Pacific plans School of Medicine to address Central Valley physician shortages
University of the Pacific, founded 175 years ago as California’s first college, has unveiled plans to launch a School of Medicine, a transformational initiative to address the severe and growing physician shortages across the Central Valley and other areas suffering from dangerous health care disparities.
The Pacific School of Medicine will be California’s first M.D.-granting institution outside of the state’s largest population centers in Southern California, the Bay Area and Greater Sacramento.
Located on the university’s historic Stockton Campus, the new School of Medicine will focus on educating a new cadre of doctors for severely underserved areas. The regions located south of the Bay Area and Greater Sacramento and north of Los Angeles—the San Joaquin Valley, southern Foothills, Central Coast and Eastern Sierras—all fall well below the bare minimum standards for primary care physicians per capita while California’s biggest metropolitan areas—home to the state’s 13 M.D.-granting schools—meet the recommended physician-to-population ratio.
Our Strategic Clinical Partner: Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center
Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center, a nationally ranked hospital soon be one of California’s largest, will be the strategic clinical partner of the planned School of Medicine at University of the Pacific, providing essential clinical learning opportunities for future physicians.
Under the partnership, Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center will place third- and fourth-year Pacific School of Medicine students in clinical rotations at St. Joseph’s and other hospitals throughout the region.
Early donor support drives medical school momentum
University of the Pacific’s planned School of Medicine is receiving early and enthusiastic support from alumni and donors.
Pacific launched a $150 million campaign to establish the medical school. The university secured more than $25 million from several major donors in advance of the public announcement, including from the Stockton-based Cortopassi Family Foundation and Pacific Regent Tony Chan ’77 and his wife, former Regent Virginia Chan ’77.
Make a Transformative Gift
Learn how to support the Pacific School of Medicine by contacting Scott Biedermann ’05, ’20, vice president for development and alumni relations, at 209.946.2166 or sbiedermann@pacific.edu.
Less than a decade after University of the Pacific’s 1851 founding as California’s first college, the small school soon took on another first, expanding beyond its liberal arts foundation to become home to the first medical school in the West.
Founded in San Francisco in 1858, the school began as the “Medical Department” at Pacific. At the time, there were fewer than 50 medical schools in the entire United States, and none west of Missouri.
Timeline
2025
- Internal discussions on the creation of a School of Medicine at University of the Pacific to address the critical physician shortages across the Central Valley
- In-depth feasibility study by a global consulting firm
2026
- Securing strategic clinical partnership with Dignity Health St. Joseph's Medical Center
- Board of Regents' establishment of the School of Medicine
- Start curriculum development and accreditation preparation
2027
- Founding dean starts
- Continue resource acquisition from private donors, foundations, corporations and government agencies
- Accreditation preparation and curriculum development
2028
- Preliminary accreditation
- Building design
2029
- Building construction
- Charter class recruited
2030
- Building construction completed
- School opens in Fall Semester with charter class
Leaders supporting 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.
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.
