EL PASO, Texas — The push for a law school at UTEP in El Paso, Texas, picked up another large pledge this week. The Woody and Gayle Hunt Family Foundation said Wednesday it will match gifts to the project dollar for dollar, up to $5 million.
Leaders made the announcement in El Paso, Texas, inside Texas Western Hall. If donors meet the full match, the challenge would bring in $10 million for the effort.
Several law firms are already in. Farah Law has signed on, as have Flores Mendez Law, the ScottHulse firm and KASTL LAW, which is based in Dallas. More matching money is still available, and the university plans to announce gifts made under the challenge over the next few weeks.
This is the third major commitment in about a year. The Paul L. Foster Family Foundation set up its own $5 million matching challenge in October 2025, and the El Paso firm Tawney, Acosta and Chaparro gave $5 million in April 2026. Together those gifts have the school halfway to its $20 million startup target.
UTEP President Heather Wilson called the pledge a big step toward the finish line. Foundation chairman Woody L. Hunt pointed to the legal needs of a border community and the value of training lawyers who will serve the region.
The next test is in Austin. State Rep. Joe Moody, an El Paso Democrat, plans to file a bill in the 2027 session, which starts in January, to pay for a building to house the school on campus. If that money comes through, Wilson said the first students would start in fall 2030. A state-funded feasibility study on the idea was finished in 2024.
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