With $750 million in new investments announced Tuesday, Michael and Susan Dell have become the University of Texas at Austin’s first $1 billion donors.
The latest investment will establish the UT Dell Campus for Advanced Research and the UT Dell Medical Center. Funds will also provide support for undergraduate student scholarships, student housing, and the university’s supercomputing research center.
“What starts here changes the world, and today, with the Dell Advanced Research Campus, we are beginning something that will matter for generations,” said Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, during an announcement ceremony on Tuesday.
The Dells said the goal of the new investment is to bring together medicine, science, and computing on a single campus designed for the artificial intelligence era.
“Texas already dominates in technology, energy, and business, and now we will further cement our leadership in health care innovation as well,” said Gov. Greg Abbott.
The UT Dell Campus for Advanced Research will occupy more than 300 acres in Northwest Austin and will house the 27-acre UT Dell Medical Center. Details about the size and scope of the new medical center aren’t final, but will include a hospital with around 300 to 500 beds. This will be different from Austin’s major trauma hospital, similarly named Dell Seton Medical Center located downtown.
Construction of UT Dell Medical Center is expected to begin later this year and will open in 2030 with a hospital tower, outpatient facilities, and full-service emergency departments. Phased expansion of advanced specialty programs, such as cardiovascular disease, multi-organ conditions, and other rare illnesses, will continue through 2032.
The UT MD Anderson cancer care services will also be fully integrated into UT Dell Medical Center, reducing the need for patients to travel to locations like Houston for clinical trials and other complex treatments.
“Last year, thousands of residents from Austin and the surrounding area traveled to Houston for our cancer care. That tells us two things: cancer patients and their families trust our care, and they deserve access to it closer to home,” said Peter Pisters, president of UT MD Anderson.
Since the new Dell Medical Center’s focus will be on specialized care, it will not replace Dell Seton Medical Center, which focuses on emergencies. Austin has been the largest U.S. city without a comprehensive academic medical center, according to university officials.
The academic medical center will also integrate AI directly into care delivery and operations from the start, in hopes of enabling earlier disease detection, more precise and personalized care, and better health outcomes.
“This is a very deliberate and intentional effort about how we look at the curriculum,” said Claudia Lucchinetti, dean of Dell Medical School. “We are looking at how to create those simulated environments of working side by side, as in a team that really consists of humans and robots working together to provide care.”
The Dells’ donations over the last 25 years include $10 million to build the Dell Computer Science Hall at the College of Natural Sciences, $50 million to establish the Dell Medical School, and $100 million to launch the UT for Me – Powered by Dell Scholars, a program for Pell grant-eligible students.
Disclosure: University of Texas at Austin has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
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