University of the Pacific School of Medicine

Today’s announcement will be transformative for generations of Californians to come. This brand-new University of the Pacific medical school opening near the heart of the Central Valley will create a critical pipeline bringing more physicians into our rural communities to serve and expand care for our state’s most vulnerable populations. Now more than ever, investments like these in our higher education system create opportunities for empowering Californians to give back to their communities and build a healthier future across the Golden State.

I started in this Valley pushing a mop. Because people believed in me, I’m standing here today. This medical school is how we make sure the next kid mopping floors doesn’t have to leave the Valley to become a doctor. He or she can stay here. Learn here. Serve here.

California is facing a growing physician shortage, and families in San Joaquin County are already feeling it through longer wait times, fewer primary care options, and the need to travel farther for care. Pacific has long been a trusted institution in our region, and this new School of Medicine is exactly the kind of long-term investment we need to train homegrown doctors who understand our communities and are prepared to serve them. I am proud to push for state funding to help make this school a reality.

The Valley needs more doctors, nurses, and health care workers—it’s that simple. Bringing the first medical school to the Valley is a huge step forward because it means training more doctors right here in our community. The people caring for Valley families should know this community, understand our challenges, and be able to build their lives here, too. I can’t wait to cut the ribbon on this historic investment in our community soon.

University of the Pacific’s plan to open a School of Medicine is truly great news for San Joaquin County and the rest of the Central Valley. Families across our region have faced physician shortages and barriers to accessing health care. Our communities need more doctors and greater opportunities for students from the Central Valley to pursue medical education. University of the Pacific’s School of Medicine is a pivotal step toward meeting those needs and strengthening access to essential health care services in the region, especially in rural and underserved communities.

At a time when Americans are facing rising health care costs, and rural communities are losing access to health services, the University of the Pacific’s medical school is a significant milestone for the Stockton community and comes not a moment too soon. This new medical school will provide students with new health care educational opportunities, empower the next generation of physicians, and grow local talent to serve the local community.

Communities like Stockton have faced shortages of physicians, specialists and accessible health care, especially in underserved neighborhoods. By establishing a medical school here, we are creating a pathway to grow our own doctors, train them in our community and give them every reason to stay and serve Stockton. This is not just a medical school in Stockton; it is a medical school for Stockton, built to grow our own doctors, care for our own families and prove once again that Stockton is ready.

We are both deeply committed to our shared values of excellence, inclusion, integrity, collaboration and humankindness, and share an urgent desire to address the dangerous and growing physician shortage in San Joaquin County and across the Central Valley.

The new Pacific School of Medicine and this strategic partnership with Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center will be transformational for the growing health care needs of the region. The physician shortage in the region is acute and growing. This partnership is a big step forward to addressing those needs.

Our long history at Pacific is one of innovation. We were the first college in California, created less than a year after statehood. We were California’s first coeducational institution of higher learning. We created the first conservatory of music west of the Mississippi. And 102 years ago, we moved the university—from Santa Clara to Stockton—to become the Central Valley’s first school to confer four-year degrees. But the School of Medicine might be our most important undertaking yet.

There are students sitting in classrooms across our region right now who dream of becoming physicians but wonder if there will ever be a place for them. Today, Pacific is telling them: There is a place for you here. Your story matters. Your dreams matter. And your future matters.