Message from the President: Historic gift powers SFU School of Medicine

At a press conference this morning, we were excited to share that the School of Medicine received a transformational $40-million gift from the Stephens family—the largest single donation in SFU’s history and one of the largest to a school of medicine in Canada.

In recognition of this gift, the school will be named the SFU Stephens Family School of Medicine. The Stephens family is led by Ratana and Arran Stephens, co-founders of Nature’s Path. Leaders in the global organic food movement and long-time donors and supporters of SFU, the Stephens made this gift in service of advancing community well-being and social responsibility.

I want to thank all those across the university who have been diligently working to bring the SFU Stephens Family School of Medicine to life. I am confident that our efforts have built an innovative model for medical education that will strengthen B.C.’s health-care system, train the next generation of primary care physicians and improve the health of British Columbians across urban, rural, remote and Indigenous communities. I am so proud of what we have accomplished.

Our first class of 48 medical students begins their studies this August. I cannot wait to welcome them to our community as the inaugural class of the SFU Stephens Family School of Medicine.

Sincerely,

Joy Johnson
Pronouns: she, her, hers
President & Vice-Chancellor
Simon Fraser University