AUSTIN, TEXAS (AP) -- University of Texas System regents have endorsed developing new medical schools in Austin and South Texas.
The Austin school would be anchored at the flagship University of Texas campus, which is already conducting health care-related research.
Supporters of the South Texas medical school say it is needed to serve the rapidly growing Rio Grande valley area from Brownsville to Laredo.
Both schools would still be several years away from opening, but the regents' formal endorsement and commitment Thursday is a key step toward their development.
Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa, a surgeon from Laredo, said the new medical schools would bring valuable education, health care and research to the state.
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