AUSTIN - Today, at its February monthly meeting, the University of Texas System Board of Regents approved using $12.2 million in funding from the Permanent University Fund (PUF) for the construction of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) School of Medicine Team Based Learning Center at the Edinburg campus.

Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, author of the legislation that created the medical school, welcomes the expenditure by the UT System to build a new facility for the growing medical school:

“I am pleased that the UT System Board of Regents voted to approve $12.2 million in construction funds for the expansion of the Medical Education Building in Edinburg.

Confirming the allocation of these funds advances the goal of expanding access to educational opportunities and medical education which will increase access to health care for our Valley families and decrease our physician shortage. These construction projects continue to transform a dream into a reality to benefit all of South Texas," Senator Hinojosa stated.

The Team Based Learning Center will be an extension of the existing Medical Education Building and is necessary to accommodate current and expected growth in the School of Medicine. The Center will house faculty and administrative offices, small group study spaces for the growing medical student population, flexible and general purpose classrooms, conference rooms, and support spaces. Projected substantial completion of this building is November 2019.

Since the passage of Senator Hinojosa's historic legislation creating UTRGV and the School of Medicine, as well as allowing the use of PUF money, more than $50 million has been invested in South Texas for new construction.

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