Legacy of Science | North Central College

Daniel Ruge

Daniel Ruge is among the many distinguished alumni in North Central's Legacy of Science.

Sometimes a lifetime of training and preparation plays out in a few crucial moments.

Dr. Daniel A. Ruge graduated with a degree in zoology from North Central College, a liberal arts college in Naperville, Illinois. He went on to become a world-renowned neurosurgeon and an expert on spinal cord injuries.

Milford Schultz

Milford Schultz is among the many distinguished alumni in North Central's Legacy of Science.

Dr. Milford Schultz began his stellar career in radiology at a liberal arts school in Naperville, Illinois, North Central College, where he majored in zoology and chemistry before entering Northwestern Medical School. He was a fellow in radiology there before moving on to Massachusetts, where he became chief radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, specializing in radiation therapy.

Myron Wentz

Myron Wentz is among the many distinguished alumni in North Central's Legacy of Science.

Some scientists use their knowledge to change the world by advancing technology or by making new discoveries. Dr. Myron Wentz uses his scientific background to promote healing, and to help children.

Clifford Wall

Clifford Wall was a gifted scientist who was devoted to teaching and mentoring future scientists as well as to research and publishing.

How many of the scientists who have shaped our world can you identify? Here’s a few — all Nobel laureates: Harold Varmus. John Mather. Peter Agre. And their schools? Small liberal arts colleges.

Veronika Gagovic

Dr. Veronika Gagovic is among the many distinguished alumni in North Central's Legacy of Science.

Dr. Veronika Gagovic gained her inspiration to pursue medicine from a typical source in a very atypical setting. Her father, a physician in war-torn Bosnia, was murdered in the Bosnian conflict.

She spent her teen years supporting her widowed mother and brother as a translator for NATO, but then found her way to a small liberal arts school in Naperville, Illlinois— North Central College, a place for her to heal and grow into her future role in the medical field.

Emily Albright

Emily Albright is among the many distinguished alumni in North Central's Legacy of Science.

Emily Albright made a major discovery early in her college career. She found that she loved laboratory research and she began spending every spare hour and her summer vacations researching yeast cell genetics and protein repair in bacteria and its relationship to aging.

Holly Humphrey

Dr. Holly Humphrey is among the many distinguished alumni in North Central's Legacy of Science.

When you study science at a small liberal arts school, you’re preparing for a career in just about anything.

Dr. Holly Humphrey, who majored in biology at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, is dean for medical education at The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, where she oversees the education of 400 medical students and all graduate programs.

Norma Kolthoff

Norma Kolthoff is among the many distinguished alumni in North Central's Legacy of Science.

Dr. Norma Kolthoff graduated with a degree in zoology from North Central College, a liberal arts college in Naperville, Illinois, and went on to earn a doctorate in physiology from Boston University, becoming the first nurse ever to receive a Ph.D. degree from that institution. In a long career at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she became one of the leading educators of nurses in the nation, earning recognition as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

Nate Montgomery

Dr. Nate Montgomery is among the many distinguished alumni in North Central's Legacy of Science.

Dr. Nate Montgomery became one of the top doctoral students in genetics and molecular biology in the country after finding his passion for science at North Central College, a small liberal arts college in Naperville, Illinois, where he came to run cross country and learn to be a journalist, but earned a degree in biology. In a freshman cell biology class, he actually needed remedial help but fell in love with molecular biology.

David Rall

David Rall is among the many distinguished alumni in North Central's Legacy of Science.

Called “the intellectual and ethical founder of modern environmental medicine,” Dr. David Rall helped create the scientific field of environmental health. Many of the discoveries made in the 19 years he served as director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences continue to influence health policy and environmental regulation today. He campaigned to strengthen laws protecting water from pesticides; he released studies linking asbestos to lung damage; and he oversaw research showing lead exposure could affect children’s development.