3 Rivers Ranch
The Texas Tech University System received a significant, first-of-its-kind property gift from Dr. Fred Koch (pronounced “KAH”) – a Quanah, Texas, native and 1975 graduate of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center – and the 3 Rivers Foundation for the Arts and Sciences in February 2024.
It is the largest real estate donation to the TTU System.
The 6,000-acre property, located near Crowell, Texas, includes the Astronomy Campus at 3 Rivers Ranch and facilities such as state-of-the-art telescopes, observatories, living classrooms and laboratories, a pavilion, and lodging for students, faculty, and the surrounding communities. This property also includes extensive undeveloped land, allowing for greater research and learning opportunities spanning agriculture and environmental sciences, arts and humanities and health and medicine.
The property sits in the “Big Empty,” an area that stretches outside the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex to Amarillo. It presents significant research, educational and community engagement opportunities for the TTU System and its five component universities.