Dr. Richard Gray MD has been chosen as the 2025 recipient of the Outstanding Alumnus Award. The award was established in 1968 and is the highest honor that the university bestows on graduates. The outstanding alumnus award recognizes recipients for their personal and professional accomplishments and their involvement with LSSU, highlighting the significant achievements of alumni who serve as leaders in our region, state and nations.
Gray, a native of Gaylord, MI, joined the Laker Men’s Basketball team under Coach Bob Eldridge’s leadership and played from 1987–91. He remembers Coach Eldridge fondly, commenting, “I’m thankful for Coach Bob Eldridge, who recruited me to play basketball at LSSU and taught me lasting lessons about teamwork, culture, character, and perseverance.” Gray went on to say, “I continue to follow the university’s success with great pride. It’s been especially exciting to see Coach Hettinga and the outstanding basketball program thrive in recent years, with impressive performances and deep tournament runs that reflect the strength and spirit of LSSU Athletics.”
Gray graduated cum laude from LSSU in 1991 with a BA in Biology, and went on to earn his medical degree from the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University. Gray commented, “I was especially fortunate to be mentored by the late Dr. Steve Person, a professor of biology, who played a pivotal role in guiding me toward becoming a physician.” In 1995, he began his surgical residency at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Following a fellowship in surgical oncology as a Mayo Clinic Scholar at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, he joined the Mayo Clinic staff in 2001.
Throughout his career, Gray has received numerous recognitions for his contributions to medical education, clinical excellence, and leadership. In 2006, he was honored with the Kenneth J. Shouldice Award from Lake Superior State University — the institution’s highest alumni award for professional achievement. He has been named Educator of the Year multiple times by the Mayo Clinic, and in 2013, received the Mayo Clinic Distinguished Educator Award. That same year, and again in 2014, U.S. News & World Report ranked him among the top 1% of surgeons in the United States. Most recently, in 2025, he was awarded the Colangelo Servant Leadership Award by Grand Canyon University.
“I’m deeply grateful for the education I received at Lake Superior State University – both in the classroom and on the court. My time at LSSU was a powerful springboard that opened doors I never imagined possible growing up.” Gray has generously supported his alma mater’s Laker Men’s Basketball Locker Room Renovation campaign, reflecting on those who mentored and inspired his journey.
Gray is now CEO of Mayo Clinic in Arizona, the No. 1 hospital in the state as ranked by U.S. News & World Report for the last 13 consecutive years. With a vision to transform medicine to connect and cure as the global authority in the care of serious or complex disease, Mayo Clinic in Arizona serves patients from all 50 states and more than 50 countries each year. Dr. Gray provides executive oversight of the Mayo Clinic Center for Digital Health. He is a professor of surgery, and his research focuses on developing less burdensome and better-coordinated treatments to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence. He has published more than 160 research manuscripts.
Prior to being appointed CEO in 2019, Gray worked as a surgical oncologist and served in leadership roles in the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Department of Surgery. He also serves on several boards including those of the Arizona Commerce Authority, the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, and Greater Phoenix Leadership.
Dr. Gray and his wife, Kathryn, have three sons – Hudson (23), Landon (20) and Keaton (18), and reside in Scottsdale, AZ.