Thursday, Dec. 4 was a busy day in the Yuma area.
Arizona's chief for K-12 education and the state goverrning board for higher education were both in Yuma for separate events.
That afternoon, the University of Arizona announced a new partnership with Onvida Health.
And social workers went out late that night to set up for an annual event to show gratitude to Yuma County farmworkers.
Gowan Science Academy in Yuma received a visit from Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne.
He said Gowan students have much higher proficiency rates than the state average and presented a plaque to Principal Alissa Guevara, staff and students.
The Arizona Board of Regents, which governs the state’s three public universities, spent Wednesday evening and Thursday in Yuma. Their visit included an agriculture tour and a dialogue on ag, but the highlights of the day were a ribbon cutting for Arizona’s first rural regional medical school branch and the passage of an ag research grant.
Typically, the board holds meetings at Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University or the University of Arizona, but this Thursday it held a special board meeting at Arizona Western College.
That’s where they passed a grant launching the Arizona Hub for Agriculture Innovation. The three-year grant will bring together ASU, NAU and the U of A. Centered in Yuma, the grant aims to transform ag research into industry-ready solutions for farmers and ranchers statewide.
Also on Thursday, the University of Arizona College of Medicine announced a partnership with Onvida Health in Yuma County to launch the first rural medical school branch in the state focused on training primary care physicians.
The program is expected to launch next summer with a cohort of about 15 students.
Onvida President and CEO Robert Trenschel says this partnership will help address the physician shortage the state is facing.
Finally, the Campesinos Sin Fronteras agency that serves farmworkers and low income Latino families in Somerton and San Luis held its 31st annual Dia Del Campesino.
Farmworkers line up in the darkness and coldness in San Luis to get free health screenings as well as donated blankets, clothing and food from volunteers with local and state agencies including Onvida Health and Chicanos Por La Causa.
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Senior student reporter Elias Alvarez contributed to this report.
Stay tuned to KAWC for more coverage of these and other stories from Yuma and La Paz counties.
