麻豆天狼副利院 Celebrates New Research & Educational Opportunities at 3 Rivers Ranch
*TTU System leadership and staff and members of the 3 Rivers Foundation for the Arts and Sciences gather at the 3 Rivers Ranch Community Luncheon. From left: Patrick Kramer, Ginger Kerrick Davis, Tedd L. Mitchell, Clay Cash, Don Malone, Ken Fergeson, Bob England, Cady Alvarado, JL Alvarado and Jerry Gardner
October 3, 2024 | Contact: Urvi Dalal
CROWELL, Texas 鈥� It鈥檚 official: 3 Rivers Ranch (3RR) is now part of the 麻豆天狼副利院 (TTU System).
Nearly 150 members of the surrounding communities and the TTU System family gathered for a Community Luncheon on Thursday, Oct. 3, to celebrate the beginning of a new partnership and new opportunities at the ranch in Foard County. The 6,000-acre ranch was gifted to the System by Dr. Fred Koch and the 3 Rivers Foundation for the Arts and Sciences (3RF).
鈥淭he 3 Rivers Foundation could have given this property to anybody or sold it and taken the money, but what distinguished the 麻豆天狼副利院 from every other reasonable alternative was their dedication to serving this region,鈥� said Don Malone, attorney for 3RF.
During the event, leaders from the TTU System thanked Koch and 3RF for their generosity and service to Foard County residents and the surrounding areas. The TTU System also reiterated its commitment to keeping the 3RR open to the community, including continuing public star parties at the ranch.
鈥淲e have to take care of the people in rural Texas who take care all of the people of this region, state, and, to a large extent, the people of this nation and even beyond our borders,鈥� said Tedd L. Mitchell, M.D., chancellor of the TTU System. 鈥淎 piece of property like this is indeed a wonderful community asset for everybody, and we fully intend to ensure that, moving forward, we continue this tradition and do more for the communities we serve in this area.鈥�
Hosted by the at (TTU) and the at (ASU), star parties provide opportunities for telescope viewing led by staff who will assist the public in understanding astronomy. Star parties will also have public-level science discussions from TTU and ASU astronomers about modern research in astronomy.
TTU System leadership also expressed excitement about future projects led by researchers from each of the System鈥檚 five universities and shared how those activities will ultimately lead to advances in areas such as agriculture, STEM, astronomy, medicine, and more.
Among those looking excitedly to the future is TTU System Board of Regents Vice Chairwoman Ginger Kerrick Davis, a TTU alumna who once ran the university鈥檚 observatory before becoming the first female Hispanic flight director at NASA.
鈥淲hen this partnership opportunity between the TTU System and 3 Rivers Ranch was first brought up, there was a scream of excitement,鈥� Kerrick Davis said. 鈥淚 just can鈥檛 wait to see what鈥檚 going to happen here.鈥�
About 3 Rivers Ranch
The 3 Rivers Ranch is a 6,000-acre property located 10 miles west of Crowell, Texas, that sits in the 鈥淏ig Empty,鈥� an area that stretches from outside the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex to Amarillo and presents significant research, educational and community engagement opportunities for the TTU System and its five component universities.
The historic gift, made by Fred Koch, M.D. (pronounced 鈥淜AH鈥�), is the first of its kind and the largest real estate donation to the TTU System. A Quanah, Texas, native, Koch is a 1975 graduate of Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
The 3 Rivers property 鈥� named after the region鈥檚 rivers, the Pease, Red and Wichita 鈥� enjoys vast biodiversity and a healthy ecosystem common in short-grass prairies. Facilities on the property include state-of-the-art telescopes, observatories, living classrooms and laboratories, a pavilion, and lodging for students, faculty and the surrounding communities. This property also includes extensive undeveloped land, allowing for greater research and learning opportunities spanning agriculture and environmental sciences, arts and humanities and health and medicine.
From astronomy and agriculture to community outreach, 3RR offers tremendous collaborative opportunities for each of the TTU System鈥檚 five universities. It also further cements the TTU System鈥檚 established footprint in rural Texas as they discover new ways to serve and collaborate in the region and beyond through lifelong learning and innovations in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), art, health sciences and more.
About the 麻豆天狼副利院
Established in 1996, the 麻豆天狼副利院 is one of the top public university
systems in the nation, consisting of five universities 鈥� , , , and .
Headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, the TTU System is a more than $3 billion enterprise focused on advancing higher education, health care, research and outreach with approximately 21,000 employees and 63,000 students, more than 400,000 alumni, a statewide economic impact of $16.4 billion and an endowment valued at $1.7 billion. In its short history, the TTU System has grown tremendously and is nationally acclaimed, operating at 22 academic locations in 18 cities (16 in Texas, two international).
In addition, the TTU System is one of only nine in the nation to offer programs for undergraduate, medical, law, nursing, pharmacy, dental and veterinary education, among other academic areas.