Morehouse School of Medicine President John E. Maupin Jr. will be retiring in a year, and Macon native Valerie Montgomery Rice will take the reins from him.

Rice, a Harvard-educated obstetrician and gynecologist, will become CEO of the school in July 2014. She was named executive vice president and dean in 2011. She will retain the position of dean when she becomes president next year.

Rice will become the nations first black woman to lead a free-standing medical school as chief executive officer, according to a statement from the school.

In 2010, the schools board of trustees approved a new leadership structure that would merge the roles of dean and president upon Maupins retirement.

Rice, an infertility expert, has served in several leadership positions at some of the nations most prestigious academic and health institutions. She received an undergraduate degree in chemistry from Georgia Tech, a medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed her training in obstetrics and gynecology at Emory University Medical School and reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Hutzel Hospital in Detroit.

Miller wins national award

Catherine L. Miller, of Warner Robins, was named the recipient of the F. Gerald Ham Scholarship given by the Society of American Archivists. The award will be presented in August in New Orleans. The award is valued at $7,500.

Miller is a graduate student in the master of archival studies program at Clayton State University in Morrow. Miller, the 2004 Warner Robins High School valedictorian, was profiled in The Telegraph four years ago after she won an award for her research into the 1922 lynching of John Cocky Glover near Macon.

Perry students awarded scholarships

The Perry Kiwanis Club recently awarded its annual scholarships to two local students. Seth Schofill, a 2013 graduate of Perry High School, and Jessica Grace Springer, a 2013 graduate of The Westfield School, are the recipients, according to a news release.

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Education notebook: Macon native to lead Morehouse medical school