build a facility to support programming, research and other efforts for the two colleges.

The facility, to be built just east of the Parliament Village residential community, will include clinics, labs, classrooms and collaborative work spaces and will support TWU’s Learn to Thrive: Strategic Plan 2022 and the Higher Education Coordinating Board’s 60x30 plan to increase the number of conferred degrees to Texans.

“Projects of this magnitude have the potential for extraordinary impact,” said TWU Chancellor Carine M. Feyten, Ph.D. “This center will play a key role in meeting the fast-growing demand for health care workers in Texas, create high-skill jobs for the region, and provide meaningful clinical care for the community.”

The health science center’s focus will be to educate students in the allied health care fields such as nursing, physical therapy and occupational therapy, and to provide clinical training to Texas Woman’s students on the Denton campus. There will be an emphasis on training students to serve in rural health care settings in particular, and, as part of that training, clinical health care services will be provided to the community.

“The new Health Science Center continues TWU's legacy of healthcare innovation, which will benefit students and Texans for decades to come,” said Christopher Ray, Ph.D., dean of the College of Health Sciences. “It allows us to substantially increase the number of students we educate and expand accessibility of high-quality health care to the citizens of Texas, especially those in rural areas.

Design on the project could begin later this year, with completion on the facility expected no sooner than 2025, university officials estimate.

The project was one of only four higher education building projects authorized by the Texas Legislature that were funded for $100 million or more by the Texas Legislature during a special session last year.

"I am proud to have been able to authorize this funding during the third called special session last year,” said state Representative Lynn Stucky. “This project will go a long way to building on the successes of TWU, and will allow the university to continue to be an education leader in high demand health care fields."