List of Wichita State University people

The following is a list of notable people associated with Wichita State University, located in the American city of Wichita, Kansas.

University presidents

Fairmount College

Nathan J. Morrison, 1895–1907^[1]
Henry Thayer, 1907–1914
Walter Rollins, 1914–1922
John D. Finlayson, 1922–1927

Municipal University of Wichita (WU)

Harold Foght, 1927–1934
William M. Jardine, 1934–1949, previously was Professor/Dean (1910-1918) and President (1918-1925) of Kansas State University, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1925-1929), and U.S. Minister to Egypt (1930-1933)
Harry F. Corbin, 1949–1963, previously was Associate Professor of Political Science at WU

Wichita State University (WSU)

Emory K. Lindquist, 1963–1968, Rhodes Scholar, historian, President of Bethany College
Clark D. Ahlberg, 1968–1983
Warren B. Armstrong, 1983–1993
Eugene M. Hughes, 1993–1998
Donald L. Beggs, 1999–2012, President/Chancellor of Southern Illinois University
John W. Bardo, 2012–2019, Chancellor of Western Carolina University, responsible for major building expansion at WSU
Jay S. Golden, 2020–2020,^[2]^[3] Vice Chancellor of Research, East Carolina University
Richard Muma, 2021–present, served as interim president from September 2020 until he became president on May 6, 2021

Faculty and staff

Karen Countryman-Roswurm – professor in the School of Social Work and director of the Center for Combating Human Trafficking
H. Edward Flentje – professor and former director of Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs; interim president of Emporia State University in 2011
Albert Goldbarth – only poet to win the National Book Critics Circle award two times (1991 and 2001)
Hyuck Kwon – professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Bienvenido Santos – fiction, poetry, and nonfiction writer

Academia

Dale Allison – biblical scholar, professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary^[4]
M. Lee Pelton – current president of Emerson College
Earl G. Yarbrough – former president of Savannah State University

Business

Jim Bede – founder of Bede Aviation
Gary Burrell – founder and CEO of Garmin
Dan and Frank Carney – co-founders of Pizza Hut
Vivek Lall – CEO of Reliance Industries
Phil Ruffin – billionaire businessman, owns Treasure Island Hotel and Casino and Circus Circus Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, attended WSU
T. Russell Shields – technology entrepreneur, former CEO of Navteq
Dwane Wallace – former CEO and chairman of Cessna^[5]^[6]

Government

Valerie Baldwin – Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller), 2004–06
Robert Blackwill – diplomat, senior fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations, lobbyist, author
Stanley Thomas Counts – United States Navy rear admiral^[7]
Rebecca Ediger – US Secret Service agent
Jeff Longwell - 102nd Mayor of Wichita, Kansas
Walter Orebaugh – Foreign Service Officer
Femi Pedro – Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria
Riley Pitts – US Army soldier, first African-American commissioned officer to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor
Tom Sawyer – member of the Kansas House of Representatives, former House Majority Leader, 1998 Kansas Democratic Party nominee for Governor
Matt Schlapp — political activist, lobbyist, and chairman of American Conservative Union
Garner Shriver – eight-term US Representative from Kansas
Sandiaga Uno – Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia, previously Deputy Governor of Jakarta, businessman
Brandon Whipple - 103rd Mayor of Wichita, Kansas
Lily Wu - 104th Mayor of Wichita, Kansas
David Younger - member of the Kansas House of Representatives

Literature

Craig Blais – poet
Paul Dickey – poet
Omar Khalidi – author, Muslim scholar^[8]
Michael McClure – poet, playwright, songwriter, and novelist
Janet Peery – short story author and novelist
Charles Plymell – poet, novelist, and small press publisher

Media

James Pringle Cook – Western landscape painter
Erin Dagon-Mitchell – actress, director, playwright
Shirley Knight – Oscar-nominated actress
Lance LeGault – actor
Bob Peak – painter dubbed the "father of the modern movie poster"
Rosé – drag queen
Kate Snodgrass – theatre director and playwright

Music

Chris Arpad – solo steel pannist
James Billings – operatic baritone, opera librettist, and opera director
Karla Burns – Drama Desk Award and Laurence Olivier Award-winning actress and operatic mezzo-soprano
Joyce DiDonato – opera star
Kevin Kastning – modern classical composer and guitarist
Samuel Ramey – opera star
Michael Sylvester – opera star

Science and technology

Lincoln LaPaz – astronomer at University of New Mexico, pioneer in the study of meteors
Adisak Mekkittikul – computer engineer
Harold G. White – mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, and applied physicist; Advanced Propulsion Team Lead for the NASA Engineering Directorate

Sports

Sportscasting

Gary Bender – sportscaster

Baseball

Casey Blake – Major League Baseball player^[9]
Alec Bohm (born 1996) – baseball player in the Philadelphia Phillies
Joe Carter – Major League Baseball player^[10]
Andy Dirks – Major League Baseball player^[11]
Darren Dreifort – Major League Baseball player with the Los Angeles Dodgers^[12]
Conor Gillaspie – Major League Baseball player for the Chicago White Sox
Koyie Hill – Major League Baseball player
Mike Lansing – Major League Baseball player^[13]
Don Lock – Major League Baseball player with the Washington Senators^[14]
Braden Looper – Major League Baseball player for the Milwaukee Brewers and Saint Louis Cardinals
Pat Meares – Major League Baseball player
Doug Mirabelli – Major League Baseball player with the Boston Red Sox
Charlie O'Brien – Major League Baseball player
Michael Pelfrey – Major League Baseball player for the New York Mets
Nate Robertson – Major League Baseball player for the Florida Marlins
Phil Stephenson – former Major League Baseball first baseman, head baseball coach for Dodge City Community College
Eric Wedge – managed Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners, head baseball coach at WSU

Basketball

Jamie Arnold (born 1975) – American-Israeli professional basketball player
Ron Baker – NBA player with the New York Knicks
Nate Bowman – known as "The Snake"; National Basketball Association player
Cal Bruton – American-Australian basketball player, NBL Hall of Famer
Antoine Carr (born 1961) – NBA player^[15]
John Cooper – head coach at Tennessee State University, assistant coach at Auburn University, University of Oregon, and University of South Carolina
Cleanthony Early – NBA player most recently with the New York Knicks
Warren Jabali – American Basketball Association player
Cliff Levingston – NBA player
Xavier McDaniel – NBA player
Gal Mekel (born 1988) – Israeli basketball player formerly in the NBA and now with Maccabi Tel Aviv
Toure' Murry – NBA player most recently with the Utah Jazz
Joe Ragland (born 1989) –- American-Liberian basketball player for Hapoel Holon of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Landry Shamet – NBA player with the Phoenix Suns
Grant Sherfield (born 1999) – basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Dave Stallworth – NBA player
Fred VanVleet – NBA player with the Houston Rockets
Gene Wiley – NBA player

Bowling

Chris Barnes – PBA bowler (2007–08 PBA Player of the Year), USBC spokesperson
Clara Guerrero – PWBA bowler
Francois Lavoie – PBA bowler
Kris Prather – PBA bowler
Sean Rash – PBA bowler
Rocio Restrepo – PWBA bowler

Football

Margene Adkins – NFL player for Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets
Sam Adkins – NFL player for Seattle Seahawks, 1977–81; television personality for Seahawks broadcasts^[16]
Jim Bausch — running back, All-American and member of College Football Hall of Fame (also Olympic Decathalon champion, 1932) 1927 then transferred to University of Kansas
Jumpy Geathers – defensive tackle, played for the New Orleans Saints, Washington Redskins, Atlanta Falcons, and Denver Broncos, won two Super Bowls
Randy Jackson – NFL player, 1972–74; survivor of the 1970 WSU football team plane crash; coached at Robinson Middle School in Wichita
Bob Long – receiver for Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins and Los Angeles Rams; three-time NFL champion (1965, 1966, 1967)
Scot McCloughan – General Manager of the Washington Redskins
Bill Parcells – Pro Football Hall of Fame coach, played linebacker at WSU
Henry Schichtle – NFL and CFL player
Nelson Toburen – linebacker for the Green Bay Packers; two-time NFL champion (1961, 1962)

Wrestling

Paul Wight – professional wrestler known as "The Big Show", played basketball at WSU

Crime

Eyad Ismoil – a perpetrator of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Dennis Rader – BTK serial killer^[17]

References

^ Men and Women of Kansas; Topeka Capital; 1905. Photo of Nathan Jackson Morrison.
^ Swaim, Chance (September 30, 2020). "Golden apparently will be paid at least $225K to leave Wichita State in his first year". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
^ Communications, WSU Strategic. "WSU Past Presidents". wichita.edu.
^ "Dale C. Allison, Jr". Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale. 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
^ "Dwane L. Wallace is Dead at 78, Pioneer Leader at Cessna Aircraft".
^ "Dwane Wallace is Honored".
^ "Obituaries: RADM Stanley Thomas Counts, USN (Ret) '49". The USNA Alumni Association San Diego Chapter Newsletter (May). The USNA Alumni Association: 2&3. 2015.
^ "2004 Press Releases: Dr.Omar Khalidi Visited Ufa and Chelyabinsk and Discussed Muslim Life in America". yekaterinburg.usconsulate.gov. April 18, 2004. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
^ "Casey Blake Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
^ "Joe Carter Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
^ "Andy Dirks Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
^ "Darren Dreifort Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
^ "Mike Lansing". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
^ Don Lock at Society for American Baseball Research
^ "Antoine Carr". Basketball-Reference.Com. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
^ "Sam Adkins". database Football. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
^ "Dennis Rader". Biography.