# 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
* 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, 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

## Academia

* Dale Allison – biblical scholar, professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
* 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

## 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
* 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
* 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
* Matt Wilson (jazz drummer) - Jazz drummer

## 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
* Alec Bohm (born 1996) – baseball player in the Philadelphia Phillies
* Joe Carter – Major League Baseball player
* Andy Dirks – Major League Baseball player
* Darren Dreifort – Major League Baseball player with the Los Angeles Dodgers
* Conor Gillaspie – Major League Baseball player for the Chicago White Sox
* Koyie Hill – Major League Baseball player
* Mike Lansing – Major League Baseball player
* Don Lock – Major League Baseball player with the Washington Senators
* 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
* 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
* Cleo Littleton — First-team All-MVC (1952–5) and AP Honorable mention All-American (1954-5)
* Xavier McDaniel – NBA played
* 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
* Jake Peters - 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
* Jim Bausch — running back, All-American and member of College Football Hall of Fame (also Olympic Decathlon 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