List of University of Iowa people

Accomplished alumni

* Archie Alexander, first African-American graduate (in engineering); and, governor of the Virgin Islands
* B.J. Armstrong, former NBA point guard for the Chicago Bulls
* Tom Arnold, actor ("Roseanne", True Lies) and host of Fox Sports Net's talk show, Best Damn Sports Show Period
* M. M. Ayoub, a pioneer in the field of ergonomics
* Ed Banach, Light Heavyweight Olympic Gold medalist 1984 Olympic Games, Los Angeles, CA
* Lou Banach, Heavyweight Olympic Gold Medalist 1984 Olympic Games, Los Angeles, CA
* Brian Beecher, 12 time Competitive Eating champion.
* Mildred Benson, writer under penname Carolyn Keene of Nancy Drew books
* Bret Bielema, former football player and assistant coach. Now head coach of University of Wisconsin-Madison
* Chuck Blount, internationally syndicated newspaper poker columnist
* Fred H. Blume, Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court for 42 years.
* T.C. Boyle, PEN/Faulkner award-winning writer, "World's End" and "Drop City"
* Terry Brands, Olympic Bronze medalist 2000 Olympic Games, Sydney, Australia
* Tom Brands, Olympic Gold Medalist 1996 Olympic Games Atlanta, Georgia, currently University of Iowa wrestling coach.
* Carter Bair, film and television actor.
* Terry E. Branstad, Former Governor of Iowa, and longest-tenured Governor in the nation
*Tom Brokaw, broadcast journalist, anchor NBC Nightly News, author "The Greatest Generation"
* "Downtown" Freddie Brown, former NBA guard for the Seattle SuperSonics where he was captain of the 1978-79 World Championship team.
*Neil Brown, publisher St. Petersburg Times
* Robert Olen Butler Jr., Won the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, among other literary awards
* Macdonald Carey, film and television actor ("Days of our Lives")
* Elizabeth Catlett, Acclaimed painter who studied under Grant Wood and is the first African American woman to earn the MFA from the University of Iowa
* Marquis W. Childs, Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator
* Sandra Cisneros, author "The House on Mango Street"
* Dallas Clark, tight end for the NFL's Indianapolis Colts
* John Cochran, broadcast journalist and correspondent
* Diablo Cody, Screenwriter and winner of the 2008 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for "Juno"
* Norm Coleman, former Democratic mayor of St. Paul, now Junior Republican U.S. Senator of Minnesota.
* Max Allan Collins, Writer of the comic strip "Dick Tracy." (Chester Gould was the creator of the strip and Collins took over in 1977 when Gould retired.) Collins also writes mystery novels
* Paul Conrad, Former editorial cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1964, 1971, and 1984
* Sean Considine, Safety for the Philadelphia Eagles.
* Francis X. Cretzmeyer, track and field coach 1948-1978, coached Ted Wheeler and Deacon Jones (1956 and 1960 Olympics)
* Michael Cunningham, award-winning American writer/novelist, best known for his Pulitzer Prize novel The Hours
* John Dalton, author of Heaven Lake
* Barry Davis, Bantamweight Olympic Silver medalist 1984 Olympic Games, Los Angeles, CA
* Keno Davis, current men's basketball coach at Providence College
* Ricky Davis, NBA player currently with the Miami Heat
* Ellen Dolan, soap opera actress in Guiding Light and As the World Turns
* Martha Angle Dorsett, the first woman admitted to the Bar of Minnesota (in 1878)
* Rita Dove, 1993 Poet Laureate of the United States
* Duck's Breath Mystery Theater (Dan Coffey, Bill Allard, Merle Kessler, Leon Martrell, and Jim Turner), touring comedy troupe also featured on National Public Radio's All Things Considered
* Wayne Duke, Former and now retired Commissioner of the Big Ten Conference 1971-1989.
* Tim Dwight, NFL kick returner and occasional wide-receiver for the New York Jets.
* Cal Eldred, retired Major League Baseball pitcher who played for 14 years
* Simon Estes, bass baritone opera singer, formerly of the New York Metropolitan Opera
* Jeannette Eyerly, writer of young adult fiction
* Joshua Ferris, novelist
* R. William Field, Associate Professor, College of Public Health, University of Iowa
* Tanna Frederick, stage and independent film actress
* John D. Freyer, artist and author of All My Life for Sale
* Wesley Fry, former general manager for the Oakland Raiders
* Robert Gallery, Offensive Tackle for the Oakland Raiders
* George Gallup, founder of the Gallup Poll
* Dennis Green, head coach of NFL's Arizona Cardinals
* Charles Guggenheim, A Washington, D.C.—based documentary filmmaker who has won three Academy Awards and been nominated for eight others
* Merton Hanks, former NFL defensive back (4-time Pro Bowl selection)
* Bob Hansen, former NBA player for the Utah Jazz
* Jay Hilgenberg, former NFL center for Chicago Bears (7-time Pro Bowl selection)
* Candace Hilligoss, actress in 1960 film Carnival of Souls
* Leo A. Hoegh, former Governor of Iowa and National Security Council member
* Lou Holtz, assistant football coach (1960), only football coach in NCAA history to lead six different programs to bowl games
* Matt Hoover, winner of The Biggest Loser 2; member of four NCAA Championship wrestling teams (1994 to 1999)
* Chuck Horner, USAF General who commanded Coalition Air Forces during the Gulf War
* Mary Beth Hurt, actress in "The World According to Garp" and "Interiors"
* Toby Huss, actor, creator of Artie, the Strongest Man in the World from The Adventures of Pete and Pete which he created at No Shame Theatre at the university.
* Harvey Ingham, co-owner and editor of the "Des Moines Register"
* John Irving, writer, "A Widow for One Year" and "The World According to Garp"
* Amy Jacobson, reporter
* Al Jarreau, Grammy Award-winning vocalist
* Denis Johnson, author of Jesus' Son
* John Johnson, former NBA player on 1978-1979 Seattle SuperSonics championship team

* Deacon Jones, 1956 and 1960 Olympics, track and field
* Donald Justice, Pulitzer Prize winner for poetry
* Nate Kaeding, current NFL place kicker for the San Diego Chargers
* Harry Kalas, sportscaster and unmistakable voice of NFL Films
* Aaron Kampman, current NFL defensive end for the Green Bay Packers.
* Alex Karras, actor and football player
* Marshall Kay, geologist and Penrose Medal winner
* Barry Kemp, producer of television programs Coach and Newhart (Hayden Fox, the title character of Coach, was named after Iowa football coach Hayden Fry)
* James Kennedy, professor of the history of the Netherlands at the University of Amsterdam
* Tracy Kidder, Author of The Soul of a New Machine, "Among Schoolchildren", "House" and "Old Friends"
* Kerry Killinger, chairman and CEO of Washington Mutual
* Nile Kinnick, Iowa's 1939 Heisman trophy winner with Iowa's Kinnick Stadium named for him in 1972.
* W.P. Kinsella, author whose works include Shoeless Joe, the book on which Field of Dreams was based
* Ashton Kutcher, actor, husband of Demi Moore
* William Lashner, author of Past Due and others
* Jolette Law, current head coach of University of Illinois' women's basketball team.
* Donald P. Lay, judge of the Eighth Circuit
* Randall Lewis, Featherweight Olympic Gold medalist 1984 Olympic Games, Los Angeles, CA
* E.F. Lindquist, co-founder of the ACT examination
* Chuck Long, closest ever Heisman Trophy runner-up in 1985. Currently head football coach at San Diego State University
* Charles F. Lynch, Medical Director of the Iowa Cancer Registry
* John Walter Grant MacEwan, Western Canadian icon
* Richard W. Maibaum, author of over a dozen James Bond scripts
* Nicholas Meyer, director of
* Deane Montgomery, mathematician
* Greg Morris, actor played Barney Collier in original "" TV Series
* Bharati Mukherjee, Bengali-American writer
* Jayaprakash Narayan, Indian freedom fighter, social reformer, politician
* Don Nelson, former NBA player for the Boston Celtics and coach for the Golden State Warriors
* Kent Norman, Cognitive Psychologist and expert on computer rage
* Flannery O'Connor, Novelist and author of numerous short stories
*John E. Osborn, lawyer, business executive, Commissioner, U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy
* Terry O'Quinn, star of movies and television including ABC's hit "Lost"
* Wes Obermueller, Major League Baseball pitcher
* Chris Offutt, short story writer and essayist
* Kay A. Orr, first Republican woman Governor in the United States
* Ed Podolak, former NFL star with the Kansas City Chiefs
* Charles Ray, contemporary American artist
* Eddie Robinson, winningest coach in football history at Grambling State University from 1942 until 1997
* Reggie Roby, former NFL punter (3-time Pro Bowl Selection) for the Miami Dolphins
* Brandon Routh, actor, Superman Returns
* Coleen Rowley, shared 2002 "Time" "Person of the Year" award and was the FBI whistleblower who helped bring in terrorist suspect Zacarias Moussaoui, and issued a memo that exposed agency missteps leading up to September 11th.
* Bob Sanders, starting safety for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League
* Wilbur L. Schramm, founder of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and the Institute of Communications Research at Stanford University
* Jean Seberg, actress
* Joe Sharpnack, editorial cartoonist
* Jim Simmerman, poet, refused to perform the University's MFA poetry thesis reading requirement but still graduated, then stole and tore up his own MFA thesis from the library; founded the creative writing program at Northern Arizona University
* Jane Smiley, Pulitzer Prize winning American Novelist
* Mary Louise Smith, Former chair of the National Republican Committee, and former vice chair of the United States Commission on Civil Rights
* William De Witt Snodgrass, confessional poet and 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winner
*C. Maxwell Stanley, engineer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, founder of Stanley Consultants, The Stanley Foundation and co-founder of HON Industries.
* Larry Station, two-time All-American football player
* Wallace Stegner, author
* Bob Stoops, football player and coach. Now head coach of the University of Oklahoma
* Mike Stoops, football player and coach. Now head coach of the University of Arizona
* Juanita Kidd Stout, First woman appointed as a federal judge; Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice
* Mark Strand, poet, Pulitzer Prize winner in 1999 for "A Blizzard of One"
* Andre Tippett, former NFL linebacker for the New England Patriots
*Roger Thurow, Wall Street Journal reporter
* Oswald Veblen, mathematician
* Ted Waitt, founder of Gateway, Inc.
* Frank R. Wallace (pen name for Wallace Ward), 1957, enterpreneur, publisher, writer, and developer of the Neo-Tech philosophy
* Susan Werner, singer-songwriter
* Ted Wheeler, 1956 Olympics, track and field
* Gene Wilder, Comedic film and television actor whose credits include "Silver Streak," "Young Frankenstein," and "Stir Crazy."
* Tennessee Williams, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer
* Wu Jin, Minister of Education of Taiwan 1996 - 1998 cite news |first=|last=|title=Former Education Minister Wu Jin dies at 74 |url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/2008/01/16/139270/Former-Education.htm |work= China Post |publisher=|date=2008-01-16 |accessdate=2008-01-21]
* Dave Strackany, noted musician of Paleo

Notable faculty, administrators, and staff

Retired and former faculty and staff
* Frank Conroy, author, former head of Iowa Writers' Workshop
* Philip Greeley Clapp, director of school of music 1919-53
* Antonio Damasio, neurologist, former M.W. Van Allen Professor and Head of Neurology 1989-2004, Director of USC Institute for the Neurological Study of Emotion and Creativity
* Paul Engle, poet and director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop for 24 years. Engle also founded the International Writing Program.
* Jorie Graham, alumna, Pulitzer Prize winning poet and MacArthur Fellow on the faculty of the Iowa Writers' Workshop
* Walter Albert Jessup, president 1916-34
* Wendell Johnson, (1904-1965) former head of the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology; Pioneer in the field. See http://nicholasjohnson.org/wjohnson/
* Everett Franklin Lindquist, developer of the ITBS and ACT exams.
* Lester Longman, chairman of the art department 1936-58
* Edward C. Mabie, director of theatre arts 1925-56
* Harold McCarty, First chair of Dept. of Geography, pioneered regression analysis within economic geography
* Lute Olson, head basketball coach 1974-1983
* J. Roger Porter, chair Dept. of Microbiology 1949-1977, internationally known microbiologist
* Wiley B. Rutledge, United States Supreme Court Justice; Dean of College of Law, 1935-1939
* Palagummi Sainath, [http://www.uiowa.edu/~fyi/issues/issues97-98/112098web/poverty_112098.html visiting instructor] in International Programs. An award winning Indian development journalist described as one of the world's greatest experts on famine and hunger.
* Carl Seashore, dean of the graduate college 1908-37
* Vivian Stringer, former women's basketball coach who is only coach in NCAA history to take three different teams to final four.
* James Van Allen, physicist and discoverer of two radiation belts (the Van Allen Belts) that surround the earth, Emeritus Carver Professor of Physics
* Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., American novelist and satirist, Iowa Writers' Workshop faculty 1965-66
* Grant Wood, American painter who painted "American Gothic", instructor and director of WPA art projects
* Mauricio Lasansky, renowned printmaker, creator of "The Nazi Drawings"
* Steve Alford, Former men's basketball coach
* Kyle Braheny, top Men's basketball manager

Current notable faculty
* Nancy C. Andreasen, alumna and psychiatrist, 2000 National Medal of Science Recipient, Andrew H. Woods Chair of Psychiatry, Director of the Psychiatric Iowa Neuroimaging Consortium
* Stephen Berry, 1993 Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting for a story he co-authored while at the "Orlando Sentinel", associate professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication
* John M. Buatti, radiation oncologist, Professor and Head of Radiation Oncology
* Kevin Campbell, muscular dystrophy scientist, Investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Professor and Head of Department of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
* Keith Carter, ophthalmologist, Head of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
* George De La Pena, actor, Associate Professor of Dance
* Bruce Jay Gantz, Head of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Brian F McCabe Distinguished Chair in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
* Matthew A. Howard, Head of Neurosurgery, Director of Human Brain Research Laboratory (HBRL)
* Nicholas Johnson, former [http://ftp.fcc.gov/commissioners/commish-list.html FCC commissioner 1966-1973] , U.S. Maritime Administrator. Professor, Department of Communication Studies and [http://www.backbonecampaign.org/cabinet/NomineeRate.cfm?ID=210 founding member of the Iowa Progressive Caucus] .
* Douglas W. Jones, electronic voting reform expert and cofounder of the [http://www.openvotingconsortium.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=1 Open Voting Consortium] , Professor of Computer Science
* David Klemm, philosophical theologist, Professor of Religious Studies
* Erik Lie, Associate Professor of Finance, Henry B. Tippie Research Fellow. Discovered the stock options backdating scandal
* Kembrew McLeod, media activist and prankster
* James Alan McPherson, Pulitzer Prize winning author and MacArthur Fellow, faculty in the Iowa Writers' Workshop
* Marilynne Robinson, 2005 Pulitzer Prize winning author for "", faculty in the Iowa Writers' Workshop
* Michael M. Todd, Head of Anesthesiology, Editor-in-chief of the journal Anesthesiology
* Ingo R. Titze, University of Iowa Foundation Distinguished Professor, Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology and the School of Music; Executive Director of the National Center for Voice and Speech, centered at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts; father of vocology, a specialty within speech-language pathology; creator of Pavorobotti, a singing (voice simulation) robot featured on National Public Radio
* David W. Murhammer, Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Current notable staff
* Kirk Ferentz, Iowa's Head football coach

University of Iowa Presidents

*Amos Dean, 1855-59
*Silas Totten, 1859-62
*Oliver M. Spencer, 1862-67
**Acting President: Nathan Ransom Leonard, 1867-68
*James Black, 1868-70
**Acting President: Nathan Ransom Leonard, 1870-71
*George Thacher, 1871-77
**Acting President: Christian W. Slagle, 1877-78
*Josiah Little Pickard, 1878-87
*Charles Ashmead Schaeffer, 1887-98
**Acting President: Amos Noyes Currier, 1898-99
*George Edwin MacLean, 1899-1911
*John Gabbert Bowman, 1911-14
*Thomas Huston Macbride, 1914-16
*Walter Albert Jessup, 1916-34
*Eugene Allen Gilmore, 1934-40
**Acting President: Chester Arthur Phillips, 1940
*Virgil Melvin Hancher, 1940-64
*Howard Rothmann Bowen, 1964-69
*Willard L. Boyd., 1969-81
**Acting President: Duane C. Spriestersbach, 1981-82
*James O. Freedman, 1982-1987
**Acting President: Richard D. Remington, 1987-1988
*Hunter R. Rawlings III, 1988-1995
**Acting President: Peter E. Nathan, 1995
*Mary Sue Coleman, 1995-2002
**Interim President: Willard L. Boyd
*David J. Skorton, 2003-2006
**Interim President: Gary Fethke, 2006-2007
*Sally Mason, 2007-

External links

* [http://www.uiowa.edu/facts/alumni/notable.htm Notable University of Iowa Alums]

References