The University of Texas El Paso (UTEP) inaugurated Texas Western Hall on Jan. 15. The UTEP community celebrated the opening of the learning complex that will now function as the new Liberal Arts Building along with being the home for various other offices, such as housing student organizations. The building is 124,725 square feet, with 30 classrooms, a terrace, an auditorium, a café and several collaborative spaces. 

The event began with speeches from UTEP President Heather Wilson, Chancellor of The University of Texas System Dr. John Zerwas, State Senator César Blanco and Student Government Association President Ryan Boatright. The attendees were also able to do a self-guided tour of the building to explore the facilities and enjoy refreshments at the Texas Western Cafe. 

“The team designed this building to create what we need, not to replace what we had and did a lot of good work in planning, working out how teaching is changing” President Wilson said. “The spaces and technologies are designed to be flexible and maintainable so that they stand the test of time.” 

Texas Western Hall is a building rooted in innovation. It also is a testament to UTEP’s history and values that have stayed with the institution since its foundation.  

“We named this building as a nod to UTEP’s former incarnation, Texas Western College. The university had that name from 1949 to 1966 during a period of transformational growth, which our modest college of mines became a comprehensive university with engineers, teachers, and liberal arts students under one banner,” President Wilson said. “We hope that Texas Western Hall embodies that same spirit of growth for all disciplines for the students and faculty who walk its corners.”  

The project, led by Sundt Construction and supervised by UTEP staff, brought together the efforts of more than a thousand individuals and required over 500,000 labor hours to complete.  

Faculty and students attending the opening expressed their excitement, including Fernanda Pineda, a sophomore marketing major, who looks forward to taking classes in the modern classrooms. 

“I think it’s a really great opportunity for students to learn new aspects of it [the building] and its great construction as well,” Pineda said.  

The building was constructed with the goal of having a place that would provide space for socializing. Boatright encourages other students to match the spirit of camaraderie that inspired the construction of Texas Western Hall.  

“I just encourage people to get involved, because once you get involved on campus it changes everything,” Boatright said. “It changes your perspective on how important all these buildings are and there’s a lot of student space in this building. It was really built for us to take full advantage of.”  

Students will be able to enjoy the new facilities this spring semester, while the Liberal Arts Building is set to be demolished, though an exact timeline has not been confirmed.

Vivien Noe C, is a Staff Reporter, at The Prospector and can [email protected]