Texas A&M University announced an expansion into Dallas on March 31.
Texas A&M University-Commerce will make an expansion into downtown Dallas, John Sharp, Chancellor of The Texas A&M University System announced. The university will be taking over the top two floors of 8750 North Central Expressway, where it will set up headquarters for its education and business colleges.
“This new Dallas site opens exciting opportunities for A&M-Commerce and its students,” said Elaine Mendoza, chairman of the A&M System Board of Regents. “This instructional site will offer in-demand academic programs taught by incredible faculty at a prime metropolitan location.”
“We’ve had our eye on Dallas for some time now, and this location, right across from NorthPark Mall — where more than 322,000 people pass by every day — gives us a very visible presence to let everyone know we’ve arrived,” said Sharp. “We’re excited to bring more accessible, affordable, high-quality educational opportunities to Dallas.”
The A&M-Commerce College of Business and College of Education and Human Services will eventually offer several of their academic programs at the new site. Both colleges’ deans will have their offices at the new location.
The university also plans to offer bachelor’s degrees in sustainable agriculture and food systems, agribusiness, and agricultural sciences at the Dallas site. Both a bachelor’s and master’s in fine arts in visual communications will also be available.
Classes will begin November 1, 2021 at the new location, according to A&M-Commerce President Mark Rudin,.
Business is also part of the plan for the new location. Rudin said the new Dallas site will work with corporate partners in program and workforce development.
The site’s proximity to Dallas College campuses and several independent school districts will also encourage working relationships with the university’s educational partners, Rudin said.
The new Dallas location will offer enrollment management, financial aid, career services, student success teams, academic advising and technical support. It will boast tech-enabled shared spaces, an on-site fitness center, food services and ample parking. The site is also on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit light-rail line.
“This central location will bring us to the forefront of higher education in the Dallas area,” Rudin said. “It will enable A&M-Commerce to fully and effectively serve the educational needs of both rural and urban students across North Texas.”
Entos Design of Dallas will direct interior design work on the new campus. A&M-Commerce alumni Chip Harper, chief, founder and chairman and Jordan Harper, CEO of Harrison, Walker & Harper (HWH) of Paris, were instrumental in locating the site, and Lawrence Gardner, President of OMS Strategic Advisors represented the lease negotiations on behalf of The Texas A&M University System, Rudin said.
With the expansion into the new Dallas site, A&M-Commerce — which already operates extended locations in Frisco, McKinney and Mesquite — will substantially increase its footprint in the Metroplex.
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Also on Wednesday, March 31, the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents confirmed M. Katherine Banks as the 26th President of Texas A&M University.
Banks, currently Vice Chancellor of Engineering and National Laboratories and Dean of the Texas A&M College of Engineering, assumes her duties June 1.
Banks also will carry the title Vice Chancellor of National Laboratories and National Security Strategic Initiatives because of her continued involvement with Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Bush Combat Development Complex at the RELLIS Campus.
Banks, who has led Engineering for the past decade, was selected after a national search led by Elaine Mendoza and Tim Leach, Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board of Regents, and a 15-member search committee.