Mistakes in UTEP’s Campus Master Plan, Part 2
UTEP publicly admits that The University Historian told the El Paso County Commissioners the truth about its planned demolition of historic buildings on campus
UTEP all but apologized to The University Historian
On 31 October 2024, UTEP did something it rarely does.
It admitted to misrepresenting the facts about its 2024 Campus Master Plan.
On 28 October 2024, The University Historian had the pleasure of presenting a history of UTEP’s distinctive Paso del Norte campus to the El Paso County Commissioners Court and the need to preserve nine historic Bhutanese Revival buildings from the wrecking ball.
The University Historian pointed out to the commissioners that the university’s core campus, which covers sixty-four acres, consists of twenty Bhutanese revival buildings erected from 1917 to 1951. Together, they form the oldest extant university campus in Texas.
Immediately after The University Historian’s presentation, UTEP issued a media statement claiming his presentation was incorrect and that no Bhutanese Revival buildings would be demolished.
Media inquiries that followed forced them to backtrack.
UTEP admits error in demolition statement, clarifies campus plan
When reached for comment, UTEP said that the university had no planned demolitions as part of its plan to transform and modernize its campus and added that the presentation was misinterpreted.
However—despite those comments—on Thursday, UTEP admitted that at least two buildings, including Union West, will be torn down.
— KFOX-TV, 31 Oct. 2024
The University Historian commends UTEP for admitting it made a mistake.
Unfortunately, other mistakes by the university regarding the campus master plan still need to be addressed.
Sign the petition to save UTEP’s core historic campus
Read 16 Factual Errors in the 2024 Campus Master Plan
That same week, The University Historian received a copy of another version of the 2024 Campus Master Plan (CMP), dated June 2024, available two months before UTEP President Heather Wilson presented it to the University of Texas System Board of Regents in August 2024. But it was not released to the public. It’s still hidden on the university’s website, https://www.utep.edu/newsfeed/2024/october/24_06_UTEP_Master_Plan_web.pdf.zip
This CMP does not contain a master list of the buildings slated to be razed or demolished, as Pres. Wilson’s presentation to the regents included. Instead, it hides those details in maps and text.
The University Historian reminds readers that UTEP claims the slide presented to the regents was not a map of buildings to be demolished but merely a map of buildings in disrepair.
The slide, however, speaks for itself. According to the map’s legend, buildings designated for repair or renovation appear in yellow. The legend clearly states that the buildings in red represent “Raze/Demo.” The University Historian does not need a Ph.D. in rhetoric to understand what these words mean. And, as Lucas Roebuck, UTEP’s vice president for marketing and communications, admits, yes, two historic buildings will be demolished, including Percy McGhee’s 1949 Student Union Building.
If The University Historian takes the June 2024 Campus Master Plan at face value, a close read reveals that UTEP plans to demolish at least five historic sites over the next ten years.
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Which buildings are in danger?
The University Historian read both CMPs (June and August) to uncover which buildings are in danger of the wrecking ball. If we take the university’s word and accept the August CMP as a mistake, what does a close read of the 42-page June CMP reveal to us?
“Site M” (p. 25)
On page 25, there is a discussion of “Site M.” According to the text,
Site M, southwest of the Fox Fine Arts complex, the removal of Hudspeth, Miners, and Worrell Halls enables increased development density and open space amenities, while reducing overall campus deferred maintenance. [Emphasis added]
By “removal,” UTEP does not plan to relocate the buildings. It plans to demolish them.
The most troublesome of Site M demolition plans is the inclusion of Miners’ Hall. (The university long ago stopped spelling this building’s name correctly.) This former athletic dormitory was the first integrated dormitory at a public university in the segregated South. As such, it is a significant cultural and historical landmark.
“Site RES-II” (p. 25)
Page 25 includes “Site RES-II.” This area is designated as housing. It will be built on top of Kidd Field bleachers. (On stilts, perhaps?) In all likelihood, it means demolishing the structures designed and built by John Kidd, the school’s first professor of engineering and the second administrative dean and patron saint of its athletic program.
“Site SU” (p. 18)
Site SU requires the demolition of Percy McGhee’s 1949 Student Union Building. This structure is a mirror design of the original Administration-Library Building, which is now part of the Geological Sciences Building. Like many of McGhee’s buildings, this one tells a story of the uniting of the school’s dual mission, as reflected in its motto: scientia et humanita (Science and the Humanities). Its exterior carvings include pickaxes and shovels nestled in books.
Slated for demolition?
Confirmed near-term demolition plans:
Student Union Building (designed by Percy McGhee, 1949)
Kidd Field (John Kidd, 1933).
Long-term demolition plans, June Campus Master Plan:
Hudspeth Hall (Percy McGhee, 1948)
Miners’ Hall (Percy McGhee, 1951)
Worrell Hall (Trost & Trost, 1936)
Long-term demolition plans, August Campus Master Plan:
Benedict Hall (Trost and Trost, 1936)
Cotton Memorial (Percy McGhee, 1948)
Holliday Hall (Otto Thorman, 1933)
Vowell Hall (Henry Trost, 1921)
UTEP’s 2024 Campus Master Plan raises enough red flags to be troublesome for the Paso del Norte region. Despite claims of thorough assessments, the plan proposes demolishing several culturally and architecturally significant structures, including Miners’ Hall and the Student Union Building. With this plan, the university fails to recognize the intrinsic value of these sites, prioritizing development over heritage. The lack of public discourse surrounding these decisions further exacerbates the issue, highlighting a need for greater transparency and community involvement in preserving UTEP's historical legacy.
Sign the petition to save UTEP’s core historic campus
Sources
Some historic Bhutanese Revival UTEP buildings could soon be gone https://kvia.com/news/el-paso/2024/08/22/ut-system-board-of-regents-approves-new-utep-10-year-master-plan/
UTEP addresses claims about historic buildings, new master plan https://kvia.com/news/2024/10/29/utep-addresses-claims-about-historic-buildings-new-master-plan/
UTEP addresses claims about historic buildings, new master plan 6p
UTEP admits error in demolition statement, clarifies campus plan https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/utep-admits-error-in-demolition-statement-clarifies-campus-plan-university-of-texas-at-el-paso-president-heather-wilson-master-lucas-roebuck-county-commissioners-court