Spence Taylor M.D.

Spence Taylor, M.D. is a nationally recognized academic physician leader with 30 years of experience as a senior executive, surgeon, full professor and researcher. Most recently, Dr. Taylor served as president of the Greenville Health System (GHS) — now a part of Prisma Health. He was the first physician to be named president in the 107-year history of GHS — a health system with nearly $3 billion in annual operating revenue, eight hospitals, 1,600 beds, 2,000 employed providers, 16,000 employees and an emerging academic health center.

Spence M. Taylor, M.D. has dedicated his career to advancing the academic landscape of medical education in the upstate of South Carolina. Dr. Taylor currently serves as vice president of physician engagement, chief academic officer, and President of the GHS Clinical University at Greenville Health System.

Under his leadership, GHS has experienced unprecedented growth and advancement in academics, including the opening of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, the development of a one-of-a-kind academics and research model called the GHS Clinical University, and the designation as an academic health center.

Dr. Taylor’s vision for the future of this Clinical University, which pairs traditional university rivals in a shared academic health center, is to transform healthcare in the upstate, with Clemson University serving as the research partner, University of South Carolina for the clinical side and Furman University serving the undergraduate population. In 2013, GHS was named an academic health center through a partnership with Clemson, USC and Furman. This novel relationship between the three universities with GHS serving as the anchor leverages the resources of a relatively small state in a positive way.

Dr. Taylor earned his B.S. from Clemson University, his M.D. and general surgery residency from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and his vascular surgery residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston under the direction of Drs. Michael DeBakey and Stanley Crawford.

In 1992, after an active duty tour in the US Air Force, he joined the Greenville Health System in Greenville SC, where he has spent his entire career. As an academic physician leader, Dr. Taylor has cared for hundreds of patients and is a member of numerous academic organizations in surgery, having held leadership positions in several.

Dr. Taylor also led GHS’ Department of Surgery as Chairman and Program Director, expanding the general surgery residency, creating the state’s first vascular surgery residency, and developing a minimal access surgery fellowship and vascular medicine fellowship.

At GHS, he has served as Designated Institutional Official and Institutional Official for Research. Dr. Taylor is an adjunct faculty on the GHS Academy of Leadership and Professional Development, designed to provide resources to prepare professionals and executives for new levels of leadership in the field of health care and beyond.

In addition to his roles with Greenville Health System, Dr. Taylor has served as Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Diversity for the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville.

He has received multiple teaching awards, and has authored or co-authored of over 125 peer-reviewed publications. As an academic vascular surgeon, Dr. Taylor has extensively studied and lectured on the functional outcomes after intervention for lower extremity peripheral artery disease.

In 2015, he served as President of the Southern Surgical Association (SSA). Dr. Taylor is the first Greenville surgeon, and only the second surgeon in South Carolina, to serve as SSA president. In addition to the SSA, Dr. Taylor has served in numerous distinguished positions with other surgical societies, including his current role as an American Board of Surgery director.

Dr. Taylor is married to the former Marie Lucius, has four children and one grandchild.