Venture capitalist Mark Stevens and his wife Mary have committed a $175 million gift to support a new medical school at Santa Clara University in partnership with Sutter Health. The contribution is intended to help fund both the construction and the establishment of the medical school, which Sutter Health says will be the first new medical school in the Bay Area in more than a century.
The project centers on an 82,000-square-foot facility that is currently under construction approximately five miles from Santa Clara University’s historic mission campus. The new medical school building is being developed adjacent to Sutter Health’s East Santa Clara Campus in Silicon Valley, positioning the academic program next to an existing healthcare hub.
In addition to the medical school building, Sutter Health has outlined plans for a major expansion of its nearby clinical infrastructure. On the health system’s West Santa Clara Campus, Sutter intends to deliver a new 272-bed, eight-story medical center by 2031. This future hospital is described as a significant addition to Sutter’s network, complementing the planned academic facility and expanding regional healthcare capacity.
The new institution will be known as the Mark & Mary Stevens School of Medicine, reflecting the size and purpose of the couple’s donation. According to Santa Clara University and Sutter Health, the school is designed to integrate the university’s academic programs with Sutter’s clinical network, with the goal of addressing healthcare gaps across California. By linking classroom education with a large-scale healthcare provider, the partners aim to train new physicians and other medical professionals within a real-world clinical environment.
The Mark & Mary Stevens School of Medicine is currently progressing through a multi-year accreditation process, a standard requirement for launching a new medical school. While the accreditation work is underway and construction is in progress, the partners have not yet announced a formal opening date for the facility. Further details on total project cost, delivery timeline and program enrollment have not been released.
The collaboration between Santa Clara University, Sutter Health and the Stevens family underscores a substantial capital commitment to healthcare and medical education infrastructure in Silicon Valley, anchored by a purpose-built academic facility and a planned new regional medical center.
