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Carol Lally '90 graduated with a degree in English.  She is now an intellectual property lawyer.

Neal Baer '78 earned his degree in political science.  He is the executive producer and writer for the hit show "ER."

Colorado U.S. Senator Ken Salazar graduated from CC in 1977. Elected to the senate in 2004, he had been the state's attorney general.

Holly Ornstein Carter '85 received her degree in political science and is now a writer and documentary filmmaker.

Karen Andersen Medville, a research scientist at Arizona State University, graduated in 1985.

Marcia McNutt, president and CEO of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, earned her degree in physics in 1974.

Jay Engeln graduated in 1974 with a degree in biology.  He is the 2000 National High School Principal of the Year.

Basketball star Verdel Baskin, an English major from the Class of 1999, is now an El Pomar Fellow.

Laura Hershey, a disability rights activist, graduated in 1983 with a degree in history.

Jazz singer Lorna Kollmeyer, a liberal arts major from the Class of 1980, owns an ornamental plasterwork company.  

Richard Koo, 1982 alumnus with a degree in math, is the co-founder of Vitria.com.

Mountain climber Jake Norton, Class of 1996, was a history-philosophy major.  

Paul Markovich graduated in 1988 with an international political economy major and is the co-founder of MyWayHealth.

J. Ralph Armijo, a business administration major, graduated in 1974 and founded Navidec, Inc. and DriveOff.com. 

Theatre artist Liz Stanton earned her degree in business and economics in 1988.

Neal Baer
Class of ’78
Political Science Major
Physician and Executive Producer & Writer, “ER”
Los Angeles, California

His father is a surgeon. So are his two brothers. That’s why Neal Baer chose to major in political science. And maybe that’s why his first choice didn’t stick.    

Neither did his first selection in colleges. Wanting to get away from home in Denver for a while, Neal enrolled at Clark University in Massachusetts. But after only a year, he realized he didn’t like being away after all. He took a year off and worked as a teacher’s aide while he pulled his thoughts together and applied to CC. In addition to his political science major, Neal earned a teaching certificate, going on to get his first job at the same elementary school he attended as a child.

Then Neal went back to school himself, earning his master’s degree in education from Harvard. As that program ended, he changed his mind again, switching to sociology and taking a stronger interest in writing, eventually serving as editor and chair of the Harvard Educational Review. Browsing through Harvard’s course catalog, he found a class in documentary filmmaking, talked his way into it, and began an exhilarating ride that would lead him to Hollywood and “ER.”  

Along the way, Neal wrote an episode of “China Beach” that was nominated by the Writers Guild of America for best episodic drama of 1990. He wrote and directed an ABC After School Special, “Private Affairs,” which was selected best children’s drama of 1990 by the Association of Women in Film and Television. Both dealt with medical issues, foreshadowing yet another change in career direction, this time to medical school. Neal received his M.D. from Harvard in 1996.

He’s been with “ER” since the beginning. “I got this script from John Wells (a childhood friend) and he said the networks weren’t sure about it, but Michael Crichton wrote it, and Crichton and Spielberg owned it,” he explains excitedly. “Spielberg was going to make a movie, but then it languished for 20 years until somebody literally found the script in a trunk and put it together and attached John as a producer, and he called me.” 

Today, Neal’s finishing his residency in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, he’s on the board of several medical organizations, and -- four college degrees and six Emmy nominations later -- he seems settled at last. 

Shortly before he received an honorary doctorate from Colorado College at Opening Convocation, Neal reflected on his years on campus. “Obviously, the Block Plan worked well for me,” he says, “as much as I like to focus. And the professors were so supportive,” he continues. “They thought I was sort of wacky and unusual -- and liked that -- and they always had time for me.”  

But with all those degrees in hand, did Colorado College really make a difference in his life? Neal has many stories to tell on that account, but he points to one memorable occasion: “I just so clearly remember poli-sci Professor Glenn Brooks writing a note to me on an essay, and he said, ‘This is really well written. It bodes well for your future.’”  

(Note:  Baer is now the executive producer and writer of the NBC series "Law & Order:  Special Victims Unit," as well as a pediatric resident.)

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