The University of Texas El Paso\u00a0(UTEP)\u00a0inaugurated Texas Western\u00a0Hall\u00a0on\u00a0Jan.\u00a015.\u00a0The\u00a0UTEP community\u00a0celebrated the\u00a0opening of the\u00a0learning\u00a0complex\u00a0that\u00a0will now function as the new Liberal Arts\u00a0Building\u00a0along with\u00a0being the home for various other offices, such as housing student organizations. The building is\u00a0124,725\u00a0square feet, with 30 classrooms, a terrace, an auditorium, a\u00a0caf\u00e9\u00a0and\u00a0several\u00a0collaborative spaces.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The event\u00a0began\u00a0with\u00a0speeches from\u00a0UTEP President\u00a0Heather Wilson, Chancellor of The University of Texas System\u00a0Dr. John Zerwas, State\u00a0Senator C\u00e9sar\u00a0Blanco\u00a0and\u00a0Student Government Association President\u00a0Ryan Boatright.\u00a0The attendees\u00a0were\u00a0also\u00a0able to do\u00a0a\u00a0self-guided\u00a0tour of the building\u00a0to explore the\u00a0facilities and\u00a0enjoy refreshments at the Texas Western Cafe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe\u00a0team 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\u201d\u00a0President\u00a0Wilson\u00a0said. \u201cThe spaces and technologies are designed to be flexible and\u00a0maintainable so that they stand the test of time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Texas Western Hall is a\u00a0building rooted in\u00a0innovation. It also\u00a0is\u00a0a testament to UTEP\u2019s history and values that have stayed with the institution since its\u00a0foundation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe named this building as a nod to UTEP\u2019s former incarnation, Texas Western College.\u00a0The university had that name from 1949\u00a0to\u00a01966 during a period of transformational growth, which our modest college of\u00a0mines\u00a0became a comprehensive university with engineers, teachers, and liberal arts students under one banner,\u201d\u00a0President Wilson\u00a0said.\u00a0\u201cWe hope that Texas Western Hall embodies that same spirit of growth for all disciplines for the students and faculty who walk its corners.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The project, led by Sundt Construction and supervised by UTEP staff, brought together the efforts of more than a thousand individuals and required over\u00a0500,000 labor hours to complete.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a really great\u00a0opportunity for students to learn new aspects of it\u00a0[the building]\u00a0and its great construction as\u00a0well,\u201d Pineda said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The building was constructed with the goal\u00a0of having\u00a0a place that would provide\u00a0space\u00a0for\u00a0socializing.\u00a0Boatright\u00a0encourages other students to\u00a0match\u00a0the spirit of\u00a0camaraderie\u00a0that inspired the construction of\u00a0Texas Western\u00a0Hall.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI just encourage people to get involved, because once you get involved on\u00a0campus\u00a0it changes everything,\u201d Boatright said.\u00a0\u201cIt changes your perspective\u00a0on how important all these buildings are and\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0a lot of student space in this\u00a0building. It was really built for us to take full advantage of.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n