A look at Claremont McKenna College's alumni yields a veritable roster of household names in politics, public policy, economics, business, law, and finance, yet closer inspection also reveals exceptional leaders in medicine. Muses David E. Sadava, the Pritzker Family Foundation Professor of Biology, "If people start finding out that this a wonderful place for premed, we'll end up overcrowded and impersonal like those other schools!"

In typical CMC fashion, five such leaders—just a sampling of the successful researchers and clinicians who have passed through the College—appreciatively point to professors including Sadava, Dan Guthrie, and Newton Copp, and emeriti faculty Margaret Mathies, Robert Pinnell, Freeman Bovard, and others for shaping their continuing love of the sciences and medicine. Of his four years at CMC, what stands out most for Dennis Templeton '77, now chair of the pathology department at the University of Virginia, is the hospitality and personal attention shown by Sadava and his late wife, Angie, who often hosted students and colleagues in their home. "They were really inspirational to the whole Joint Science group," recalls Templeton. "They hosted dinners for us and people from Cal Tech and USC who were a few years farther along in their training, introducing potential scientists to people who had already committed to the field."

The following five physicians, from a small-town surgeon to an urban neuroradiologist, share their experiences in the world of medicine-the challenges and motivations, the risks and rewards, and the role played by CMC in shaping their careers.

Back to Table of Contents