CHSU Honors its Largest Cohorts of Medical School and Master’s Program Graduates

On Sunday, May 17, 2026, California Health Sciences University (CHSU) held its Class of 2026 Commencement and Hooding Ceremony for its medical school and master’s program at the Save Mart Center in Fresno.

CHSU marked another historic milestone with 171 graduates this year, which is the largest cohort for both its medical school and master’s program to date.

The Class of 2026 represents CHSU’s continued commitment to educating future physicians and healthcare leaders who will serve communities throughout the Central Valley and across California. Graduates, faculty, families, and supporters gathered to celebrate the achievements and dedication of the soon-to-be resident physicians and future healthcare professionals.

“I’m so proud to see our third cohort of 131 medical students graduate to become osteopathic physicians and serve as compassionate, knowledgeable and skilled clinicians. With over 300 medical school graduates to date, we are advancing our mission to improve access to healthcare by educating and training physicians to serve the Central Valley and beyond.” stated John Graneto, DO, Dean of the CHSU-COM.

The 131 medical school graduates were draped with an academic hood to represent their initiation into the field of medicine. Founding President, Dr. Flo Dunn, conferred the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree upon the graduates, thirteen of which graduated with honors. Cortland Jell, DO, is the Class Valedictorian and she represented her class as the graduate speaker. Zian Shabbir, DO, is the Class Salutatorian. The first graduate was hooded by Varsha Swamy, DO, CHSU-COM Class of 2024, who was the co-founder of the CHSU Alumni Association and served two years as Co-President.

In March, CHSU announced a 100% residency match rate for the Class of 2026 graduates, marking the third consecutive cohort earning this achievement. With 29% of the 2026 residency matches occurring in the Central Valley, 70% in California, and 65% in Primary Care specialties, this cohort of graduates will continue to help advance the university mission when they officially become first year resident physicians this summer.

• CHSU achieved 100% match rate for class of 2026
• 65% of residencies are in Primary Care
• 29% of residencies are in the Central Valley
• 70% of residencies are in California
• 131 medical student graduates

The forty (40) graduates earning a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences (MSBS) degree were also draped with an academic hood at the ceremony, thirteen of which graduated with honors. Roussolini Socrates, MS, was chosen to represent her class as the graduate speaker.

Eleven (11) of the graduates are planning to attend the CHSU medical school starting this fall. Many others are attending other medical schools, dental schools, podiatric medical school or planning to attend CHSU medical school in the future.

“I’m excited to see so many of our graduates who completed our one-year master’s degree program be accepted to our CHSU medical school and other health professional schools. This program was designed to help students improve their GPA and MCAT scores to become more competitive applicants. Our MSBS program is quickly becoming one of our top feeder programs at the CHSU medical school,” stated Dr. Flo Dunn, Founding President at California Health Sciences University (CHSU).

The commencement speaker for the 2026 graduates was Karen J. Nichols, DO, MA, MACOI, MACP, FAMWA, CS-F, Chair Emeritus, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Dr. Nichols spoke eloquently to this generation of osteopathic physicians and emphasized there are three things they need to remember while taking care of patients, good communication, always do your best, and be sincere to gain the trust of patients.

Karen J. Nichols, DO, MA, MACOI, MACP, FAMWA, CS-F, served as Chair of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) from 2020-2022, the first DO to hold that office, serving a full board term from 2015-2022. Dr. Nichols served as the Dean of the Midwestern University/Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine from 2002-2018. Prior to being appointed Dean, she served as Assistant Dean of Post-Doctoral Education and Chair of Internal Medicine at the Midwestern University/Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine. Before starting her tenure in academia, she was in the private practice of internal medicine and geriatrics in Mesa, Arizona for seventeen years. Dr. Nichols holds a master’s degree in management with a specialty in Healthcare Administration from Central Michigan University.

She served as President of the American Osteopathic Association, the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association, and the American College of Osteopathic Internists. She was the first woman to hold all those positions. Having made over 900 presentations, she speaks nationally on her book, “Physician Leadership: The 11 Skills Every Doctor Needs to be an Effective Leader,” women in medicine, dilemmas at end-of-life, and outreach about osteopathic medicine.

The California Health Sciences University (CHSU) Class of 2026 Commencement and Hooding Ceremony video can viewed on the university’s YouTube Channel. The digital program booklet for the Commencement and Hooding Ceremony can be downloaded. You can view photos on the website and online.

Check out this video of some Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine 2026 graduates at commencement sharing the specialty they thought they would choose for residency and the actual specialty they chose for residency.

During “Grad Week” leading up to the Commencement and Hooding ceremony, graduates were with honored with a Graduate Dinner and Awards ceremony. Award committees at the CHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine and CHSU College of Biosciences and Health Professions created awards that were nominated and/or voted on by students, faculty, and staff.

The CHSU-COM also held a Military Promotion Ceremony on Thursday, May 14, 2026 in honor of its eight (8) class of 2026 military graduates who will serve as O-3 military officers while completing their residency physician training.