UT System Board of Regents makes unprecedented $95 million investment in Tyler institutions

November 14, 2019

The University of Texas System Board of Regents Thursday voted unanimously to allocate $95 million in Permanent University Fund (PUF) proceeds to UT Health Science Center at Tyler and UT Tyler to fund construction of two new facilities to accelerate high-quality health education and health care in East Texas.

Regents earmarked $60 million for a Graduate Medical Education & Resident Teaching Facility at UT Health Science Center at Tyler and $35 million for an Advanced Nursing & Health Sciences Complex at UT Tyler.

“It’s the largest single appropriation from the Permanent University Fund awarded to Tyler at one time,” Board Chairman Kevin P. Eltife said. “I am grateful to and proud of the entire Board of Regents for this critically important commitment to strengthening East Texas and by extension, all of Texas.”

The two projects were especially appealing to regents because of the significant impact they will have on Tyler’s ability to play a leadership role in healthcare education and workforce preparation in a community that historically has had a shortage of health care professionals and a high percentage of health disparities, compared to other regions in the state.

“This is an important, much-needed investment in East Texas as it continues its evolution into a hub for health care access and delivery,” said Eltife, Tyler’s former mayor and state senator. “We are proud to build on many exciting developments already taking place in the region, including UT Health Science Center at Tyler’s successful partnership with Ardent Health Services and the East Texas Medical Center, and we’re only getting started.”

“The graduate medical education facility is a key component to UT Health Science Center at Tyler’s strategic plan to improve health outcomes of the East Texas and educate the next generation of health professionals,” President Kirk Calhoun, M.D., said. “In the almost two decades I’ve been in Tyler, I have never witnessed as much promise for the future of East Texas as I see today. It’s palpable and exciting, and more importantly, it will help our community thrive in ways we have not previously experienced. I am profoundly grateful to Chairman Eltife and the Board of Regents for investing in our future. I am convinced they will experience an excellent return on investment.”

The nursing complex at UT Tyler will significantly enhance the quality and capacity for nursing education and will include teaching facilities, collaborative study space and a large simulation hospital focused on caring for patients with acute and chronic diseases, and was cited as a top building priority by UT Tyler President Michael Tidwell.

The funding for the facilities at UT Tyler and UT Health Science Center at Tyler will come from the Permanent University Fund, which is funded by oil and gas production on University Lands and supports capital projects at the institutions of the UT and Texas A&M systems, per the Texas Constitution.