Houston – Today, October 25, 2018, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved the University of Houston's request to create a College of Medicine. Representative Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) and Representative Armando Walle (D-Houston) released the following statement:

"We are pleased that the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has approved the creation of the University of Houston's College of Medicine. We worked together the past few sessions to include a rider in the state budget to help make the College of Medicine a reality.

One of our primary reasons we supported this endeavor is because the University of Houston College of Medicine will focus on educating primary care physicians. Texas is projected to need another 6,260 primary care physicians by 2030.

Even though Houston is home to the Texas Medical Center, significant health disparities persist in parts of the Greater Houston area. The University of Houston is the right institution to reduce those persistent disparities because the College of Medicine will be able to integrate with the University’s existing health and health-related professions, colleges, and programs to mitigate the primary care shortfall in medically underserved areas.

Additionally, the College of Medicine will lift the research capabilities of many of the existing research centers and activities already occurring at the University of Houston."