President’s listening tour focuses on the future of public health

President Melina Kibbe, MD, continued her university-wide listening tour with a stop at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health Dec. 5.

Kibbe, Alkek-Williams Distinguished Chair, and School of Public Health Dean Eric Boerwinkle, PhD, led the town hall-style conversation, which fostered open communication and engaging dialogue. During the visit, she spoke with students, faculty, and staff to hear firsthand about the school’s strengths, opportunities, and vision for the future and encouraged them to lead with authenticity by saying, “Speak your truth. Speak your heart. Speak your passion.”

Throughout the conversation, Kibbe highlighted the critical role public health plays across our communities and reinforced her commitment to supporting interdisciplinary collaboration, research innovation, and student success throughout the university.

With its long history and statewide reach, participants from the school’s six locations tuned into the hybrid town hall from across Texas to share their accomplishments and research advancements, as well as hopes for the school and the future of public health.

“You’ll see the unwavering commitment supporting community health as you talk to individuals and those working in research centers,” said María Fernández, PhD, vice president of population health and implementation science at UTHealth Houston.

Members of the school shared ideas to network among other UTHealth Houston schools, leveraging existing projects and developing a wider network. The intention and theme of bridging the gap between research, practice, and implementation were referenced throughout the conversation.

“This was a fascinating, exciting opportunity; hosting the president and conversing with all the locations and faculty was impactful. The event was encouraging, too, pushing the school to go in a positive direction,” said PhD student Adrianna Maliga, with the Department of Epidemiology. “The school is already good, but we could become great.”

Prior to the town hall, the president visited the school’s future location, the Public Health and Education Research building, set to open mid-2026 in Helix Park.

Alongside Boerwinkle, as well as school department leaders, Kibbe explored the new building, nearing completion of construction. The group received an early preview of the 245-seat auditorium, a state-of-the-art teaching kitchen, one of the many scientific laboratories, and learning spaces. Along the way, school leaders shared more about the academic programs and research that is improving community health. Designed as a collaborative hub, the building will strengthen future research and collaborations across the Texas Medical Center, as well as local and state partners.

The president is scheduled to visit the five remaining schools and several clinical locations as part of her listening tour across the university. As the second stop on her tour, the president left the School of Public Health with a clear message, which was that the voices of our students, faculty, and staff matter, and those voices will help shape the university’s path forward.