Tarleton Fort Worth to announce a new vision

A master plan for the 80-acre campus includes 10,000 students at a 4-year university.

Tarleton State University will announce today a new master plan to expand its Fort Worth campus into a four-year university.

Tarleton opened the first building on the campus along Chisolm Trail Parkway in 2019.The inaugural class of freshmen arrived in fall 2024.Around 2,800 students are there now.

Tarleton Fort Worth is looking toward the future, unveiling grand plans for the next 10 to 20 years to expand to a student body of 10,000.

“It will be developed out as a full-fledged university campus with amenities that you would see right here, meaning academic, library, you know, eateries across campus, housing," President James Hurley told NBC 5 in a virtual interview ahead of Thursday's announcement.

Hurley says it will take money and time to transform the 80-acre campus, but there is support to expand and educate the workforce of the future.

Posts on Tarleton Fort Worth's social media accounts call the announcement "Vision Fort Worth: A Milestone Event". The university invites the public to "connect with the Tarleton State community as we share our Fort Worth Master Plan, debut new campus renderings, and celebrate the Fall 2026 launch of Texas A&M–Fort Worth."

It also includes the news that in 2028, the new Tarleton State Parkway exit is expected to open off Chisholm Trail Parkway, improving access and visibility.

"It's somewhat of a journey to get there. You get off McPherson and it's a trek. And I just think the ease of students being able to come and if you really think about the growth of Southwest Tarrant, " Hurley told NBC 5. "A decade ago, there was nothing there. I mean, McPherson looked nothing like it does today, but also our campus. We were out there literally the first day we opened our class in 2019. We had cows that had strayed out of their ranch land and into our parking lots."

Vision Fort Worth: A Milestone Event will happen on Thursday, April 30th,4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Tarleton State Fort Worth.Seats are limited, so a livestream of the announcement will be available here.