Santa Clara University and Sutter Health announced plans Friday to launch the Mark & Mary Stevens School of Medicine, a new medical school funded in part by a $175 million gift from Mary Mathews Stevens ’84 and her husband, venture capitalist Mark Stevens.

The school will be the first new medical school in the San Francisco Bay Area in more than a century, according to a recent press release from the University and Sutter Health. The announcement marks a major expansion for Santa Clara University, tying the Jesuit institution to one of Northern California’s largest not-for-profit health care systems.

Sutter Health, founded in the Bay Area and based in Sacramento, provides healthcare and medical services to over 3.5 million California residents.

The organization boasts over 60,000 employees and 14,000 physicians across the state, providing care through a robust set of facilities and resources including hospitals, medical groups, surgery centers, clinics and more, per the press release.

The organization is particularly focused on expanding its outreach through investment in graduate medical opportunities, according to the 2024 Annual Progress Report. Expanding into education is vital to “increasing Sutter’s capacity to serve patients with the highest standards of care,” per the report.

The medical school will be housed in an 82,000-square-foot facility under construction at 2431 Mission College Blvd., about five miles from Santa Clara University’s main campus and adjacent to Sutter’s East Santa Clara Campus. Down the road, Sutter plans to open a 272-bed, eight-story medical center on its West Santa Clara Campus by 2031, according to the press release.

The school has not announced when its first class will enroll. According to the press release, the inaugural class will begin after the completion of a multiyear accreditation process that is currently underway. Details on tuition, class size and admissions were not included.

“We are proud to partner with Sutter Health to create a world-class medical school to produce physicians who are continually anticipating and defining the future of healthcare,” University President Julie Sullivan said in the press release.

Sullivan said the school will be grounded in Santa Clara University’s Jesuit tradition and focused on “empathetic and trustworthy care,” while also incorporating new technologies into physician training.

The announcement comes as California faces growing demand for medical care. According to Let’s Get Healthy California, a state health initiative, California will need an additional 10,500 primary care providers by 2030 to meet projected demand. The same report estimates that 7 million Californians live in health professional shortage areas without adequate access to primary, dental or mental health care providers.

The shortage can delay access to health services and worsen health outcomes, according to the report. California is also expected to face shortages beyond primary care. Behavioral health workforce projections show the state will have 53% fewer psychiatrists than needed by 2033, with shortages projected in every county, according to Let’s Get Healthy California.

Unlike some new medical schools that must build clinical training partnerships with outside organizations, the Stevens School of Medicine will be embedded within Sutter’s integrated health care system, according to the press release. Sutter has more than 30 existing residency and fellowship programs and expects to train about 575 residents and fellows in 39 accredited graduate-level programs by the end of 2027.

Sutter Health President and CEO Warner Thomas said in the press release that the partnership reflects a “human-centered, forward-looking model of care.”

The $175 million donation is the largest cash gift ever to Catholic higher education and the largest gift ever to either Santa Clara University or Sutter Health, according to the press release. Mary Stevens, a University alumna and former women’s soccer player, has served on the University’s Board of Trustees since 2012.

The gift continues a decades-long relationship between the Stevens family and Santa Clara University. According to the press release, the couple has previously given nearly $40 million to the University for athletics facilities and programs, the Paul L. Locatelli, S.J. Student Activity Center and an endowed scholarship.

University donor information says the Stevens’ philanthropy has “touched nearly every corner of campus,” including the Stevens Soccer Training Center, Stevens Stadium, the Locatelli Student Center and the Schott Athletic Excellence Center. The Stevens Academic Center in the Athletic Excellence Center includes study rooms and computer setups for student-athletes, according to the University.

A previous University press release said a $7.7 million gift from the Stevens family in 2014 was the largest single gift ever to Santa Clara University Athletics at the time. That gift helped fund a soccer training center, stadium upgrades, a plaza honoring Bronco sports and scholarships for students, according to the release.

“As a proud Santa Clara alumna, Board of Trustees member, and long-time Sutter Health patient, I’ve seen firsthand the potential to bring these two organizations together,” Mary Stevens said in the press release.

The new school is expected to focus on artificial intelligence, digital health and data-driven care. Students and faculty will have opportunities to collaborate with Sutter Health’s Innovation Center, Santa Clara University’s Cunningham Shoquist Center for Applied AI and Human Potential and the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, according to the press release.

Mark Stevens said in the press release that the school will be “at the forefront of the integration of artificial intelligence technology with healthcare delivery.”

For Santa Clara University students, the partnership may also affect pre-health programs and student health services. According to the press release, the Stevens family and Sutter are also planning to open a Bronco Student Health Clinic in fall 2026.

The medical school is part of Sutter’s larger expansion in Santa Clara. In December 2024, Sutter announced plans to develop about 1 million square feet across two Santa Clara campuses less than a mile apart to expand access to care in Silicon Valley.

With the opening of the Mark & Mary Stevens School of Medicine, Santa Clara University joins several notable neighboring institutions boasting existing medical programs.

Stanford University School of Medicine, founded in 1858, is one part of the flagship Stanford Medicine, which also encompasses the Stanford Children’s Health and Stanford Health Care hospitals. Stanford School of Medicine does not submit itself for consideration in the U.S. News & World Report’s rankings on the nation’s top medical schools, but the program and the Stanford Medicine flagship are nationally recognized as highly-reputable.

The University of California, San Francisco is another Bay Area institution helming a historic program; the UCSF School of Medicine was founded in 1864, and is ranked Tier 1 in both primary care and research by the U.S. News & World Report.

The new medical school’s opening date remains unclear as Santa Clara University and Sutter Health continue the accreditation process. But the announcement marks a major expansion for the University, placing Santa Clara University more directly into the future of medical education, health care access and technology-driven care in Silicon Valley.