UC Merced Magazine | Volume XVI, Issue I

“It’s about investing in our community.”

What remained was a facility in Merced to teach the Valley’s future health care providers. And then Gov. Gavin Newsom stepped up. On Oct. 25, 2021, acknowledging the dearth of primary care physicians in the Valley — “zip codes shouldn’t be a SUH H[LVWLQJ FRQGLWLRQȀ Ǻb1HZVRP DUULYHG RQ FDPSXV WR announce that the state’s general fund would cover borrowing costs for the University of California to build a Health, Behavioral Sciences and Medical Education Building at UC Merced. Muñoz praised the governor for his “historic commitment.” Pre-med students AdamGallardo and Evelyn Alfaro spoke at the governor’s announcement, Gallardo noting that he is from Merced and, after medical school, wants to practice in the Central Valley. “I want to help people heal, overcome and prosper,” he said. Added Alfaro, a Bay Area native: “I want to come back to the Central Valley and contribute to lowering health disparities here.” “The medical education building is a major investment by the state and UC Merced in the health and well-being of Central Valley communities,” said Dr. Thelma Hurd, the oncology surgeon named UC Merced’s director of medical education in 2019. “It is evidence of the commitment UC Merced and the state of California havemade to this region, and the confidence in their students and researchers who will improve health outcomes in the Valley.” Historically, borrowing for University of California buildings has been included in a bonding cap set by the legislature for the UC. Two years ago, Assembly Member

Adam Gray, D-Merced, passed budget language that moved $200 million for the building out from under that cap and into the state’s general bonding capacity. Taking the lead with the Newsom administration, Gray and others earlier this year secured the agreement for the state to cover $210.4 million for the UC Merced building. It is now being designed by the architecture firm ZGF, with a goal of opening in the 2024-2025 academic year. “It is not only about investing in the building,” said the assembly member, standing between the governor and chancellor. “It’s about investing in our community.” Noting the presence and long-term support of U.S. Rep. Jim. Costa, D-Fresno, and state Sen. Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, Gray said, “All of us working together made this happen.” The four-story building will house more than the medical education program; it will address growing needs for space for psychology and public health programs (psychology majors are expected to rise 38% by 2030, and public health majors by 33%) and serve approximately 2,200 students when it opens. “The co-location of public health, psychology, the Health Science Research Institute and medical education will create a transdisciplinary environment and academic culture in which students, faculty and community can address the region’s health challenges in sustainable and innovative ways,” said Hurd. “The original plan for this university included a medical school,” said Muñoz. “It has taken time — but the story of UC Merced is one of relentless perseverance.” The state’s financial commitment, he said, “makes clear that our legacy of hard work has been acknowledged … and that our best days are still ahead.”

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