Meet Our Team

Dr. Kenya McNeal-Trice is a Professor and the Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine. She earned her B.S. in Biology from Spelman College and M.D. from Wayne State University School of Medicine. She completed pediatric residency training at the UNC Hospitals’ North Carolina Children’s Hospital, and afterwards served as a Pediatric Chief Resident. In 2007, Dr. McNeal-Trice was recruited to join the faculty at UNC School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor and assume a leadership role as the Associate Director of Medical Student Education in Pediatrics. In 2010, she was appointed the Director of Medical Student Education Programs in Pediatrics and became the Pediatric Residency Program Director in 2014. As program director, she led a diverse, nationally ranked training program of nearly 70 trainees with residency positions in Categorical Pediatrics, Primary Care, Preliminary Pediatrics, combined Pediatrics/Anesthesia and Child Neurology. Under her leadership, the pediatric residency training programs at UNC Hospitals became ranked in the Top 25 programs in the country, and the was the largest within the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

Dr. McNeal-Trice was appointed the Chief Graduate Medical Education (GME) Officer/ACGME Designated Institutional Official at UNC Hospitals and the Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education at the UNC School of Medicine in 2021. Dr. McNeal-Trice served in this role through January 2023 and was responsible for the educational components, accreditation, and operations of all GME programs at UNC Hospitals. She had oversight for over 100 ACGME-accredited programs and more than 1000 trainees. Dr. McNeal-Trice has been active in numerous committees and leadership roles within the School of Medicine, including the Education, Admissions, Student Promotions committees and two years as Interim Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Dr. McNeal-Trice is an also established leader within the broader community of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has served on the Committee on the Status of Women for six years, and as an elected member and Chair of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee. Dr. McNeal-Trice has been honored for her commitment to medical student education and elected several years by the senior class of medical students to present the Doctor of Medicine hoods at graduation ceremonies, and to deliver the 2021 Graduation Keynote Address. She was the recipient of The Distinguished Teaching Award for Post-Baccalaureate Instruction by the Chancellor of the University, the highest honor awarded to faculty with exceptional achievements in teaching.

Dr. McNeal-Trice is a nationally recognized leader in academic medicine. She is a member of the Pediatric Residency Review Committee for the ACGME and the Education and Training Committee for the American Board of Pediatrics. She is serving her second term as an elected member of the AAMC’s Steering Committee for the Group in Women in Science and Medicine. In addition, she is currently the Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Academic Pediatric Association, and President of the North Carolina Pediatric Society (NC Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics). She has been elected to the National Academy of Distinguished Educators of Pediatrics.
Dr. McNeal-Trice has dedicated her career to implementing curricula and policies promoting an equitable and inclusive learning environment at all levels of academic medicine. She lives in Chapel Hill with her husband, Rodney, and two daughters, Zuri and Sala.