Baylor celebrates Topping Out of Lillie and Roy Cullen Tower
Baylor College of Medicine marked a significant milestone on April 16, by celebrating the topping out of the Lillie and Roy Cullen Tower, the newest addition to its expanding campus. This 503,000-square-foot facility will house Baylor’s School of Medicine and School of Health Professions.
“This is an exciting moment for Baylor as we celebrate the progress of the Lillie and Roy Cullen Tower,” said Dr. Paul Klotman, president, CEO, and executive dean of Baylor College of Medicine. “This facility will not only enhance our ability to educate and train the next generation of healthcare professionals but also will serve as a hub for innovation, collaboration and discovery.”
During the event, Dr. Klotman announced that with the help of many generous supporters, Baylor reached its fundraising goal of $150 million to build the tower and also shared that as a result, the institution is expanding its fundraising goal to $200 million. This stretch goal will further support all that The Cullen Tower will allow its students, faculty, researchers and staff to achieve for years to come.
Greg Brenneman, chair of Baylor’s Board of Trustees, emphasized the significance of this milestone in Baylor’s history and his gratitude for philanthropic support of Cullen Tower.
“We are incredibly grateful for our many generous donors,” Brenneman said. “Because of our supporters, Cullen Tower will bring together the brightest minds in medicine and research and will also inspire a prosperous and thriving future for Houston and beyond.”
The tower is the first phase of the Michael E. DeBakey Health Sciences Park, an ambitious 800,000-square-foot project designed to integrate medical education and research in a collaborative setting. It is also adjacent to the Texas Medical Center’s Helix Park—an innovative 37-acre development supporting the intersection of healthcare, life sciences and business.
“The Cullen Tower is designed with collaboration at its core,” said Robert Pulito, president emeritus and principal at The S/L/A/M/ Collaborative, the architecture firm behind the building’s design. “It reimagines not just the space, but the very structure of medical education—bringing together curriculum, pedagogy, services and technology in a first-of-its-kind environment. By intentionally blurring the boundaries between education, research and clinical care, we’ve created a place where students, faculty and patients converge in a shared mission of discovery, care and continuous learning.”
Construction on the Lillie and Roy Cullen Tower began in 2023 after support from The Cullen Foundation, The Cullen Trust for Health Care and The Cullen Trust for Higher Education. The Cullen family’s longstanding support of Baylor continues their legacy of strengthening education, research and patient care. An additional transformative gift in support of The Cullen Tower came from The DeBakey Medical Foundation.
As construction progresses, Baylor looks forward to the grand opening in 2026, ushering in a new era for Baylor and generations of future medical and health professional students.
For more information on The Cullen Tower or to find ways to support, visit give.bcm.edu/Cullen-tower.
