Santa Clara University and Sutter Health are partnering up to launch the Mark & Mary Stevens School of Medicine, the San Francisco Bay Area’s first new medical school in more than a century.
Still under construction, the school is an 82,000-square-foot facility five miles from Santa Clara University’s campus and adjacent to the Sutter East Santa Clara campus.
It is being funded in part by a $175 million donation from Venture Capitalist and Nvidia board member Mark Stevens and his wife, Mary Stevens. Santa Clara University said this is the largest cash gift that Catholic higher education, as well as the University and Sutter Health, have ever received.
“The unique partnership of California’s oldest university, a large and well-respected Northern California integrated healthcare delivery network, and our investment will deliver the next generation of physicians and clinicians,” Mark Stevens said.
Stevens was a partner at Sequoia Capital, one of Silicon Valley’s most successful venture capital firms, for over 20 years and helped make early-stage investments in Yahoo, YouTube, Google, and Nvidia. He currently sits on Nvidia’s board of directors and is part owner of the Golden State Warriors.
He said the new medical school will be at the forefront of integrating artificial intelligence with healthcare delivery.
The couple has previously donated nearly $40 million to help fund athletics facilities and programs for Santa Clara University, where Mary Stevens graduated from in 1984 and currently sits on the board of trustees.
“Years ago, we had a vision to honor the outstanding leaders shared by both organizations while also supporting the health of students on campus and the broader community,” she said. “This medical school represents the natural next step in that journey.”
The university said the two have also made contributions to expand cancer research in Silicon Valley in honor of their late friend Paul Locatelli, who served as Santa Clara University president from 1988 to 2008, and Bart Lally, a physician leader at Sutter’s Palo Alto Medical Foundation and Santa Clara alumnus.
Earlier this month, the couple also donated $200 million to the University of Southern California, Mark Stevens’s alma mater, to support AI research.
The new medical school in Santa Clara, currently in the process of earning accreditation, will collaborate with programs within Sutter Health and Santa Clara University.
“By embedding students directly in a leading, integrated healthcare system, this new medical school is breaking down silos between education, training, and care—and that’s how you expand access, strengthen the workforce for tomorrow, and deliver better outcomes for patients,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a 1989 Santa Clara alumnus.