Board of Regents authorizes UT Tyler to acquire land for new School of Medicine

The University of Texas System Board of Regents today authorized The University of Texas at Tyler to purchase land for its School of Medicine. UT Tyler intends to finalize the purchase of approximately five acres of land, located in the heart of the medical district in Tyler.

“Acquiring land for the medical education building is yet another important milestone toward the establishment of the medical school and to transform healthcare in Northeast Texas,” said Kevin P. Eltife, chairman of the UT System Board of Regents. “The enormity of the medical school for the people of East Texas requires that we remain diligent and focused as we act with all deliberate speed to open the medical school. The real estate acquisition is one of those major steps forward,” Eltife added.

Earlier this year, after a nationwide search process, Fitzpatrick Architects, a Tyler-based firm, was selected to plan and design a new facility for medical education.

“I am grateful to receive this authorization from the Board of Regents. We are eager to establish a new home to train our future physicians. The Board of Regents’ support every step of the way of the medical school concept has been extraordinary,” said Kirk A. Calhoun, MD, FACP, president of UT Tyler.

Pending the accreditation approval from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the medical school expects to welcome its inaugural class of 40 students in June 2023. Earlier this month, the R. W. Fair Foundation of Tyler announced a $4 million commitment to fund four-year scholarships for the entire inaugural medical school class.

The Board of Regents recently invested $95 million in new educational and clinical facilities at UT Tyler, and the Texas Legislature has committed more than $100 million in funding for health and science facilities at UT Tyler campuses. An $80 million gift from the East Texas Medical Center Foundation helped launch the acceleration of the medical school plans last year.

About The University of Texas System

For more than 130 years, The University of Texas System has been committed to improving the lives of Texans and people all over the world through education, research and health care. With 13 institutions, an enrollment of more than 243,000 students and an operating budget of $23.4 billion (FY 2022), the UT System is one of the largest public university systems in the United States. UT institutions produce more than 64,000 graduates annually and award more than one-third of the state’s undergraduate degrees and more than half of its medical degrees. Collectively, UT-owned and affiliated hospitals and clinics accounted for more than 8.6 million outpatient visits and almost 1.8 million hospital days in 2020. UT institutions also are among the most innovative in the world, collectively ranking No. 4 for most U.S. patents granted in 2020, and the UT System is No. 1 in Texas and No. 2 in the nation in federal research expenditures. The UT System also is one of the largest employers in Texas, with more than 21,000 faculty – including Nobel laureates and members of the National Academies – and more than 85,000 health care professionals, researchers and support staff.

About UT Tyler’s health mission

With a mission to improve educational and healthcare outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT Tyler offers more than 80 undergraduate and graduate programs to 10,000 students. UT Tyler recently merged with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler (now known as The Health Science Center at UT Tyler). Through its alignment with The Health Science Center at UT Tyler (HSC) and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston. For more information, visit uttyler.edu.