CUSM Celebrates Its Largest Graduating Class at Fourth Annual Commencement Ceremony

130 new physicians and 58 biomedical science graduates honored as CUSM marks a milestone year.

COLTON, Calif., (May 19, 2025) – The California University of Science and Medicine (CUSM) proudly celebrated its largest graduating class to date, conferring degrees to 188 students during its fourth annual commencement ceremony at the Riverside Convention Center and furthering its mission of educating the newest generation of physicians to serve in underserved areas. The graduating class included 130 Doctor of Medicine (MD) recipients and 58 Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences (MBS) graduates.

This year, CUSM’s MD graduates achieved an impressive 97 percent residency match rate and will begin their training in 22 specialties across 20 states. Two-thirds of the graduates will remain in Southern California for residency, and nearly one-third will train specifically in the Inland Empire. Additionally, 90 percent of current CUSM medical students originate from California, reflecting the university’s strong focus on serving local communities and improving access to care throughout the state.

The Class of 2025 exemplifies CUSM’s mission of training future physicians to serve communities facing significant healthcare disparities, particularly in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, where there is a critical shortage of providers. Graduates will enter highly competitive residency programs in fields such as Anesthesiology, Neurosurgery, Dermatology and Vascular Surgery.

“The graduates of our MD and master’s program share characteristics such as tenacity, dedication, and grit, but their most important trait is their compassion and commitment to healthcare service,” said Paul Lyons, MD, President and Dean of CUSM. “Healthcare is a career of service. Whether they provide direct patient care or administer programs to meet the needs of our communities, I’m confident they leave CUSM with the knowledge, perseverance and humanity to make a tremendous and positive impact.”

This message of service and purpose was echoed in the ceremony’s keynote address, delivered by Lisa Sanders, MD, FACP, acclaimed internal medicine physician and consultant for Netflix’s Diagnosis. Drawing on her medical and journalistic background, Dr. Sanders encouraged graduates to put aside assumptions, ask meaningful questions and take a holistic approach to solving the challenges they will face as healthcare professionals.

Kavitha Bhatia, MD, Founding Member and Vice Chair of the CUSM Board of Trustees, shared her medical journey with the students and reinforced the importance of leading with both knowledge and compassion in the field of medicine. “Today is more than a milestone: it is a reflection of the strength, purpose, and determination that brought you here. You are not just graduates, but physicians entrusted with healing and hope. Medicine is more than science — it is a calling, a privilege to care for others at their most vulnerable. Your compassion will matter. Your purpose will lead. The world needs more than doctors. It needs your heart, your courage, and your humanity.”

CUSM is also embracing innovation and gaining a national standing as a world-class institution dedicated to forward thinking as it actively supports the responsible integration of artificial intelligence (AI). In collaboration with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the university’s pioneering efforts to integrate AI into its curriculum helps prepare students to lead in an increasingly technology-driven healthcare environment.

CUSM was founded in 2015 by Prem Reddy, MD, FACC, FCCP, one of the nation’s leading healthcare visionaries and the founder of Prime Healthcare, an award-winning health system with 51 hospitals and more than 360 outpatient locations in 14 states. CUSM was established through a public-private partnership involving the Prime Healthcare Foundation, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, the County of San Bernardino and the City of Colton.

The accomplishments of the Class of 2025 stand as a testament to the university’s unwavering dedication to excellence, equity and service. These graduates now join a growing network of CUSM-trained healthcare professionals who are not only well-prepared to meet the evolving demands of medicine but are also deeply committed to healing communities that need them most. With compassion as their compass and innovation as their guide, they are poised to make a lasting impact—locally, nationally and beyond.