Medical student Lauren Hui is excited to study at the new Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University in the heart of Fort Worth’s Medical District.
“After a shift at Texas Health Resources, we can just walk down the street and come back here to study or we can hang out,” Hui said. “It’s just going to be nice to have a real home and not be driving to like five different places.”
A first-year student from California, she said hopes it will be the forever home of the medical school. She emceed the topping-out ceremony April 18 at the new school building at 1100 W. Rosedale St.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the new school in February 2022 marked the beginning. Now, the school is about 35% complete, said project manager Brooke Ruesch.
The topping-out ceremony represents the peak of building, said Todd Waldvogel, the associate vice chancellor for facilities and campus planning at TCU. Guests signed two steel beams during the first portion of the ceremony, then workers used a crane to place the beams in the building’s main staircase.
In total, Reusch said, about 300 subcontractors will end up working on the construction of the school, which is set to be completed June 3, 2024.
A steel beam is lifted by crane April 18 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Workers secure a steel beam to a crane April 18 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU’s topping-out ceremony. The steel beam was then placed in the building’s main staircase. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
A construction worker signs a steel beam April 18 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU topping out ceremony. The topping-out ceremony featured speeches by officials and construction workers placed a signed steel beam in the building’s main staircase. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Texas Christian University President Daniel Pullin talks about the institution as a school of “innovation.” Pullin said, “It’s a place where the status quo is challenged.” (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Texas A&M University Vice President for Professional Schools and Programs Robert B. Ahdieh visits on April 18 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU topping-out ceremony. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Todd Waldvogel, the associate vice chancellor for Facilities & Campus Planning at Texas Christian University, explains what a topping-out ceremony is April 18 at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)
TCU President Daniel Pullin said the school is a “true institution of innovation.”
“It’s a place where we challenge the status quo where we think differently, we envision and then have a big role in shaping the future,” Pullin said. “Certainly through our students and how they build careers in the context of life but also through our leadership across all of our academic colleges through research and creative activity.”
Burnett School of Medicine’s first class will graduate in May 2023. While Hui is not near graduation, she said administration and staff help “every step of the way in teaching us step-by-step how to become real physicians.”
Hui loves that she sees real patients in her first year, she said. “I had always been more like a helper as a medical assistant, but they actually have you stepping into the shoes like, ‘Wow, this is my patient.’”
The Burnett School of Medicine will feature a learning studio space where students can project diagrams, charts, graphs and other study materials on walls while prepping for their coursework.
That room can hold 120 people and be split in two if needed, Ruesch said.
Hui is looking forward to the building’s completion.
“Being at this location so close to all the hospitals and just this bustling Magnolia-Southside is really helping me connect to this community,” Hui said. “That’s something that I’ve never found outside of Texas. I’m hoping that I get to stay here for residency in the DFW Metroplex. Our healthcare system is booming, so I’m pumped to be part of that.”
Cristian ArguetaSoto is the community engagement journalist at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him by email or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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