University of Texas Arlington

UT Arlington becoming destination college

University leaders say UT Arlington is shedding its commuter school reputation and becoming a destination college. Academic programs, enrollment growth and amenities -- like the $78 million College Park Center, which will open Wednesday -- are all part of the recruiting package, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. The Star-Telegram package also featured a video and a photo gallery of the College Park Center.

College Park Center opening

Green at College Park garners certification

The Green at College Park was one of the first three Sustainable Sites Initiative certified by the nation's most comprehensive system for rating the sustainable design, construction and maintenance of built landscapes, Reuters,The Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch, the Bradenton (Fla.) Herald and several other media sites reported. Project leaders including David Hopman, UT Arlington landscape architecture associate professor, worked with Schrickel, Rollins and Associates Inc. to create an open lawn, pedestrian promenade, shade arbor and more on roughly three acres on the eastern edge of the campus in downtown Arlington. The site had served mostly as a parking lot, with poor stormwater drainage that flooded a nearby creek. Now the green space sits in the College Park District and next to the University's new events center. It features native and adapted plants in rain gardens and a water detention system that help slow down the flow of stormwater. That process cleanses the water of impurities and captures it for re-use on the green space's new vegetation.