New medical school coming near San Jose

Sutter Health and Santa Clara University said on May 15 that they are launching the Mark & Mary Stevens School of Medicine in Santa Clara, backed in part by a $175 million gift from Mary Stevens and venture capitalist Mark Stevens. The partners said the school will be the first new medical school in the San Francisco Bay Area in more than a century and will sit in an 82,000-square-foot building under construction at 2431 Mission College Blvd. in Santa Clara. (scu.edu) Santa Clara University said the project advances a goal in its Impact 2030 strategic plan, while Sutter described it as part of its push to build what it calls a learning health system. The school’s opening date has not been set, and officials said it will depend on accreditation. ### Where will the new school be built? The future campus is at 2431 Mission College Blvd. in Santa Clara, where construction is already underway, according to San José Spotlight. (scu.edu) Santa Clara University said the site is five miles from its main campus and next to Sutter’s East Santa Clara Campus in Silicon Valley. The building will total 82,000 square feet, Santa Clara University said. The school is also tied geographically to Sutter’s broader Santa Clara expansion, which includes a planned 272-bed, eight-story medical center on the system’s West Santa Clara Campus scheduled to open by 2031, according to the university and KQED. ### Who is paying for it? Mary Stevens, a 1984 Santa Clara alumna, and her husband Mark Stevens are providing a $175 million gift to help fund the school, Santa Clara University said. (scu.edu) The university said the donation is the largest cash gift to Catholic higher education and the largest gift ever received by either Santa Clara University or Sutter Health. Mark Stevens is a venture capitalist, and San José Spotlight identified him as an Nvidia billionaire. (scu.edu) The school will carry the couple’s name as the Mark & Mary Stevens School of Medicine. ### Why are Santa Clara and Sutter doing this now? Warner Thomas, Sutter Health’s president and chief executive, said the partnership grew from shared values and a “more human-centered, forward-looking model of care.” Thomas told San José Spotlight that California and the country face significant physician shortages and said the new school is intended to help train doctors for local communities. (scu.edu) Julie Sullivan, Santa Clara University’s president, told San José Spotlight that the university and Sutter had been discussing the partnership for nearly three years. She said the school is meant to prepare physicians who can use technology while maintaining what she described as compassionate patient care. (scu.edu) ### What kind of medical training do the partners say they want? (sanjosespotlight.com) Santa Clara University and Sutter said the school will combine medicine, science, technology, ethics and health. San José Spotlight reported that university leaders said the program will include artificial intelligence and simulation-based training alongside traditional medical education. Julie Sullivan said the goal is to train physicians who are effective in keeping patients, families and communities healthy while also being comfortable with technology. (scu.edu) She told San José Spotlight that the school does not want to remove the physician-patient connection from care. ### How does this fit into Sutter’s larger Santa Clara buildout? Sutter Health announced in November 2025 that it would spend $2.8 billion on a dual-campus expansion in Santa Clara, including a 272-bed flagship hospital near Levi’s Stadium. (sanjosespotlight.com) KQED reported that the health system called that project its largest investment ever and said it was designed to expand access in an underserved part of Silicon Valley. Susan Ellenberg, a Santa Clara County supervisor, said at that November event that the county’s emergency response system was under “extraordinary strain.” Sutter said the medical school and hospital plans are part of a broader effort to connect education, research and patient care in the region. (scu.edu) ### When could students actually arrive? San José Spotlight reported that the medical school is expected to open within three to five years, pending accreditation. (sanjosespotlight.com) Santa Clara University did not give a first-class date in its announcement, but said the launch event was held at the future campus site on May 15. Sutter’s next major milestone in Santa Clara is the planned opening of its 272-bed medical center by 2031, according to Santa Clara University and KQED. (kqed.org) The medical school’s timeline will run through the accreditation process before students can enroll. (scu.edu)