2025 IBB Diversity and Inclusion Distinguished Lecture

Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, FACOG
President and Chief Executive Officer
Morehouse School of Medicine

Community lunch to follow presentation.

As a physician, prominent infertility specialist, and researcher who has experience at the top levels of patient care as well as organizational management and public health policy, Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, FACOG, brings an invaluable combination of skills and experience. As a transformational leader, she combines strategic thinking with transformational leadership to address challenging management issues. She has reinvented complex organizations' infrastructure to meet evolving strategic environments, positioning them for success through sustainability tactics. 

As the sixth president and chief executive officer of Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), Montgomery Rice is the first woman in history to lead the freestanding medical institution. Between 2014 and 2021, she served as the institution's dean and president. Her tenure began at Morehouse School of Medicine in 2011, when she was appointed Dean and Executive Vice President.

Aside from her work at MSM, Montgomery Rice has served as a faculty member and leader at various health centers, including academic health centers. As one of the nation's first centers dedicated to studying diseases that disproportionately affect women of color, she was founder of the Center for Women's Health Research at Meharry Medical College. A passionate advocate for health equity, Montgomery Rice is committed to enhancing pipeline opportunities for academically diverse learners, diversifying the physician and scientific workforce, as well as fostering equity in health outcomes and access to health care. 

Her affiliations include participation on a number of nonprofit and corporate boards such as: Advisory board member of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Capital Financing Advisory Board, board of directors for UnitedHealth Group, Wellpath, 23&Me, Nemours, Chartis Health Equity Advisory Board, Georgia Research Alliance, CARE USA, Josiah Macy Jr Foundation, Moffit Cancer Center (Institute), and serves as a special Advisor to the Chairman, CEO and Board of Directors of GeoVax Labs, Inc. Among her efforts are the Danforth Dialogues podcast series: Leadership Lessons from the Frontlines of The Pandemic, which serves as a resource for faculty, staff, students, and the wider academic and professional community. 

Dr. Montgomery Rice was appointed to The President's Committee on the National Medal of Science by President Joe Biden in March 2022. Her memberships in the Horatio Alger Association and the National Academy of Medicine complement her distinguished career. Montgomery Rice was appointed in 2021 by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to serve on the Georgia Commission on Women, where she utilizes her expertise and knowledge to improve the lives of women and their families.

  A number of accolades and honors have been bestowed upon Montgomery Rice over the years: The National Medical Association (NMA) bestowed its highest honor upon her, the Scroll of Merit Award (2023). Among STAT's 46 influential and important people in health, medicine, and science, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice landed on the 2023 STATUS List in academia. Georgia Trend Magazine selected Montgomery Rice as one of the 100 Most Influential Georgians from 2016-2018, again in 2021 & 2022. National Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award from National Medical Fellowships, Inc. (NMF, 2022). She was a 2022 recipient of the W. Montague Cobb Lifetime Achievement Award by the Cobb/NMA Health Institute. The American Jewish Committee Atlanta presented Montgomery Rice the National Human Relations Award in 2021. The Dean Griffin Community Service Award from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Girls Inc. 2019 Smart Award, The National Medical Association OB/GYN 2019 Legend of the Section Award, The Turknett Leadership Character Award (2018), Visions of Excellence Award, Atlanta Business League (2018), Links Incorporated Co-Founders Award (2018), She was named to the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans and received the 2017 Horatio Alger Award. Other honors include the following: Trumpet Vanguard Award (2015), The Dorothy I. Height Crystal Stair Award (2014), National Coalition of 100 Black Women - Women of Impact (2014), YWCA – Women of Achievement of Atlanta-(2014) and Nashville(2007), American Medical Women’s Association Elizabeth Blackwell Medal (2011) and Working Mother Media Multicultural Women’s Legacy Award (2011). 

A Georgia native, Montgomery Rice holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology, a medical degree from Harvard Medical School, an honorary degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School and a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree from Rush University. These achievements demonstrate her lifetime commitment to education, service, and advancing health equity. Her residency training in obstetrics and gynecology was at Emory University School of Medicine, while her fellowship training was at Hutzel Hospital for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility.

With her husband, Melvin Rice Jr., a fellow graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Montgomery Rice has two children: Jayne, an intern vascular surgeon at Harvard Medical School, and Melvin III, an Environment Artist for Virtual Production.

This event is brought to you by the IBB Diversity and Inclusion Committee.