Regents Step In To Help Fund New UT Engineering Center

By Rose Cahalan in 40 Acres on August 25, 2011 at 6:03 pm | No Comments

UT’s Cockrell School of Engineering is slated to have a new home by 2015.

Today the UT Board of Regents approved $105 million in funding for the Engineering Education and Research Center, up from $30 million it approved last April.

The 420,000 square-foot project, estimated to come with a $290 million total price tag, will replace the decrepit Engineering Sciences Building and connect with the existing Ernest Cockrell Jr. Hall. UT’s engineering programs rank among the top in the nation in spite of inadequate facilities.

During this last state legislative session, UT sought but did not win a tuition revenue bond that would have financed 1/3 of the project with state money, with the remaining 2/3 coming from the University. That plan has since been discarded, and the Cockrell School is looking for alternative ways to fund the new building.

It is estimated that by 2016, the EERC will generate significant economic impact for Texas with $19.1 million in additional state tax revenue and more than 4,000 new jobs.

The new building will be LEED-certified and aims to provide additional space for teaching, student research, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

The expansion is projected to double research expenditures from the Electrical & Computer Engineering department, according to the Cockrell School.