Tyler, Texas

TYLER , TEXAS not only are the major regional hospital systems located in Tyler, but all the huge infrastructure around that. And we have 22,000 college students. The university sector has grown tremendously. So, while we have a city of 115,000, we actually have 250,000 people in here, every day. Our whole region trade area is about 650,000 people. For all the professional services we provide – healthcare, education, retail – people are drawn into our community. So, we are also building our infrastructure for all those other visitors.” Broussard: “It’s interesting watching the rapid growth of the medical and education pieces – how it benefits our community, and all the spinoff functions that have come from there. We’re seeing a lot of growth in the technology and innovation fields, even where the University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler) is designing courses that correspond to entrepreneurship. We’ve gone from a local college community to having 22,000 full-time students at four different institutions that make up our higher education here in Tyler. Because of that, we are having to understand that we are a college town and need to have options and opportunities for these students that we haven’t had in the past.” BVM: Are public/private partnerships part of the economic plan? Dr. Tidwell: “Here at UT Tyler, we believe that for a region to grow and thrive, education has to be at its core. Community colleges play such a large role in the fabric of the higher education life throughout the State of Texas and we’re really blessed to have a number of great community colleges here in the Tyler metro area. We take students from any of those institutions that want to go on for a four-year degree. In many cases, the programs they choose have included business, whether it’s a major or a minor. Our entrepreneurship program here is thriving and includes partnerships with local businesses, including valuable relationships with John Soules Foods, Trinity Mother Frances, UT Health East Texas, and Trane Corporation. We treat every organization that recruits here as a partner, because we want to make sure when we talk about student success, it’s not just in the classroom, it’s