The University of Texas System Board of Regents on Thursday approved spending $8 million on the UT Austin campus to beef up security, adding more police officers and new security technology in the areas students live, congregate and walk.

The funding was among several big-ticket items approved by the regents this week, including a $60 million basketball and rowing practice facility in Austin and a medical school in Tyler.

The funding request for security from President Gregory L. Fenves comes almost a month after two UT students were injured in a stabbing spree in downtown Austin. At that time, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called on Fenves and UT System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin P. Eltife to take action.

"We are taking these actions because there has been an uptick in violent crime in Austin during recent months," Fenves said in a statement. "Thousands of UT students live and congregate in West Campus, and many students and employees travel through the area to get to class and work. I am grateful for Chairman Kevin Eltife and the Board of Regents’ support for enhancing UT’s safety and security in this neighborhood next to our campus."

According to data from the Austin Police Department, criminal incidents on and near UT campus were higher last year than the year before. Between Feb. 27, 2018, and Feb. 27, 2019, there were 1,350 incidents reported in the area. The numbers increased by 12% in the last year to 1,517.

The funding approved by the regents on Thursday will be used over a period of four years and will include the hiring of 11 additional UT police officers, two additional police sergeants as well as investments in cameras and other technology solutions, vehicles and equipment. Last month UT Police Chief David Carter said he was working with Fenves on a plan to improve safety in West Campus that could include more officers and a security camera network similar to the city’s High Activity Location Observation, or HALO, program.

"These are some of the most important priorities we face," Regent Jodie Lee Jiles said at the board meeting. "It is important that each UT institution continue to identify safety and security enhancements and we as a board support those efforts to the extent possible."

In additional to security for UT’s Austin campus, regents Thursday voted to to move forward with plans for a medical school at the UT Health Science Center in Tyler.

"This is truly transformative for northeast Texas," Eltife said. "And it’s not just that we want a medical school, it’s the largest underserved population in the state in need of medical services."

The UT System announced its intentions to build a medical school in Tyler earlier this month. The city is already home to UT Tyler and the UT Health Science Center at Tyler, which are currently in the process of merging into one institution.

The board also voted to accept an $80 million donation from the East Texas Medical Center Foundation, a nonprofit health organization. The gift represents the largest single contribution ever given to establish a medical school in the state.

"The fact that we are here today with a successful health system, growing academic programs and requesting your approval of an $80 million gift in support of a potential medical school is evidence of the wisdom of the board and the importance of east Texas to UT," said Dr. Kirk A. Calhoun, president of the UT Health Science Center at Tyler. "We have much work left to do, but I believe it is worthwhile work and we must do that work for the good of Texas, for the good of our learners and the people of East Texas."

The board’s approval means the UT System and the Health Science Center at Tyler are authorized to work with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Legislature to bring the school to fruition. UT leaders hope to open the school in fall 2023.

The Board of Regents also gave the green light to UT leaders in Austin to move forward with a $60 million basketball and rowing practice facility, which will be built adjacent to the proposed Moody Center. UT also received approval for renovations to the George I. Sanchez building, which houses the College of Education, and the Blanton Museum of Art buildings.

The board also gave the go-ahead to the system’s director of real estate to move forward in seeking an agreement with the City of Austin over the Lions Municipal Golf Course and the Brackenridge Development Agreement. The board expects to hear an update in May.