At an Amarillo Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) meeting on Tuesday, the board approved another $69 million for a proposed Texas Tech Veterinary School.
That $69 million was divided between two stages — $30 million will go in stage 1 and $39 million in stage 2.
Officials at the meeting said construction for the school in Amarillo was expected to start in the fall of 2019 with classes beginning in 2021.
In February 2017, the Texas Tech University Board of Regents unanimously voted to halt its pursuit of funding until at least 2019, citing calls from the Legislature to tighten budgets.
But in July 2017, the Texas Legislature approved a $4.1 million grant to help Tech plan for the vet school in Senate Bill 1.
Chancellor Robert Duncan at the time said, “We will be working with our board for the next year and a half to wisely utilize those funds to make a case for a college of veterinary medicine with a different type of model than the traditional model.”
In March 2018, Texas A&M University System Regents announced plans for a $22.8 million building for veterinary education, research and workforce opportunities in the Panhandle. It was part of almost $90 million in new commitments to the state agriculture industry on the West Texas A&M University campus.
(Information from myhighplains.com)
