The Stockton City Council voted Monday to support University of the Pacific’s bid for $7 million in federal money to buy teaching equipment for its new prospective medical school.
The council’s unanimous March 9 vote directed city officials to sponsor the university’s request for a slice of Congressional money known as Community Project Funding distributed by U.S. Rep. Josh Harder, D–Tracy, who represents California’s 9th Congressional District.
Since fall 2025 at least, UOP has been exploring the viability of, and need for, a Stockton medical school, according to its application for the $7 million.
According to the application, California is projected to face a 20% shortage of physicians by the next decade. Central Valley counties in particular face a worsening shortage of doctors per capita, UOP President Christopher Callahan said at Monday’s council meeting.
Part of that is due to a lack of medical schools, Callahan said. Of California’s 12 nonprofit schools that grant medical degrees, there are three in Northern California, and nine in the state’s south — but none in between, he told councilmembers.
A UOP medical school would help heal the health disparities Stocktonians and people across the region face by creating a community of homegrown doctors, he said.
“The healthcare disparities in Stockton, in the county, in the Central Valley, as you know are enormous. And they are growing,” Callahan said.
“We think it’s our responsibility, as the first and oldest university in the state of California, … as the first and oldest four year university in the Central Valley, we believe that is part of what our responsibility is to our neighbors and community,” Callahan said.
Much of the information Callahan shared came from a fall 2025 study the university conducted about the feasibility of establishing the new med school. UOP officials didn’t immediately provide a copy of the study.
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. That includes a 100,000-square-foot building that would likely be located on UOP’s campus, Callahan said Monday.
It will be ready for its first cohort of medical students in less than five years, according to council documents. The plan is to start with 60 students in the fall of 2030 and increase to 400 in less than 10 years.
On Monday, the City Council agreed to back a piece of that vision by supporting UOP’s $7 million request to Harder. The university sought to partner with the city because the funding requires the recipient to be a government, public entity or nonprofit serving a government-like purpose, according to council documents.
If Harder grants the $7 million, Stockton would be the university’s fiscal agent for the purposes of using it.
The council voted 5-0 to back UOP’s request, with Councilmember Mariela Ponce absent.
Councilmember Mario Enriquez recused himself because he’s employed by UOP, according to a statement he made before Monday’s discussion at council. Enriquez is Director of the Center for Identity and Inclusion at UOP, according to the school’s website. .
If approved the $7 million will go toward buying a list of training equipment for the prospective medical school,including a dummy-like simulation of an adult patient, mock emergency room equipment to evoke a hospital environment, a teaching microscope with a camera and a display for group instruction, and more, according to UOP’s application for the funding.
All five councilmembers who participated in the discussion strongly supported UOP receiving the $7 million, and the med school project overall.
“We’re a great city. And if we can keep that capital, that human capital here, who will be future homeowners, maybe business owners, maybe private practice, whatever, as well as be able to serve our community at large, I think its a win, win, win win win win! All around,” Mayor Christina Fugazi said.
Councilmember Michael Blower agreed. “Quite often, we get things before us and you know, sometimes you have to really look at it, really think about it, and struggle (with), ‘which way (am I) going?’ This is not one of those. This is a no-brainer.”