Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice to deliver Emory Commencement address

March 26, 2024

Media Contact

Sylvia Carson

Executive Director, Media Relations

UPDATE: MAY 6, 2024 Emory's 179^th Commencement has been relocated to the Gas South Arena, an indoor facility in Duluth, Georgia. For more information, please visit the Commencement website and read a message from Emory President Gregory L. Fenves.

A renowned infertility specialist and researcher, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice is the first woman to lead the Morehouse School of Medicine. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Emory.

Photo courtesy of Morehouse School of Medicine

Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, president and CEO of the Morehouse School of Medicine, will deliver the keynote address at Emory University’s 179th Commencement, scheduled for Monday, May 13.

A renowned infertility specialist and researcher, Montgomery Rice is the first woman to lead the freestanding medical institution. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Emory University School of Medicine and will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Emory during the Commencement ceremony.

“Dr. Montgomery Rice’s achievements as a groundbreaking physician-scientist and university leader are an inspiration to so many in our great city and beyond,” says Emory President Gregory L. Fenves. “During her time as president and CEO, the Morehouse School of Medicine has flourished, solidifying its reputation as a powerhouse in the advancement of health equity. I cannot wait to welcome Dr. Montgomery Rice back to campus so we can present her with an honorary degree and hear her inspiring words and reflections.”

Throughout her career, Montgomery Rice has been a dedicated advocate for equity in health care access and outcomes, including diversifying the physician and scientific research workforce. Her previous roles include serving as 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.

The Georgia native earned her undergraduate degree in chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology and her medical degree from Harvard Medical School. Following her residency at Emory, she completed a fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Hutzel Hospital in Detroit.

“As I encourage the graduates in their next chapter, it gives me great pleasure to speak at Emory’s Commencement. It is my hope that the graduates will consider how to ensure their position at the table while making room for others to be heard and seen,” Montgomery Rice says. “Inclusion is not just about recognizing our differences; it also involves embracing them and utilizing those differences as a means of co-creating richer solutions to problems that affect us all. I look forward to helping them transition into a moment of hope filled with opportunity, as they make plans to navigate their future endeavors.”

President Joe Biden appointed Montgomery Rice to the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science in 2022. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, the Association of American Medical Colleges Council of Deans and the Horatio Alger Association.

Her numerous honors include the 2023 Scroll of Merit Award from the National Medical Association, 2017 Horatio Alger Award, the National Medical Association OB/GYN 2019 Legend of the Section Award, and multiple appearances in Georgia Trend Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Georgians, among others.

Her affiliations include participation on a variety of nonprofit and corporate boards, including the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Capital Financing Advisory Board and boards of directors for UnitedHealth Group, Wellpath, 23&Me, Nemours, Chartis Health Equity Advisory Board, Georgia Research Alliance, CARE USA, Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation and the Moffitt Cancer Center's Institute. Additionally, she serves as a special adviser to the chair, CEO and board of directors of GeoVax Labs, Inc.

Honorary degree recipients

During the Commencement ceremony, Emory will also award honorary degrees to Dr. Victor Dzau, president of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), and acclaimed violinist Robert McDuffie.

Dr. Victor Dzau

Dzau, an internationally renowned physician-scientist, will receive an honorary doctor of science degree. A visionary leader who has developed initiatives to transform and improve health care locally and globally, he will also be the keynote speaker for the School of Medicine's MD Diploma Ceremony.

Dzau’s seminal work in cardiovascular medicine and genetics laid the foundation for the development of the class of lifesaving drugs known as ACE inhibitors, used to treat hypertension and heart failure. He pioneered gene therapy for vascular disease and was the first to introduce DNA decoy molecules in humans in vivo. Under his tenure, the NAM has advanced efforts to improve health equity and address racism throughout its programmatic activities.

In addition to leading NAM, Dzau serves as vice chair of the National Research Council. He is chancellor emeritus and James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Duke University and the past president and CEO of the Duke University Health System.

Robert McDuffie

An Emmy award-winning violinist, McDuffie will receive an honorary doctor of music degree. While appearing as a soloist with renowned orchestras on five continents, he has also shared the stage with eclectic musicians such as R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills and Rolling Stones pianist Chuck Leavell. Philip Glass dedicated his Violin Concerto No. 2, “The American Four Seasons,” to McDuffie and he has performed it more than 100 times around the world.

In 2023, McDuffie received a Southeast Regional Emmy Award for “A Night of Georgia Music” with Mills, Leavell and the McDuffie Center for Strings ensemble, aired on PBS stations across the United States.

He is the founder of both the Rome Chamber Music Festival in Italy and the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in his native city of Macon, Georgia.

Emory University Commencement Monday, May 13 8:30 a.m. \| Gas South Arena UPDATE: May 6, 2024 The Emory University Commencement Ceremony, traditionally held on the Quadrangle for students and guests of all schools, will be held at the Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia, only for all undergraduate bachelor's degree candidates from Emory College of Arts and Sciences, the Goizueta Business School, the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and the School of Medicine, along with their previously ticketed guests. Graduates from Oxford College as well as the graduate and professional programs are invited to view this ceremony by webcast. Visit the Commencement website for the full Commencement weekend schedule, information about planning your visit, answers to frequently asked questions and more.

Recent News

By downloading Emory news media, you agree to the following terms of use:

Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License

By exercising the Licensed Rights (defined below), You accept and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License ("Public License"). To the extent this Public License may be interpreted as a contract, You are granted the Licensed Rights in consideration of Your acceptance of these terms and conditions, and the Licensor grants You such rights in consideration of benefits the Licensor receives from making the Licensed Material available under these terms and conditions.

Section 1 – Definitions.

Adapted Material means material subject to Copyright and Similar Rights that is derived from or based upon the Licensed Material and in which the Licensed Material is translated, altered, arranged, transformed, or otherwise modified in a manner requiring permission under the Copyright and Similar Rights held by the Licensor. For purposes of this Public License, where the Licensed Material is a musical work, performance, or sound recording, Adapted Material is always produced where the Licensed Material is synched in timed relation with a moving image.
Copyright and Similar Rights means copyright and/or similar rights closely related to copyright including, without limitation, performance, broadcast, sound recording, and Sui Generis Database Rights, without regard to how the rights are labeled or categorized. For purposes of this Public License, the rights specified in Section 2(b)(1)-(2) are not Copyright and Similar Rights.
Effective Technological Measures means those measures that, in the absence of proper authority, may not be circumvented under laws fulfilling obligations under Article 11 of the WIPO Copyright Treaty adopted on December 20, 1996, and/or similar international agreements.
Exceptions and Limitations means fair use, fair dealing, and/or any other exception or limitation to Copyright and Similar Rights that applies to Your use of the Licensed Material.
Licensed Material means the artistic or literary work, database, or other material to which the Licensor applied this Public License.
Licensed Rights means the rights granted to You subject to the terms and conditions of this Public License, which are limited to all Copyright and Similar Rights that apply to Your use of the Licensed Material and that the Licensor has authority to license.
Licensor means the individual(s) or entity(ies) granting rights under this Public License.
Share means to provide material to the public by any means or process that requires permission under the Licensed Rights, such as reproduction, public display, public performance, distribution, dissemination, communication, or importation, and to make material available to the public including in ways that members of the public may access the material from a place and at a time individually chosen by them.
Sui Generis Database Rights means rights other than copyright resulting from Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases, as amended and/or succeeded, as well as other essentially equivalent rights anywhere in the world.
You means the individual or entity exercising the Licensed Rights under this Public License. Your has a corresponding meaning.

Section 2 – Scope.

License grant.
1. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Public License, the Licensor hereby grants You a worldwide, royalty-free, non-sublicensable, non-exclusive, irrevocable license to exercise the Licensed Rights in the Licensed Material to:
  1. reproduce and Share the Licensed Material, in whole or in part; and
  2. produce and reproduce, but not Share, Adapted Material.
2. Exceptions and Limitations. For the avoidance of doubt, where Exceptions and Limitations apply to Your use, this Public License does not apply, and You do not need to comply with its terms and conditions.
3. Term. The term of this Public License is specified in Section 6(a).
4. Media and formats; technical modifications allowed. The Licensor authorizes You to exercise the Licensed Rights in all media and formats whether now known or hereafter created, and to make technical modifications necessary to do so. The Licensor waives and/or agrees not to assert any right or authority to forbid You from making technical modifications necessary to exercise the Licensed Rights, including technical modifications necessary to circumvent Effective Technological Measures. For purposes of this Public License, simply making modifications authorized by this Section 2(a)(4) never produces Adapted Material.
5. Downstream recipients.
  1. Offer from the Licensor – Licensed Material. Every recipient of the Licensed Material automatically receives an offer from the Licensor to exercise the Licensed Rights under the terms and conditions of this Public License.
  2. No downstream restrictions. You may not offer or impose any additional or different terms or conditions on, or apply any Effective Technological Measures to, the Licensed Material if doing so restricts exercise of the Licensed Rights by any recipient of the Licensed Material.
6. No endorsement. Nothing in this Public License constitutes or may be construed as permission to assert or imply that You are, or that Your use of the Licensed Material is, connected with, or sponsored, endorsed, or granted official status by, the Licensor or others designated to receive attribution as provided in Section 3(a)(1)(A)(i).
Other rights.
1. Moral rights, such as the right of integrity, are not licensed under this Public License, nor are publicity, privacy, and/or other similar personality rights; however, to the extent possible, the Licensor waives and/or agrees not to assert any such rights held by the Licensor to the limited extent necessary to allow You to exercise the Licensed Rights, but not otherwise.
2. Patent and trademark rights are not licensed under this Public License.
3. To the extent possible, the Licensor waives any right to collect royalties from You for the exercise of the Licensed Rights, whether directly or through a collecting society under any voluntary or waivable statutory or compulsory licensing scheme. In all other cases the Licensor expressly reserves any right to collect such royalties.

Section 3 – License Conditions.

Your exercise of the Licensed Rights is expressly made subject to the following conditions.

Attribution.
1. If You Share the Licensed Material, You must:
  1. retain the following if it is supplied by the Licensor with the Licensed Material:
    1. identification of the creator(s) of the Licensed Material and any others designated to receive attribution, in any reasonable manner requested by the Licensor (including by pseudonym if designated);
    2. a copyright notice;
    3. a notice that refers to this Public License;
    4. a notice that refers to the disclaimer of warranties;
    5. a URI or hyperlink to the Licensed Material to the extent reasonably practicable;
  2. indicate if You modified the Licensed Material and retain an indication of any previous modifications; and
  3. indicate the Licensed Material is licensed under this Public License, and include the text of, or the URI or hyperlink to, this Public License.
  For the avoidance of doubt, You do not have permission under this Public License to Share Adapted Material.
2. You may satisfy the conditions in Section 3(a)(1) in any reasonable manner based on the medium, means, and context in which You Share the Licensed Material. For example, it may be reasonable to satisfy the conditions by providing a URI or hyperlink to a resource that includes the required information.
3. If requested by the Licensor, You must remove any of the information required by Section 3(a)(1)(A) to the extent reasonably practicable.

Section 4 – Sui Generis Database Rights.

Where the Licensed Rights include Sui Generis Database Rights that apply to Your use of the Licensed Material:

for the avoidance of doubt, Section 2(a)(1) grants You the right to extract, reuse, reproduce, and Share all or a substantial portion of the contents of the database, provided You do not Share Adapted Material;
if You include all or a substantial portion of the database contents in a database in which You have Sui Generis Database Rights, then the database in which You have Sui Generis Database Rights (but not its individual contents) is Adapted Material; and
You must comply with the conditions in Section 3(a) if You Share all or a substantial portion of the contents of the database.

For the avoidance of doubt, this Section 4 supplements and does not replace Your obligations under this Public License where the Licensed Rights include other Copyright and Similar Rights.

Section 5 – Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability.

Unless otherwise separately undertaken by the Licensor, to the extent possible, the Licensor offers the Licensed Material as-is and as-available, and makes no representations or warranties of any kind concerning the Licensed Material, whether express, implied, statutory, or other. This includes, without limitation, warranties of title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, absence of latent or other defects, accuracy, or the presence or absence of errors, whether or not known or discoverable. Where disclaimers of warranties are not allowed in full or in part, this disclaimer may not apply to You.
To the extent possible, in no event will the Licensor be liable to You on any legal theory (including, without limitation, negligence) or otherwise for any direct, special, indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive, exemplary, or other losses, costs, expenses, or damages arising out of this Public License or use of the Licensed Material, even if the Licensor has been advised of the possibility of such losses, costs, expenses, or damages. Where a limitation of liability is not allowed in full or in part, this limitation may not apply to You.

The disclaimer of warranties and limitation of liability provided above shall be interpreted in a manner that, to the extent possible, most closely approximates an absolute disclaimer and waiver of all liability.

Section 6 – Term and Termination.

This Public License applies for the term of the Copyright and Similar Rights licensed here. However, if You fail to comply with this Public License, then Your rights under this Public License terminate automatically.
Where Your right to use the Licensed Material has terminated under Section 6(a), it reinstates:
1. automatically as of the date the violation is cured, provided it is cured within 30 days of Your discovery of the violation; or
2. upon express reinstatement by the Licensor.
For the avoidance of doubt, this Section 6(b) does not affect any right the Licensor may have to seek remedies for Your violations of this Public License.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Licensor may also offer the Licensed Material under separate terms or conditions or stop distributing the Licensed Material at any time; however, doing so will not terminate this Public License.
Sections 1, 5, 6, 7, and 8 survive termination of this Public License.

Section 7 – Other Terms and Conditions.

The Licensor shall not be bound by any additional or different terms or conditions communicated by You unless expressly agreed.
Any arrangements, understandings, or agreements regarding the Licensed Material not stated herein are separate from and independent of the terms and conditions of this Public License.

Section 8 – Interpretation.

For the avoidance of doubt, this Public License does not, and shall not be interpreted to, reduce, limit, restrict, or impose conditions on any use of the Licensed Material that could lawfully be made without permission under this Public License.
To the extent possible, if any provision of this Public License is deemed unenforceable, it shall be automatically reformed to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable. If the provision cannot be reformed, it shall be severed from this Public License without affecting the enforceability of the remaining terms and conditions.
No term or condition of this Public License will be waived and no failure to comply consented to unless expressly agreed to by the Licensor.
Nothing in this Public License constitutes or may be interpreted as a limitation upon, or waiver of, any privileges and immunities that apply to the Licensor or You, including from the legal processes of any jurisdiction or authority.

Creative Commons is not a party to its public licenses. Notwithstanding, Creative Commons may elect to apply one of its public licenses to material it publishes and in those instances will be considered the “Licensor.” The text of the Creative Commons public licenses is dedicated to the public domain under the CC0 Public Domain Dedication. Except for the limited purpose of indicating that material is shared under a Creative Commons public license or as otherwise permitted by the Creative Commons policies published at creativecommons.org/policies, Creative Commons does not authorize the use of the trademark “Creative Commons” or any other trademark or logo of Creative Commons without its prior written consent including, without limitation, in connection with any unauthorized modifications to any of its public licenses or any other arrangements, understandings, or agreements concerning use of licensed material. For the avoidance of doubt, this paragraph does not form part of the public licenses.

UPDATE: MAY 6, 2024

Honorary degree recipients

Emory University Commencement

Tags

Recent News