Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, FACOG, provides a valuable combination of experience at the highest levels of patient care and medical research, as well as organizational management and public health policy. Marrying her transformational leadership acumen and strategic thinking to tackle challenging management issues, she has a track record of redesigning complex organization's infrastructures to reflect the needs of evolving strategic environments and position the organization for success through sustainability tactics.

 

The sixth president of Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) and the first woman to lead the free-standing medical institution, Montgomery Rice serves as the president and chief executive officer. A renowned infertility specialist and researcher, she most recently served as the institution’s president and dean from 2014 to 2021. She began her tenure at Morehouse School of Medicine in 2011, serving as the dean and executive vice president.

 

Prior to joining MSM, Montgomery Rice held faculty positions and leadership roles at various health centers, including academic health centers. Most notably, she was the founding director of the Center for Women’s Health Research at Meharry Medical College, one of the nation’s first research centers devoted to studying diseases that disproportionately impact women of color.

 

Dedicated to the creation and advancement of health equity, Montgomery Rice lends her vast experience and talents to programs that enhance pipeline opportunities for academically diverse learners, diversifies the physician and scientific workforce, and fosters equity in health care access and health outcomes. She holds memberships in various organizations and participates on a number of boards, such as the following: Advisory board member of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Capital Financing Advisory Board, board of directors for UnitedHealth Group, Wellpath, 23&Me, Nemours, CARE USA, Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, and the Moffit Cancer Center. In 2021, Governor Brian Kemp appointed Montgomery Rice to the Georgia Commission on Women, where she lends her depth of knowledge and expertise as a women’s health researcher to improve the life of women and their families in Georgia. President Joe Biden appointed Dr. Montgomery Rice to The President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science in March 2022. Additionally, she is a proud member of the National Academy of Medicine and the Horatio Alger Association.

 

Montgomery Rice has received numerous accolades and honors. She was named to the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans and received the 2017 Horatio Alger Award. The American Jewish Committee Atlanta presented Montgomery Rice the National Human Relations Award in 2021. Georgia Trend Magazine selected Montgomery Rice as one of the 100 Most Influential Georgians from 2016-2018, again in 2021 & 2022. Other honors include the following: 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), 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. All reflect her lifetime commitment to education, service, and the advancement of health equity. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Emory University School of Medicine and her fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Hutzel Hospital.

 

Montgomery Rice is married to her fellow Georgia Institute of Technology alumnus, Melvin Rice Jr., and they have two children: Jayne, a Harvard Medical School graduate and vascular surgeon intern, and Melvin III, a graduate of Ringling College of Art and Design and an Environment Artist for Virtual Production.