UTD celebrated the groundbreaking for its student success center and student union complex Aug. 12. Members of UTD administration, state and local government and the local community gathered in the Founders Atrium to celebrate UTD’s most ambitious construction project to date. 

In spring 2024, UTD demolished the Green Center, Calvin Jamison, vice president for Facilities and Economic Development, said that over 72,000 cubic yards of dirt and rock had been removed as of Aug. 12. This rapid demolition and excavation has cleared space to build what Jamison said will be “the single largest building constructed at UTD.” The student success center and new student union will be one large complex at 359,297 gross square feet. The complex will be four stories tall with a partial basement and loading zone. The most recent projections from the Office of Student Affairs, presented at the groundbreaking ceremony, estimate the total project cost will be $292.5 million.  

“When we were building [Andromeda Hall], the students affectionately called it ‘Big Daddy’ because of its size,” Jamison said. “Today we break ground on ‘Big Momma.’” 

Jamison said this new complex is just one of the various projects UTD has planned for the upcoming years. He said UTD has $800 million currently dedicated for new projects on campus as part of the university’s continued development goals.  

Jamison said that the expansion of UTD has been notably rapid, with over 85 ribbon cuttings and groundbreakings taking place in the last 14 years and approximately 35 of those taking place since 2016. Seventy percent of the UTD campus is new or has been renovated in the past 14 years, Jamison said. 

“What takes place on our campus of roughly 30,000 people has a great impact on the state and nation, and particularly on the booming economy of North Texas,” UTD President Richard Benson said at the groundbreaking ceremony.  

Benson said the original Student Union was dedicated in 1982. In the 42 years since, UTD has gone from  7,376 total students to over 30,000 total students. Benson said the major changes on campus in the past decade were fueled heavily by the 57% increase in enrollment since 2013, when the total student population was around 20,000. The new student union will help students grow by providing critical campus resources, new spaces and opportunities for them to learn and interact with each other, Benson said.  

“Generations of students will have the opportunity for robust and productive experiences which are sure to be the centerpiece for any number of collaborations,” UT System Regent Christina Melton Crain said. “Without a doubt, UTD continues to be an important part of the state’s higher education as the North Texas region continues to grow in the coming decades.” 

Current designs from the architects of the complex indicate there will be space for a total of nine new classrooms: two 20-seat, two 30-seat, two 80-seat and two 100-seat classrooms in addition to one 400-seat arena-style lecture hall. A total of 146 new offices will be added, with the student success center and new student union housing 106 and 40 offices respectively, and 25 conference rooms will be spread out between both buildings. In addition to a new dining space which exceeds the capacity of the current Student Union, the new student union will also have a 12,500 square foot ballroom capable of comfortably holding 800 people for large events.  

“Not only will the student success center provide a central gathering space for our students, it will also collocate many of our academic affairs units currently spread across seven buildings on campus,” Provost Inga Musselman said at the ceremony. 

The complex will contain a parliamentary debate space for Student Government and spaces for the Graduate Student Assembly, the Student Wellness Center, the Office of Student Volunteerism, the Student Union Activities and Advisory Board, the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College, the International Center and other student and academic offices and organizations.  

“Being able to see your campus grow is a privilege many of us don’t recognize until we have graduated,” Student Government President Devin Schwartz said. “I can’t wait to be the alum looking back on my time at UTD and being shocked by how much has changed on campus.” 

Renderings of ‘Big Momma’

Renderings by Perkins & Will. Slides courtesy of the Office of Student Affairs.