Robert Pryor BS '73
- Healthcare Medal of Service
Robert “Bob” Pryor played a crucial role in the 2013 merger of the Dallas-based Baylor Health Care System and Temple-based Scott & White Healthcare, creating Baylor Scott & White Health. We honor his significant contributions through the presentation of the Baylor Medal of Service for Contributions to the Professions in the field of Medicine/Healthcare.
Driven by the goal of getting into medical school, Bob Pryor (BS ’73) maintains he was a bookworm in college, always electing to take the earliest-possible classes. He says he has nothing but fond memories of his student experience at Baylor, noting that all of his professors were super, particularly in the biology and chemistry departments.
One reason Pryor became a pediatrician was for the chance to interact with families and children. He was one of the first certified pediatric intensivists in the country and was involved in the formative years of pediatric intensive care. During his 20 years as a pediatrician, he also was recognized as a medical teacher.
After two decades as a pediatrician, he took on administrative roles at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Ariz. and earned an MBA from Arizona State University.
Thirty-five years after beginning his medical journey as a teenager working in the Pathology Department at Scott & White, Pryor returned to the hospital as chief medical officer. Two years later, he added the role of chief operating officer. In 2010, he became CEO and president of Scott & White Healthcare.
The 2013 merger of the Baylor Health Care System and Scott & White Healthcare created the largest not-for-profit healthcare system in Texas and among the largest in the U.S. Known for exceptional patient care for more than a century, the two organizations served adjacent regions of Texas and operated on a foundation of complementary values and similar missions. Today, Baylor Scott & White Health includes 43 hospitals, more than 500 patient care sites and over 6,000 affiliated physicians.
In 2010, Bob and his wife, Kay, established the Robert W. and Kay Pryor Endowed Scholarship Fund to assist Baylor undergraduates. The couple have three children: Jami, Jarrod, a current Baylor student, and Jaxon.
