TTUHSC, TTU System Break Ground at Future School of Public Health in Abilene
The School of Public Health will occupy the third building on the TTUHSC campus in Abilene.
May 22, 2015 | Contact Doug Hensley
TTUHSC President Tedd L. Mitchell, M.D. speaks to the crowd at the university's campus
in Abilene. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) and Texas Tech University System officials broke ground Wednesday (May 20) on the site of the future School of Public Health in Abilene.
The school was made possible through private donations, the second largest in TTUHSC history. The school will occupy the third building on the Abilene campus, neighboring the School of Nursing, School of Pharmacy and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, all of which have expanded their programs to Abilene in recent years. The future School of Public Health will educate qualified experts in methods of managing data and providing health resources to communities in need.
“Through educational and research programs, the TTUHSC School of Public Health will address the growing needs of our region and state by providing professionals trained to study and preserve the health of communities,” said TTUHSC President Tedd L. Mitchell, M.D.
The future School of Public Health will be TTUHSC’s sixth school and the fourth school represented on TTUHSC’s Abilene campus. TTUHSC Abilene students have access to state-of-the-art laboratories and internship opportunities. Future incoming public health students will enjoy the amenities of the newly constructed school.
“Abilene has aided TTUHSC tremendously in expanding its programs,” Mitchell said. “We could not have done this without the support of the Abilene community and the hard work of its leaders. We are thrilled the school will be located in a town that has been so supportive.”
The future School of Public Health will help meet a major need in health care. As public health challenges grow in communities across the country, it is projected that the U.S. will need 700,000 public health experts by 2020. Many of these public health experts will be needed in West Texas.
TTU System and TTUHSC officials, as well as Abilene community members, take part in
the ceremonial groundbreaking.“The establishment of a School of Public Health is a historic milestone for Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and the Texas Tech University System,” said Chancellor Robert L. Duncan. “Congratulations to the entire TTUHSC leadership team for their work. All of us are very appreciative of the great partnership we enjoy with Abilene.”
The construction of the new facility will be managed by the Facilities Planning & Construction office at the Texas Tech University System, which is under the direction of Vice Chancellor Michael Molina.
Texas Tech University System Regent Tim Lancaster, president and CEO of Hendrick Health System, added that the school will likely encourage a transformation to better community health across West Texas, as more experts emerge from the school ready to help those in need.
“Today’s groundbreaking is another example of the great collaboration among Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, the Hendrick Health System and the Abilene community,” Lancaster said. “Together, we are advancing health care throughout the region and state with our future School of Public Health. I look forward to this exciting chapter for Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Abilene.”
About the Texas Tech University System
The Texas Tech University System is one of the top public university systems in the
nation, consisting of four component institutions —Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Angelo State University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso—and operating at 12 academic sites and centers. Headquartered in Lubbock, Texas,
the Texas Tech University System has an annual operating budget of $1.7 billion and
approximately 17,000 employees focused on advancing higher education, health care,
research and outreach around the globe.
In 2014, the Texas Tech University System endowment exceeded $1 billion, total research expenditures were approximately $215 million and total enrollment approached 47,000 students. Whether it’s contributing billions of dollars annually in economic impact or being the only system in Texas to house an academic institution, law school and medical school at the same location, the Texas Tech University System continues to prove that anything is possible.