UT system, A&M look to Houston for expansion possibilities
Both Texas A&M University and the University of Texas are considering plans to create new facilities in Houston, according to public statements by A&M President Michael Young and UT Chancellor William McRaven.
In November, McRaven presented a plan to the UT Board of Regents which included a Houston expansion, though not a full new undergraduate school, as one of its eight main initiatives.
“This will not be a University of Texas at Houston,” a document outlining the plan said. “Rather, it will be an ‘intellectual hub’ for UT, an opportunity for all our campuses to take advantage of the Houston professionals in [various] fields.”
In accordance with the plan, UT has bought over 300 acres of land near Rice, south of the Texas Medical Center. The University of Houston has opposed the development, with its Board of Trustees making an official protest of the move.
“This effort will be decades in the making but will help drive our [UT] System to the very top tier in the nation, while at the same time allowing us to build partnerships with industry and the other great academic institutions in the area,” McRaven said.
Meanwhile, Young said A&M was also looking at expansion ideas, according to the Houston Chronicle.
“We’re in the midst of thinking through this strategic plan of how do we best serve the state,” Young said to the Chronicle’s editorial board, according to a Chronicle article.
More from The Rice Thresher
Rice lands high on Niche, Forbes college ranking lists
Rice recently ranked No. 10 on Niche’s Best Colleges in America list and No. 12 on Forbes’ annual America’s Top Colleges list in 2026. It was also recognized in several categories by the Princeton Review, placing in the top 10 in four categories.
From post-human novels to augmented reality, Rice hires new faculty
Rice welcomed 97 new professors this fall across disciplines, including a posthumanist Harvard scholar, a husband-wife duo and a computer science professor who graduated from Rice thrice.
First public of the year reckons with threats of a dry campus
After a Dis-O that saw four times as many calls for intoxication-related transports of students to the hospital compared to the prior three years, Cory Voskanian, a Martel College socials head tasked with planning the first public of the year, said that he was feeling the pressure.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.