SFU medical school gets largest donation in university history
Stephens family gifts $40 million to new school, fueling hopes to address B.C. doctor shortage.
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Simon Fraser University's new School of Medicine has received the largest donation in the university's history: $40 million from the Stephens family.
The gift will be named the SFU Stephens Family School of Medicine. Ratana and Arran Stephens said in a joint statement that "supporting the next generation of physicians is the best use of your and our resources, the investment with the greatest possible return for the good of society."
Premier David Eby called the donation a critical step in addressing B.C.'s healthcare worker shortage, which has left one in five British Columbians without a family doctor. Since 2023, the province has connected 600,000 people to family doctors and now covers 77 per cent of residents—but the gap remains significant.
"We know that for our province to be sustainable in terms of our healthcare system, we have to train more people, and we have to train them with a philosophy of community service," Eby said Friday.
The province has also recruited more than 700 American healthcare workers in recent months, with over 2,000 applications pending. The SFU medical school adds another lever to the recruitment effort, focusing on training physicians committed to filling the shortage of family doctors across B.C.
Applications for the new school opened last fall, with the campus based in Surrey.