Rice’s Belzer Award featured in SMPH Quarterly Magazine

In October 2023, Laurel Rice, MD, received the UW School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) Folkert O. Belzer Award. This esteemed award is given to UW leaders who have left a major impact not only on UW but medicine in general. Rice’s career and contributions were featured in the spring 2024 issue of Quarterly, the SMPH alumni magazine.

Rice, an emerita professor of obstetrics and gynecology as well as the retired chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, deserves this award for her commitment to patient care and advocacy for contraception and reproductive rights. Rice was a prolific lecturer and helped establish the UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity (CORE), which supports and translates rigorous, policy-relevant research on reproductive health, equity, and autonomy in Wisconsin and beyond.

In Rice’s words, “one of my most meaningful contributions was mentoring junior faculty and trainees, bringing along the next generation of individuals committed to excellence in women’s health care,” cementing her place as an influential educator and member of UW’s SMPH.

Now, Rice hopes to be more active with a prenatal care program she helped establish at the Peter Christensen Health Center in Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin, as well as spend time with her family.

Congratulations Dr. Rice! Read the whole article in Quarterly here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson