National University Honors Dr. Lee Rice and Mary Rice as 2024 Humanitarians of the Year
SAN DIEGO, CA – July 18, 2024 – National University (NU)—a nonprofit, veteran-founded institution serving over 50,000 students annually through its degree programs and 80,000 more through its workforce and professional training programs—today announced Dr. Lee Rice and his wife, Mary Rice, as the 2024 Humanitarians of the Year. The university’s distinguished honor recognizes the Rice family’s decades-long commitment to improving lives through education, wellness, and community service.
“Dr. Lee and Mary Rice embody the spirit of dedication and service that we celebrate at National University — and reflect the community difference makers that we serve,” said Dr. Mark D. Milliron, president and CEO of National University. “Their lifelong commitment to wellness, education, and community service has created lasting positive change. The scope of Dr. Rice and Mary’s impact extends far beyond their professional achievements and will be felt for decades through their commitment to community values, service, and making a difference in the lives of those around them.”
Dr. Rice, who serves as vice chair of NU’s board of trustees, and Mary Rice have been fixtures in the Southern California healthcare sector since arriving in San Diego with the United States Navy Reserve Medical Corps in 1973 to begin his family medicine residency.
His groundbreaking work in preventive medicine began during his clinical rotations with both exercise physiology at UCSD and the San Diego Chargers, which inspired him to integrate cutting-edge injury prevention and proactive health management into his practice.
He founded the San Diego Sports Medicine and Family Health Center, pioneering a holistic approach to health that sees wellness as more than just the absence of disease — and later expanded this vision with the Lifewellness Institute, focusing not only on longevity, but also on enhancing the quality of life through personalized, patient-centered care.
His career includes serving as the head primary care team physician for numerous sports teams, including the San Diego Chargers and the USA Men’s and Women’s National and Olympic Volleyball teams, the founding chair of the Medical Commission of the International Surfing Association, and holding teaching positions at prestigious institutions such as UC San Diego, Yale University Medical School, and Western University of Health Sciences in Los Angeles, CA. In 2024, he was the principal investigator for the “HUDDLE Study,” a groundbreaking medical research project focused on heart disease prevalence in African American NFL alumni. The study led to the “Huddle for Health” initiative, improving education, health screenings, and outcomes in underserved communities through a collaboration with NFL Alumni Health.
Mary Rice played a crucial role in these ventures, from supporting Dr. Rice through medical school and managing his first family practice office to shaping the culture and environment of their medical practice. She also balanced impressive professional accomplishments and family responsibilities with extensive community service, including Voices for Children, Children’s Home Society, and Thursday Club, in addition to moderating a women’s YPO group, leading Girl Scout troops, and co-founding the We Care Organization to improve safety and learning environments in San Diego middle and high schools.
The Humanitarian of the Year Award will be presented at the National University Foundation Gala on July 25th aboard the USS Midway, where local and national dignitaries will gather to celebrate the launch of the new National University Foundation. Officially unveiled in June, the NU Foundation will drive investments in student scholarship funds, support academic programs tightly coupled with the needs of employers, and fund cutting-edge R&D to support hard-working students balancing complex career, education, and family responsibilities.
National University was founded in 1971 by a retired U.S. Navy Captain David Chigos, who conceived of a new type of university designed to meet the complex workforce training and continuing education needs of the San Diego region’s military and working student population. At the time, there were virtually no education and training options that met the diverse needs and schedules of non-traditional, working, and military students. Since then, the university has grown to become one of the largest private, nonprofit universities in the United States designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), and home to the largest college of education in California.
For more information about National University and its initiatives, please visit National University’s website.
About National University: National University, a Veteran-founded nonprofit, has been dedicated to meeting the needs of nontraditional, working, and military students by providing accessible, affordable higher education opportunities since 1971. As San Diego’s largest private nonprofit university, NU offers over 190 online and on-campus programs with flexible four-week and eight-week classes and one-to-one graduate education models designed to help students reach their goals while balancing busy lives. Since its founding, the NU community has grown to 130,000 learners per year—50,000 degree-seeking students and 80,000 workforce and professional development students—and 240,000 alumni around the globe, many of whom serve in helping industries such as business, education, healthcare, cybersecurity, and law and criminal justice. To learn more about National University’s new possibilities in education including next-generation education, value-rich education, and Whole Human Education, visit NU.edu.
