# List of University of North Dakota people

This is a list of notable people associated with the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota. This list includes both alumni and faculty members.

## Alumni
### National and international award winners
#### Pulitzer Prize winners

* Maxwell Anderson – Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, author, poet, reporter, and lyricist
* Mel Ruder – editor of the Hungry Horse News in Columbia Falls, Montana; 1965 Pulitzer Prize winner in Journalism for spot news covering a 1964 flood in Montana

#### Rhodes scholars

* Thomas McGrath – distinguished poet and Rhodes scholar

### Academia

* Twyla Baker (October 4, 1976-) – academic administrator and president of Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College
* Tomi Kay Phillips – academic administrator and president of Sitting Bull College
* Laurel Vermillion – academic administrator and president of Sitting Bull College

### Arts and entertainment

* Sam Anderson – actor
* Srinivas Avasarala – film director and actor
* Acacia Forgot - drag queen
* Nancy Friese – American visual artist, educator
* Michael Halstenson – musician and composer
* Nicole Linkletter – winner of reality show America's Next Top Model fifth season
* Shadoe Stevens – announcer on Hollywood Squares

### Athletics

* Jean-Paul Afif – former ABA player and coach
* Murray Baron – former NHL defenseman
* Ryan Bayda – former player in the NHL Carolina Hurricanes
* Ed Belfour – former NHL goaltender and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame
* Jason Blake – former NHL player
* Jackson Blake – NHL player with the Carolina Hurricanes
* Brock Boeser – current NHL player with the Vancouver Canucks
* Drake Caggiula – current NHL player with the Chicago Blackhawks
* Taylor Chorney – former NHL player
* Dave Christian – member of the 1980 Olympic ice hockey team that beat the USSR in the "Miracle on Ice" game
* Mike Commodore – former NHL player
* Geno Crandall – basketball player with Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
* Aaron Dell – current NHL player with the San Jose Sharks
* Ryan Duncan – winner of the 2007 Hobey Baker Award
* Derek Forbort – current NHL player with the Los Angeles Kings
* Rhett Gardner – current NHL player with the Dallas Stars
* Pablo Garza – basketball player; professional mixed martial artist; former UFC Featherweight
* Matt Greene – former NHL player
* Rocco Grimaldi – current NHL player with the Nashville Predators
* Dave Hakstol – former head coach of the Seattle Kraken
* David Hale – former Phoenix Coyotes player in the NHL
* Quinton Hooker (born 1995) – basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
* Tony Hrkac – former NHL player and 1987 Hobey Baker Award winner
* Phil Jackson – former NBA player and coach
* Ben Jacobson – head men's basketball coach at the University of Northern Iowa
* Greg Johnson – former player in the NHL
* Luke Johnson – current NHL player with the Chicago Blackhawks
* Ryan Johnson – former player in the NHL
* Milson Jones – former CFL running back
* Tyson Jost – current NHL player with the Colorado Avalanche
* Jim Kleinsasser – former Minnesota Vikings NFL player
* Tyler Kleven – current NHL player with the Ottawa Senators
* Chris Kuper – former Denver Broncos NFL player and current coach
* Paul LaDue – current NHL player with the Los Angeles Kings
* Jocelyne Lamoureux – women's hockey gold medalist at the 2018 Winter Olympics
* Monique Lamoureux – women's hockey gold medalist at the 2018 Winter Olympics
* Jim LeClair – former Cincinnati Bengals NFL player
* Brian Lee – former Ottawa Senators player in the NHL
* Brad Malone – current NHL player with the Edmonton Oilers
* Errol Mann – former Detroit Lions NFL player
* Gene Murphy – North Dakota football player and head coach
* Chad Mustard – former Denver Broncos NFL player
* Brock Nelson – current NHL player for the New York Islanders
* Travis O'Neel – UND football captain of 2001 National Championship Team
* Dave Osborn – former Minnesota Vikings NFL player
* T. J. Oshie – current Washington Capitals player in the NHL
* Zach Parise – former player in the NHL
* Shane Pinto – current NHL player with the Ottawa Senators
* Joe Polo – Olympic gold medalist in curling at the 2018 Winter Olympics
* Tucker Poolman – current NHL player with the Winnipeg Jets
* Pete Retzlaff – former Philadelphia Eagles NFL player
* Nick Schmaltz – current NHL player with the Arizona Coyotes
* Lawrie Skolrood – former CFL player
* Craig Smith – men's basketball coach at Utah State Aggies men's basketball
* Monte Smith – former Denver Broncos NFL player
* Drew Stafford – current New Jersey Devils player in the NHL
* Troy Stecher – current NHL player with the Vancouver Canucks
* Dave Tippett – former NHL player; current head coach of the Arizona Coyotes
* Jonathan Toews – current free-agent in the NHL
* Landon Wilson – former Dallas Stars player in the NHL
* Travis Zajac – former New York Islanders player in the NHL
* Marlon Stewart – former NBA G League player

### Business

* Thomas Barger – geologist and former CEO of Aramco
* Thomas D. Campbell – agriculturalist and corporate farmer
* Mark Chipman – NHL executive, owner of the Winnipeg Jets
* Elmer Ellis – former president of the University of Missouri (1955–63)
* Ralph Engelstad – former Las Vegas casino owner; UND philanthropist
* Dave Fennell – founder of Golden Star Resources
* Andrew Freeman – inventor of the block heater; former manager of Minnkota Power Cooperative
* Eric Hardmeyer – current president and CEO of the Bank of North Dakota
* Hugo Magnuson – founder of Hugo's regional grocery store chain; former Grand Forks mayor
* William C. Marcil – current CEO of Forum Communications
* Peter Nygård – founder and chairman of Nygård International
* Gregory R. Page – current president and CEO of Cargill
* Sally J. Smith – former president and CEO of Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant chain
* Dave St. Peter – president of the Minnesota Twins
* Myron W. Wentz – founder, chairman and former CEO of USANA Health Sciences

### Law, politics, and government

* Fred G. Aandahl – former governor of North Dakota and former U.S. Congressman
* Ole Aarsvold – former member of North Dakota House of Representatives
* Dick Armey – former United States House of Representatives Majority Leader
* Vance Badawey – Member of the Canadian House of Commons
* Ken Clouston – member of the Wyoming House of Representatives
* Ronald Davies – former federal judge, ordered the integration of Little Rock Central High School
* John E. Davis – former governor of North Dakota
* Byron Dorgan – former U.S. Senator for North Dakota
* Lynn Frazier – former governor of North Dakota and former U.S. Senator for North Dakota
* H. F. Gierke III – 71st National Commander of The American Legion; Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
* Heidi Heitkamp – former U.S. Senator for North Dakota
* Thomas Lawrence Higgins – Gay rights activist that coined the term "gay pride" and known for "pieing" Anita Bryant
* William Langer – former governor of North Dakota and former U.S. Senator for North Dakota
* John Moses – former governor of North Dakota and former U.S. Senator for North Dakota
* Ragnvald A. Nestos – former governor of North Dakota
* Allen I. Olson – former governor of North Dakota
* Rosanna M. Peterson – professor at Gonzaga University School of Law and current federal judicial nominee to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
* Mark Pfeifle – former Deputy National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush, architect of the Surge strategic communications, and Communications Director for the 2004 Republican National Convention
* Earl Pomeroy – former U.S. Representative for North Dakota
* Michael Rustad – scholar on intellectual property; author; professor at Suffolk University Law School
* Brent Sanford – Lieutenant Governor-elect of North Dakota
* Ed Schafer – former United States Secretary of Agriculture and Governor of North Dakota
* George F. Shafer – 17th Governor of North Dakota, serving from 1929 to 1933
* Charles Tighe – Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota
* Kurt Zellers – current Minnesota State Representative and former Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives

### Literature and journalism

* Maxwell Anderson – Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, author, poet, reporter, and lyricist
* Chandra K. Clarke – author, columnist, and business woman
* Jon Hassler – novelist
* Chuck Klosterman – author and journalist for Spin and Esquire magazines
* Irv Kupcinet – Chicago Sun-Times columnist; national syndicated talk show host; winner of 15 Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award
* Thomas McGrath – distinguished poet and Rhodes scholar
* Edward W. Moser – linguistics teacher
* Edward K. Thompson – former editor of LIFE magazine
* Era Bell Thompson – former editor of Ebony magazine
* Larry Watson – Milkweed National Fiction Prize-winning author

### Military

* Harvey M. Haakenson – former brigadier general in the National Guard of the United States
* David Charles Jones – former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former general in the United States Air Force
* Kevin B. Kuklok – former major general in the United States Marine Corps
* Joane Mathews – brigadier general in the National Guard of the United States
* Homer N. Wallin – former vice admiral in the United States Navy

### Science

* Cora Smith Eaton – physician, suffragist and mountaineer
* Carl Eielson – pioneer aviator
* Judith Kaur – physician and advocate for Native American health equity
* Karen L. Nyberg – NASA astronaut
* Harry Nyquist – important contributor to information theory; recipient of the IEEE Medal of Honor (1960)
* Vilhjalmur Stefansson – Arctic explorer
* Esther Tailfeathers, physician

## Faculty

* Robert B. Ammons – founder of Psychological Reports and Perceptual and Motor Skills journals
* Rich Davis – former Dean of the UND School of Medicine; founder of KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce
* Michael James Gaffey – planetary scientist
* Robert L. Henry, Jr. – former Dean of the UND School of Law
* Meyer Jacobstein – professor of economics U.S. Representative from New York
* Philip Manuel – pianist, organist, harpsichordist
* Peter A. Munch – professor of sociology
* Mary Elizabeth Perley — French language
* Rodney K. Smith – current President of Southern Virginia University
* Brian Tande – former dean of the College of Engineering and Mines, current president of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
* Albert H. Taylor – electrical engineer who made important early contributions to the development of radar
* Jack Russell Weinstein – professor of philosophy