On Jan. 23, California assemblyman Joaquin Arambula, MD, (D-Fresno) proposed a bill that would create a medical school at California State University, Fresno, according to The Fresno Bee.
If approved, it would be the first medical school in the state that's not on a University of California campus.
Dr. Arambula, a former emergency room physician, said he believes establishing a medical school in Fresno would increase the number of physicians practicing in underserved communities in the central San Joaquin Valley. "I will be fighting to bring a medical school back to an area that has needs," he said, according to the report.
Dr. Arambula anticipates opposition to Assembly Bill 207, if any, to come from "those who currently are granted the ability to grant MDs or give MDs. They may feel a bit threatened by more universities being allowed to do that."
During his State of the University Address Jan. 24, Fresno State President Joseph Castro, PhD, did not comment on the proposed bill.