It Started With People: The Early Days of the SFU School of Medicine
When people speak about the SFU School of Medicine today, the conversation often turns to what lies ahead: welcoming our first learners, strengthening primary care, and deepening relationships with communities across British Columbia.
But like any meaningful endeavour, the School did not begin with buildings or programs. It began with people — coming together around a shared belief that medical education could be built differently, and better, in service of communities.
In its earliest days, the School of Medicine took shape through conversation, collaboration, and commitment. A small group of faculty and staff came together with a clear sense of purpose: to build a primary care–focused medical school grounded in community needs and guided by values of care, connection, and innovation. From the outset, there was a shared understanding that this work mattered — not only to the university, but to the communities the School hopes to serve for generations to come.
In those early months, progress often looked modest from the outside — a handful of people gathered around a table, ideas sketched out on whiteboards, long conversations that stretched well past scheduled meeting times. What carried the work forward was steady momentum, built through listening, trust, and a shared commitment to getting it right. Piece by piece, something lasting began to take shape.
Stephanie Jackson, Administrative Coordinator, Accreditation, joined the effort early in October 2023, at a time when much was still being imagined. “We were very much in the visioning stage,” she recalls. While key pillars were already in place and accreditation planning had begun, the School was actively shaping how those commitments would take form. “There was so much we didn’t know,” she says, “but there was never a lack of motivation or belief in what we were doing.”
What defined those early days, Stephanie explains, was the collective mindset. The team was small, and many people were contributing alongside other roles within the university. “Everyone was excited and committed. I never heard anyone say, ‘that’s not my job.’ We just did what needed to be done.” That roll-up-the-sleeves approach quickly became part of the School’s culture and set the tone for how challenges would be met.
Finding Clarity and Momentum
For Kris Magnusson, Senior Strategic Advisor to the Dean, who was tasked with pulling together the School of Medicine’s business case in March 2023, the clarity of purpose was evident from the beginning. The mandate — to build a primary care–focused medical school that would make a difference in communities — has remained consistent throughout. What evolved over time was not the intent, but the precision of the approach. “Almost everything about how we intended to realize that mandate changed,” he says. “Our vision became much sharper.”
For Kris, one of the clearest turning points came with the appointment of Dr. David Price as Dean. “David brought clarity, vision, and credibility in a huge way,” he says. Known for his leadership in family medicine and innovative approaches to primary care, David’s arrival was met with a quiet sense of confidence across the community. His vision helped bring the School’s direction into focus, shaping how the program would take form.
As planning progressed, the School continued refining how it would deliver on its commitments. Decisions around program structure, curriculum design, and educational approach were made with intention, drawing on emerging technologies, innovative teaching methods, and a growing understanding of how best to prepare future physicians. “The techniques changed. The organizing structures changed,” Kris notes. “But the core purpose stayed the same.”
Behind the scenes, progress depended on collaboration at every level. Working groups formed across the university, bringing together faculty, staff, clinicians, and community members who volunteered their time and expertise. Kris describes this as one of the defining features of the School’s early days. “It was a whole chorus of unsung heroes,” he says. “People stepped forward simply because they believed in what we were building.”
Much of this work happened quietly, with individuals taking on complex responsibilities alongside existing roles, guided by a shared belief in the School’s mission. Kris points to this collective effort as foundational.
“Good people with good intentions did things that nobody else would do,” he reflects. “And they made it happen.”
Key milestones helped affirm that momentum. For Stephanie, the accreditation site visits stand out as particularly meaningful. “They went as well as they could have gone,” she says. “They really validated how far we had come.” Achieving preliminary accreditation felt like reaching the summit of a long climb — an acknowledgment of years of focused work, collaboration, and care.
As the School grew, so did confidence. What once felt overwhelming gradually became tangible. Stephanie describes how her perspective shifted over time. Early on, thinking about the School as a whole felt “like looking at the sun — too big and bright and overwhelming.” The focus was on contributing one piece at a time, trusting that those efforts would come together. Now, she says, she can clearly envision the School coming to life with learners.
Kris shares a similar sense of pride when reflecting on the journey. He describes it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience — one marked by growth, thoughtful pivots, and sustained teamwork. “What will stay with me most,” he says, “is how the team continually dusted themselves off and moved forward together.”
Looking ahead, both Stephanie and Kris speak with optimism about welcoming the School’s first cohort of students in August 2026. For Stephanie, that moment represents the fulfillment of long-held commitments. “The moment our charter class walks through the doors,” she says, “we’ll begin to see the results of all the work we’ve done.” Her hope is that students will feel supported, capable, and confident — knowing the School was built with their success in mind.
For Kris, connection sits at the heart of the student experience. He hopes learners feel connected to their communities, their identities, and their future paths in medicine.
“I want students to feel they can bring the totality of themselves through the doors,” he says, without feeling they must leave parts of who they are behind.
At its heart, the story of the SFU School of Medicine is one of collective effort — of people coming together to build something meaningful, responsive, and enduring. The early days were shaped not only by vision and milestones, but by relationships, trust, and shared purpose. That foundation continues to guide the School forward as it prepares to welcome its first learners and help shape the future of medical education in British Columbia.