The College marked a milestone for its new education building, the Lillie and Roy Cullen Tower, with a preview of the first floor and dedication of the Paul Klotman M.D. Auditorium. The event was held June 11, bringing together the Baylor community, including former longtime Baylor president Dr. Klotman with new president, CEO and executive dean Dr. Jakub Tolar, along with Board of Trustees Chair Greg Brenneman and Murry Bowden, who leads the Board’s Buildings and Interiors Committee.

The building, located on the McNair Campus, was designed with modern learning and discovery in mind, featuring advanced teaching spaces, collaborative environments and specialized areas for programs such as the Center for Space Medicine, which will be the first to occupy the new facility. Students from the School of Medicine and School of Health Professions will start attending classes and labs there in January.

Dr. Tolar underscored the importance of maintaining Baylor’s global impact and building on its 125-year legacy. “As medicine enters a new era shaped by artificial intelligence and rapid discovery, it is not just what we teach, but how we teach,” he said. “We must prepare students to think critically, embrace uncertainty and lead through scientific inquiry.”

In brief remarks, Tolar, Brenneman and Murray all acknowledged Dr. Klotman’s important leadership in the development of not just the Lillie and Roy Cullen Tower but also new clinical towers, research facilities and expanded patient care capacity on and adjacent to the McNair Campus.

Klotman highlighted the transformation of Baylor’s physical campus, noting that the institution once had some of the oldest facilities among top medical schools. At the Lillie and Roy Cullen Tower, the Paul Klotman M.D. Auditorium will serve as a central learning and gathering space for students and education leaders.

“Today, we stand at the center of the next chapter of the Texas Medical Center,” he said. “But buildings don’t define an institution – people do,” Klotman said.

He expressed pride in the progress made and gratitude for the community that made it possible. Although stepping down from his leadership role, he plans to remain actively engaged with the institution.

As part of the ceremony, leaders presented Dr. Klotman with a commemorative brick from Baylor’s original Houston home, a former Sears & Roebuck building where the institution launched its first classes in 1943.

By Dana Benson, director of communications in the Office of Communications and Community Outreach