Dr. Richard Benson, President of the University of Texas at Dallas, gave an update to the City Council Monday on the “state of the university.”  

Highlights of the presentation included:   

  • UT Dallas is consistently among the nation’s fastest-growing public universities, increasing in enrollment by 60 percent from academic year 2013 to its current 31,650 students. The number of buildings on campus has doubled in the last 15 years from 80 to 160. 
  • The school has 227 Freshman National Merit Scholars in its current student body.  
  • 8,682 students, staff and faculty live in Richardson, with 8,100+ students living on or adjacent to campus. 
  • Federal research funding at UT Dallas was $131 million in FY 2022, an increase of 65 percent since FY 2017. 
  • A 23-year capital campaign launched in May to transform the arts on campus and foster transformational research is already 40 percent of the way toward achieving its $750 million goal. 

In addition, Benson noted the many current UT Dallas-City of Richardson partnerships, including University Emergency Medical Response, the campus utility plan and the recently opened Richardson IQ® HQ, a shared space for innovation and entrepreneurship located in the Richardson Innovation Quarter. 

Video: Oct. 3 presentation