TAMU And Blinn College Offer Education Advantage
Published Jan 24, 2008
The Texas A&M campus in Bryan-College Station is growing and expanding, with 30 projects under way through 2008.
The Research Valley has a Texas-sized passion for education. Proof resides inside the busy class rooms and labs of numerous public and private institutions – including the renowned Texas A&M University and Blinn College.
Dr. Michael D. McKinney, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System, focuses on “what goes on inside of buildings.” With $700 million in new and future construction in College Station and Bryan, he has abundant space to keep him concentrating hard into the next decade.
“These buildings entice additional, top-notch faculty to come here; that translates into the highest level of teaching, learning and research,” McKinney says.
Meanwhile, the 46,000 students at Texas A&M are beneficiaries of 30 projects in various stages. For example, the $63 million Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy and the Mitchell Physics Building are under construction on the north side of campus. The joined buildings will provide 176,000 square feet.
Expected to be completed in fall 2008, the $95 million Interdisciplinary Life Sciences building will contain more than 200,000 square feet of modern, “green” classrooms, labs and offices. Both the Life Sciences building and the upcoming $100 million, 230,000-square-foot Emerging Technologies & Economic Development Interdisciplinary building are designed around the idea of collaboration among various colleges and departments.
Among the most significant projects will be the Texas A&M Health Science Center in west Bryan. The $130 million project will include one building for medical research and a second for educational purposes and administration. The 200-acre site is in the planning stages “and will offer fantastic opportunities for discovery of medical treatments and cures,” says McKinney, who is also a medical doctor.
On the cutting edge of genetic research will be the 105,000-square-foot Texas Institute for Genomic Medicine (TIGM) at College Station. Total cost of the project, which is in the design phase: $40 million. This public/private partnership “will result in the discovery of treatments, cures and prevention of genetic diseases in humans and animals,” McKinney says. “This is an outstanding tie-in with our veterinary medicine program.”
Blinn College
Blinn College’s strong relationship with Texas A&M is among its greatest strengths, Blinn President Don Voelter says. Through the TEAM program, many of the community college students are co-enrolled at both institutions. Voelter is particularly proud “because it demonstrates the confidence Texas A&M has in the quality of what we do. It’s a win-win situation for both colleges and for students.”
Enrollment is now 14,000 at Blinn’s two Research Valley campuses in Brenham and Bryan. Smaller campuses are in Schulenburg and Sealy.
The institution had the highest percentage of academic students who transfer to leading Texas four-year universities, with the majority transferring to Texas A&M. More impressive, Blinn has the state’s highest percentage of students who go on to earn their bachelor’s degrees from top Texas universities.
“Convenience is a big advantage of two-year colleges,” Voelter says. “In our case, we are not only convenient for students from local high schools, but also for Texas A&M students who want to take classes at Blinn.”
Story by Louise Gacioch
Photo by Texas A&M
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