The University of the Pacific is looking to expand its extensive health care education opportunities with the addition of a new medical school in Stockton.
In a letter sent Thursday to Stockton City Manager Johnny Ford, UOP President Christopher Callahan requested that the city partner with the university in a request for federal funding.
On Monday, the Stockton City Council has scheduled a special meeting to consider applying for millions of dollars for the UOP project. If the funds are approved, the city would serve as the fiscal agent.
School officials say the goal of the new facility is to train students locally to serve their communities, including underserved populations, and increase the likelihood that graduates will remain in the region practicing primary care and other high-demand medical specialties.
“The University of the Pacific School of Medicine will allow the City and Pacific to transform the regional health landscape by addressing urgent physician and equity gaps, expanding access to care, and sustaining local educational and workforce opportunities through our own health care provider pipeline,” UOP President Chris Callahan wrote in a letter to Stockton City Manager Johnny Ford.
The cost of the new medical school, which will include a 100,000-square-foot building, is estimated to be $150 million. It will be ready for its first cohort of medical students in less than five years, according to City Council agenda documents. The plan is to start with 60 students in the fall of 2030 and increase to 400 in less than 10 years.
“The economic impacts of this project will be profound, increasing the county’s economic output by more than $800 million over the next decade,” Callahan said in his letter.
Pacific is requesting $7 million in Community Project Funding, also known as CPF grants, through U.S. Rep. Josh Harder, D–Tracy, who represents California’s 9th Congressional District. The money is available through various appropriation bills, with eligible projects selected through a congressionally directed application process by an applicant’s representative.
The grant application deadline was Friday.
According to the application, approved funds “will be spent entirely on equipment purchases vital to launch the School of Medicine.”
“A community-imbedded medical school will expand educational opportunities and address urgent physician and equity gaps within and beyond the City of Stockton,” Callahan said in a letter to Harder.
A price breakdown for the project provided in the university’s application includes $85 million in capital costs — facility construction, technology and equipment — and $65 million in operating costs over the first 10 years.
The university reports it will invest $50 million to the new medical school, having already secured $20 million in private donations, and pledges to raise the remaining needed funds through philanthropic support and corporate partnerships.
California is projected to face a 20% shortage of physicians by the next decade, according to the grant application. A new medical school could help industry strain in the region, it says, noting that the 9th District faces persistent barriers to timely care, such as long wait times for appointments, limited access to specialty care, transportation challenges and high rates of chronic disease.
“Physicians who train where they are needed are more likely to practice locally, reducing reliance on short term staffing and strengthening access to care,” officials say in the application. “Over time, as more locally trained physicians enter and remain in the region, it is anticipated that health outcomes will improve through better continuity, earlier intervention, and stronger chronic disease management.”