TTUHSC prof retires after nearly 50 years of accomplishments - KCBD

Dr. Samuel Prien, a professor of reproductive physiology and obstetrics and gynecology at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, is retiring after nearly 50 years of teaching in Lubbock.

Prien taught at least 10,000 students over the course of his career. By his own count, his work helped produce an average of around 100 babies a year for a stretch of time, a number that adds up fast across decades.

One milestone stands out from the rest. The first successful birth through assisted reproductive technology at the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center happened in the late 1980s. The child, now an adult, has kept their identity private, but the moment marked a turning point in what TTUHSC could offer families in this region.

For Lubbock, Prien's career represents nearly half a century of medical education happening right here, not in Dallas or Houston. Students who trained under him have spread across the state and beyond, and families who came to TTUHSC for fertility help did so because of the program he helped build. His retirement closes a chapter that most practicing physicians in this city have lived inside, whether they knew it or not.

Ten thousand students, at a school that has been part of this city's identity since 1969, is a number worth sitting with.