Fresno developer Ed Kashian has made a major multi-million dollar donation to UC Merced, the university announced Wednesday.
Kashian and his wife, Jeanne Kashian, who have been longtime UC Merced donors, gave $5 million for the university’s medical education efforts.
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Driving the news: UC Merced will start building a new state-of-the-art medical education building next year, which the university says will be the Central Valley’s hub for health-focused education training and research.
- The newly launched B.S. to M.D. pathway – a partnership with UC Merced, UCSF Fresno and UCSF – will use the building.
- Kashian is the CEO of Lance-Kashian & Company, the developer of many locations around Fresno, including River Park.
- The Kashians have previously supported the Leo and Dottie Kolligian Library, cutting-edge stem-cell research on campus and other funding projects.
What they’re saying: “We recognize that higher education has the ability to transform lives,” said Ed Kashian in a statement. “Supporting medical education and the new medical education building is a priority for us because it ensures that promising students have access to resources that help them become physicians and health workers who can improve medical care in the Central Valley.”
- UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sanchez Munoz said the Kashian’s support has been instrumental in making the medical education pathway a reality.
- “Their guidance, dedication and vision not only empower our educational mission, but help create new opportunities to meet our long-term goal to improve healthcare quality and access throughout our vastly underserved region.”
