List of West Virginia University alumni

This list of West Virginia University alumni includes notable people from published sources that previously attended West Virginia University.

Arts and entertainment

Don Knotts, five-time Emmy Award-winning actor best known for his role as Barney Fife on *The Andy Griffith Show*

Michael Ammar – world-renowned magician; WVU Distinguished Alumni Award winner 2003
Emily Calandrelli – science communicator, host and producer for Netflix's Emily's Wonder Lab and children's STEM science programming block Xploration Station
Paul Dooley – actor, writer, comedian
Conchata Ferrell – actress; known for playing Berta the housekeeper on the CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men
Antoine Fuqua – director of Training Day, Shooter, Replacement Killers; attended, but did not graduate
Steve Harvey – Emmy-winning host of Family Feud; attended, but did not graduate
Cheryl Hines – actress, Curb Your Enthusiasm; attended but did not graduate
Mike Hodge (B.A. in journalism, minor in theater) – actor and actors' labor union executive; former President of SAG-AFTRA New York local^[1]
Taylor Kinney – actor; portrays Lt. Kelly Severide in NBC's drama Chicago Fire; stars in The Other Woman
Don Knotts – television and movie actor
Richard Kuranda – theatrical producer and artistic director Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, Signature Theatre Company, Raue Center for the Arts
Billy Mays – television advertiser featured on Discovery Channel's PitchMen and known for promoting several as seen on TV products; attended but did not graduate; died in 2009^[2]
Kathleen Noone – portrays Edna Wallace on the NBC soap opera Passions; known to have attended^[3]
Ben Reed – actor; played quarterback for the West Virginia University football team
John A. Russo – screenwriter and film director; co-wrote Night of the Living Dead^[4]
Chris Sarandon – television and movie actor, voice of Jack Skellington
David Selby – actor

Athletics

Joe Alexander – American-Israeli current professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv
Michael Baker – football player
Terry Bowden – Yahoo sports analyst
Tommy Bowden – former head football coach for Clemson University and Tulane University
John Browning – former NFL defensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs
Marc Bulger – former NFL quarterback for the St. Louis Rams, New Orleans Saints, and Baltimore Ravens
Da'Sean Butler (born 1987) – basketball player for Hapoel Be'er Sheva of the Israeli Premier League
Niccolò Campriani – Olympic gold and silver medal-winning sport shooter; won gold in the men's 50 metre rifle three positions and silver in the men's 10 metre air rifle at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Mike Compton – two-time Super Bowl Champion and former NFL guard for the Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, and Jacksonville Jaguars^[5]
Devin Ebanks – professional basketball player
James "Clayster" Eubanks – professional Call of Duty player, two-time Call of Duty Championship winner
D'or Fischer (born 1981) – American-Israeli basketball player in the Israeli National League
Mike Gansey – former basketball player in the NBA Development League; current assistant general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers^[6]
Jedd Gyorko – current second baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals
Major Harris – quarterback for West Virginia University in their 1988 undefeated season
Sue Haywood – professional mountain bike racer
Johannes "Joe" Herber – former professional and German international basketball player
Chris Henry – former NFL wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals
Jeff Hostetler – Super Bowl Champion and former NFL quarterback for the Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, and New York Giants; starting quarterback in Super Bowl XXV
Chuck Howley – former NFL linebacker for the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys, and Super Bowl V MVP
Sam Huff – former NFL linebacker; inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982
Bob Huggins – former head coach of the West Virginia University men's basketball team and former West Virginia University basketball player
Rodney Clark "Hot Rod" Hundley – former NBA basketball player for the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers; first pick in the 1957 NBA draft
Hal Hunter – football coach
Bruce Irvin – Super Bowl Champion and current NFL linebacker for the Seattle Seahawks
James Jett – Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter and former NFL wide receiver for Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders
Adam "Pacman" Jones – NFL cornerback, currently a free agent
Greg Jones – three-time NCAA Division 1 wrestling champion, 2005 Most Outstanding Wrestler award winner, former associate head coach for the West Virginia University wrestling team,^[7] current Blackzilians wrestling coach^[8]
Brian Jozwiak – former NFL offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs
Ken Kendrick – owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball
Steve Kline – former Major League Baseball pitcher
Ellis Lankster – current NFL cornerback for the New York Jets^[9]
Ashley Lawrence – soccer player for the Canada national team
Oliver Luck – former NFL quarterback, athletic director of West Virginia University, first Commissioner of the XFL, president/general manager of the Houston Dynamo, father of Andrew Luck^[10]
Billy Joe Mantooth – former NFL linebacker for the Houston Oilers
Pat McAfee – former NFL punter for the Indianapolis Colts
Casey Mitchell (born 1988) – basketball player for Elitzur Ashkelon of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Dan Mozes – 2006 Rimington Trophy winner
Adrian Murrell – former running back for New York Jets
Solomon Page – former NFL offensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers
Tarik Phillip (born 1993) – British-American basketball player in the Israel Basketball Premier League
Kevin Pittsnogle – former basketball player in the NBA Development League
Adrian Pledger (born 1976) – basketball player
Jerry Porter – former NFL wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars
Wil Robinson – former ABA basketball player; All-American at West Virginia
Rich Rodriguez – former head football coach of the University of Michigan; current head football coach of the University of Arizona
Todd Sauerbrun – former All-Pro NFL punter (five different teams)
Owen Schmitt – former NFL fullback for the Seattle Seahawks, Philadelphia Eagles, and Oakland Raiders
Floyd B. "Ben" Schwartzwalder – former head coach of the 1959 National Championship Syracuse University football team
Heath Slater – professional wrestler, former wrestler at WVU
Steve Slaton – former NFL running back for the Houston Texans and Miami Dolphins; current CFL running back for the Toronto Argonauts
Dave Stephenson – former NFL guard for the Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers
Darryl Talley – West Virginia University all-time team member and former NFL Linebacker for the Buffalo Bills
Rod Thorn – former NBA and ABA basketball player and current President of Basketball Operation for the NBA
John Thornton – former NFL defensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals
Virginia Thrasher – current WVU rifle team member and 2016 Olympic gold medalist in air rifle
Mike Vanderjagt – former NFL placekicker for the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys
Jerry West – former NBA basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers and Hall of Famer; considered one of the greatest NBA and college basketball players of all time; is the image on the logo for the NBA
Pat White – former NFL quarterback for the Miami Dolphins
Andrew Wright – current defender/midfielder for Morecambe F.C.
John Writer – Olympic gold and silver medal-winning sports shooter^[11]^[12]
Amos Zereoué – former NFL running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, and New England Patriots

Authors

Maggie Anderson – poet
Allen Appel – writer
Matt Carson – novelist
Stephen Coonts – New York Times bestselling author
Paul Russell Cutright – historian and biologist
Chip Ingram – Christian writer
Chuck Kinder – novelist
Ann Pancake – author

Business

Heather Bresch – CEO of Mylan, Inc.
John Chambers – President and CEO of Cisco Systems
Karen S. Evans – de facto CIO of the United States under President George W. Bush^[13]
Maggie Hardy Magerko – President of 84 Lumber Company and Nemacolin Woodlands Resort (attended for two years but did not graduate)^[14]
Richard Wallen – CEO and General Manager of Grant County Public Utility District^[15]

Education

Charles E. Bayless – president of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology
Todd H. Bullard – former president of Potomac State College and Bethany College
Margaret Buchanan Cole – American mathematician, retired professor emeritus from WVU
Joseph DiSarro (Ph.D.) – professor and chair in the Department of Political Science at Washington & Jefferson College^[16]
Wanda Franz (Ph.D.) – professor and anti-abortion activist^[17]
Ruqayyah Ahmed Rufa'i – Nigeria's Minister of Education
Patrick Vaughan – historian and professor at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland
Charles M. Vest – President Emeritus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Journalists

Frank Kearns (died 1986) – foreign correspondent and broadcast journalist with CBS News 1953–1971; WVU Professor of Journalism 1971–1983
Frank Lovece
Asra Nomani
Michael Tomasky – editor in chief of Democracy, editor of The New Republic
Ken Ward Jr. – reporter for the Charleston Gazette-Mail; 2018 MacArthur Fellow

Military

Ret. Gen. Earl E. Anderson – Marine Corps General
Corporal Thomas W. Bennett – US Army conscientious objector corporal who served as a combat medic
Ret. Gen. Bantz J. Craddock – United States Army, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe
Brig. Gen. Frank Kendall Everest, Jr – test pilot and pioneer of rocket aircraft
Gen. Robert H. Foglesong – retired Commander, US Air Force in Europe; former President of Mississippi State University

Music

Velvet Brown – tuba soloist, music educator
Jay Chattaway – Star Trek music score writer
Little Jimmy Dickens – country music singer
Fuzzy Knight – writer of the WVU Fight Song and country-western actor
Scott Krippayne – singer/songwriter
Kathy Mattea – country music singer
James Valenti – tenor at the Metropolitan Opera, New York
Charles Wesley Godwin - new age folk/country singer/songwriter

Politics

Victor A. Arredondo – former Minister of Education at the State of Veracruz, Mexico, 2004–2010
Carl George Bachmann – United States Congressman, Republican Minority Whip 1931–1933
Clark S. Barnes – West Virginia Senate, District 15, 2004–present
William Wallace Barron – 26th Governor of West Virginia
Irene Berger – United States District Judge for the Southern District of West Virginia
Frank L. Bowman – politician who represented West Virginia in the United States House of Representatives
Eric Brooks – West Virginia House of Delegates
Virginia Mae Brown – first woman to head the Interstate Commerce Commission
Becky Cain – past president of the League of Women Voters
William G. Conley – 18th Governor of West Virginia
William Harrison Courtney – special assistant to President Clinton
Joseph M. Devine – Governor of North Dakota from 1898 to 1899^[18]
David Ginsburg (1912–2010) – presidential adviser and executive director of the Kerner Commission^[19]
William E. Glasscock – 13th Governor of West Virginia
Howard Mason Gore – 17th Governor of West Virginia
Kathleen M. Hawk – Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons
Robert Lynn Hogg – represented West Virginia in the United States House of Representatives, 1930–1933
Brad Hoylman – sitting New York State Senator representing the 27th District which includes Midtown, Times Square, and Greenwich Village of lower Manhattan
Nancy Jacobs – Maryland State Senator (1973)
Sen. Harley M. Kilgore – chairman of the US Senate Subcommittee on War Mobilization during World War II
Tim Mahoney – United States Congressman from Florida
Joe Manchin – 34th Governor of West Virginia; United States Senator from West Virginia
William C. Marland – 24th Governor of West Virginia
Edward F. McClain – member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Darrell McGraw – former West Virginia Attorney General, former Chief Justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court
Carlos Eduardo Mendoza – United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida
M. Blane Michael – Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Alan Mollohan – United States Congressman
Arch A. Moore, Jr. – 28th and 30th Governor of West Virginia
Ephraim F. Morgan – 16th Governor of West Virginia
Matthew M. Neely – 22nd Governor of West Virginia
Asra Nomani – former Wall Street Journal reporter, author and Islamic reform and feminism activist
Corey Lee Palumbo – West Virginia Senate, District 17, 2009 – present and West Virginia House of Representatives 2003–2009
Mike Pantelides – Mayor of Annapolis, Maryland
Tom Pridemore – West Virginia House of Delegates and football player
Jeff Pyle – Pennsylvania State Representative
Stuart F. Reed – politician who represented West Virginia in the United States House of Representatives
Nelson Stamler – New Jersey State Senator, Assemblyman, Judge, and Prosecutor
Virginia Starcher – member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, 1986–1990
Paul S. Stull – member of the Maryland House of Delegates
John G. Trueschler – former member of the Maryland House of Delegates (1979)
Cecil H. Underwood – youngest (25th) and oldest (32nd) Governor of West Virginia

Royalty

Princess Sarah Culberson – Mende princess and philanthropist

Science and technology

Ann Bartuska – ecologist and biologist, Senior advisor at Resources for the Future and former Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics at United States Department of Agriculture
James M. Bobbitt – chemist and professor at the University of Connecticut
Emily Calandrelli – science communicator; host of science programs and author of science books for children
Dianne Dorland – engineer and first female president of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Frances Harshbarger (1902–1987) – mathematician
Katherine Johnson – mathematician, NASA computer scientist, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Robert Kerns – psychologist
Jon McBride – NASA astronaut
Kim Weaver – astrophysicist

Other notable alumni

Cynthia Germanotta – philanthropist, co-founder of Born This Way; also, Lady Gaga's mother.
Patsy Ramsey – mother of JonBenet Ramsey; Miss West Virginia in 1977

References

^ Robb, David (2017-09-10). "Mike Hodge Dies: President Of SAG-AFTRA's New York Local Was 70". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2017-10-07.
^ "RAW DATA: Billy Mays Biography". Fox News. 2009-06-28. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
^ NBC Universal, Inc. "NBC.com – Passions – About". NBC Universal, Inc. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
^ West Virginia University. "John Russo | WVU Magazine". West Virginia University. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
^ "Michael Eugene Compton". databaseBasketball.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
^ "Brand New Brass". Cleveland Cavaliers. July 26, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
^ "Greg Jones Wrestling". WVU Athletics. Retrieved 2014-01-01.
^ "Greg Jones Blackzilian Bio".
^ "Ellis Lankster". NFL Enterprises LLC. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
^ Newport, Kyle. "XFL Names Andrew Luck's Father, Oliver, Commissioner and CEO". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
^ "WVU Sports Hall of Fame". wvusports.com.
^ "Olympic Games Medals (Results)". olympic.org.
^ Vijayan, Jaikumar (January 10, 2008). "White House cuts paper out of federal budget". Computerworld. IDG. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
^ Vijayan, Jaikumar (April 24, 1997). "White House cuts paper out of federal budget". Joe Hardy Passed Over Sons For Successor at 84 Lumber. wsj.com. Retrieved 2014-02-14.
^ Mitchell, Hope (Feb 1, 2022). "Grant County PUD leadership". www.grantpud.org.
^ "DiSarro, Joseph". Political Science Department, Washington & Jefferson College. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
^ "Retired educator has spent 20 years battling abortion". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
^ "Joseph M. Devine". National Governors Association. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
^ Grimes, William. "David Ginsburg, Longtime Washington Insider, Dies at 98", The New York Times, May 25, 2010. Accessed June 1, 2010.