Thursday 2 April 2026
The community is invited to an all-day summit where researchers will present cutting-edge information on the latest efforts to stem tobacco use in the San Joaquin Valley and surrounding foothills.
The Tobacco Control Summit is scheduled for Thursday, June 6 at The Mainzer, 655 W. Main St. in downtown Merced. Capacity is limited so attendees are urged to register by 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 22.
It was a groundbreaking Tuesday night so there were shovels. Many shovels. Full sized, posterized, miniaturized (in a gift box). All to mark a symbolic turning of earth for UC Merced’s Medical Education Center.
The tools also evoke something Dr. Kenny Banh said nearly a year ago. A top administrator at UC San Francisco's Fresno campus, he was talking about San Joaquin Valley PRIME, a program that prepared students from the Valley for a medical career. Training included at least a year in the Bay Area.
UC Merced’s Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center has earned multiyear funding to continue its mission to embolden community partners and share policy-influencing data in the long battle against the pervasive use of tobacco and other inhalants in underserved San Joaquin Valley and foothill populations.
Thirteen graduating students were honored by UC Merced’s School of Social Science, Humanities and Arts for outstanding academic careers.
