BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Starting in 2029, students in the Rio Grande Valley will have a new place to train for careers in public health and pharmacy without leaving home.
The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents on Thursday approved construction of the $50 million Health Education and Research Building in McAllen. The board approved the project’s scope and budget and appropriated $45 million for construction, bringing the total appropriated to the full $50 million.
Construction will start in December and is scheduled to finish in November 2028, with students and faculty moving in by January 2029.
The three-story, 49,400-square-foot building will be the third major building at the Texas A&M University–McAllen Campus, formerly the Texas A&M University Higher Education Center at McAllen. The Texas A&M University Health Science Center will run it.
Board Chairman Robert Albritton said the building is about keeping talent in the Valley.
“Students in the Valley shouldn’t have to leave home to train for a career in health care,” Albritton said. “This building means more of them can study here, work here and take care of their own communities. That’s a good return on the state’s money.”
The building will house flexible classrooms, teaching labs, a clinical skills lab for pharmacy students, faculty offices, a campus library, a testing center, and space for students to study and work together, including a makerspace and an innovation studio. Faculty will also use it for community-based research on health and education challenges in the Rio Grande Valley.
The McAllen campus already offers a bachelor’s degree in public health and, since 2023, the Aggie Pharmacy Technician Program, which Texas A&M Health’s Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy started to help ease a statewide shortage of pharmacy technicians. The new building will also serve students taking general education courses.
Texas A&M University President Susan Ballabina said the building is part of the university’s long-term growth in the Valley.
“Texas A&M has been teaching in the Rio Grande Valley for more than 20 years, and we’re still building,” Ballabina said. “Students in McAllen earn the same Texas A&M degree and the same Aggie Ring as students in College Station, and they become part of the same Aggie Network. This building gives more of them a path into health care without ever leaving home.”
The project is paid for with $25 million in state appropriations and $25 million from the Available University Fund.
Chancellor Glenn Hegar said the payoff will show up in Valley clinics and pharmacies.
“When a student from Edinburg or Mission trains for a health care career in McAllen, there’s a good chance that student stays and works in the Valley,” Hegar said. “That’s how you build a health care workforce. You grow it at home, and you give students a first-rate place to learn.”
About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest and most impactful higher education systems in the country, with an annual budget of $9.1 billion. Its statewide network includes 12 universities, a comprehensive health science center, eight state agencies, Texas A&M-Fort Worth and the Texas A&M-RELLIS Campus. The A&M System also plays a direct role in U.S. national security as a member of the teams that manage and operate Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Pantex Plant for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. The A&M System serves approximately 184,000 students and reaches millions more through research, service and outreach programs each year. With nearly $1.6 billion in annual research expenditures, the A&M System fuels innovation, supports communities and drives Texas’ economy forward.
Source: tamus.edu
