University of Texas Arlington

UT Arlington part of downtown revival

D Magazine featured the ever-expanding downtown Arlington in a story. Efforts between the city and The University of Texas at Arlington are starting to pay dividends, D Magazine reported. If downtown Arlington succeeds, it will be due in part to the 33,000 college students next door, the article said. UT Arlington wants to offer its students something extracurricular in downtown Arlington. The College Park District, currently under construction, will be a 20-acre-plus public mixed-use entertainment, shopping and living area.

Nursing endowment established

The University of Texas at Arlington announced Tuesday the creation of a $1 million endowment to support a new chair of geriatric nursing research, the Fort Worth Star-Telegramreported. The endowment is possible through a commitment from the Moritz family of $500,000. That gift will be matched through UT Arlington's Maverick Match program, which uses natural gas royalties to boost donations. The Fort Worth Business Press and NBC DFW's website also carried the story. NBC 5 reported on endowment, too.

College Parks Center coming along

The University of Texas at Arlington's new $78 million College Park Center has a roof that points like a giant metal finger from downtown into the heart of college life -- an architectural message urging people to stop and look, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram said in a package about the new events center that opens Feb. 1. Spectators in the outermost sections won't feel left out, because their seats are designed to be close to the bowl, too. Hanging above center court will be a multisided, $1.2 million Daktronics video board that will urge them to cheer -- perhaps as clips of UTA Mavericks forward LaMarcus Reed dunking the ball fill the screens. Quite a change for a school and city that is used to watching the local university sports teams play on a stage in nearby Texas Hall. The Star-Telegram also published a photo gallery of the events center and a video. WBAP/820 AM aired a similar story.

Immunization deadline approaching

Incoming Texas college students are being reminded they must be immunized against bacterial meningitis so they can enroll at colleges or universities for the spring 2012 semester,The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Extra Credit blog reported.