# List of University of Northern Iowa people

This list includes notable alumni, faculty, and staff of what is now the University of Northern Iowa.

## Alumni

* Bess Streeter Aldrich, novelist
* Terry Allen, former Missouri State head football coach
* Eddie Berlin, former NFL player
* Bruce Charlesworth, filmmaker and photographer
* John R. Dinger, former U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia (2000–2003)
* Jane Elliot, social activist
* Paul Emerick, professional rugby player and three-time Rugby World Cup veteran
* Ali Farokhmanesh, former professional basketball player, made famous shot to beat Kansas
* LJ Fort, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker
* Joe Fuller, former NFL player
* Mike Furrey, former NFL player
* Charles Grassley, current U.S. Senator
* Gil Gutknecht, former U.S. Congressman
* Ryan Hannam, former NFL player
* Mike Hawker, Alaska State Representative, 2002–present
* Robert John Hibbs, Medal of Honor recipient, 1966, Vietnam War
* Roger Jepsen, former U.S. Senator
* David Johnson, NFL running back for the Arizona Cardinals
* Chris Klieman, head coach of Kansas State University football
* Bonnie Koloc, vocalist, recording artist
* Pamela Levy, American-Israeli artist
* Jason Lewis, nationally syndicated talk host
* Greg McDermott, current Creighton University head men's basketball coach
* C. Edward McVaney, co-founder and former CEO of the JD Edwards Corporation, an enterprise resource planning company purchased by PeopleSoft in 2002
* Brad Meester, former NFL player
* Brian Meyer, member of the Iowa House of Representatives
* Abinadi Meza, performance artist
* Brian Mitchell, arena football drop kick record holder
* Nick Nurse, basketball coach
* Bryce Paup, 1995 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, 4-time Pro Bowler
* Tom Pettit, television news correspondent for NBC
* Chris Pirillo, former host of TechTV's Call for Help show, founder of Lockergnome
* Nancy Jo Powell, current United States Ambassador to India; former U.S. Ambassador to Nepal, Pakistan, Ghana and Uganda
* Steve Proffitt, senior producer, National Public Radio
* Dorothy Jean Ray, anthropologist
* William P. Robinson, president of Whitworth University
* Dean Schwarz, ceramic artist
* Warren Allen Smith, writer
* Mary Ellen Solt, poet
* Phyllis Somerville, film, theatre and television actress
* Mark Steines, co-host of Entertainment Tonight
* Bill Stewart, jazz musician
* Tyree Talton, former NFL player
* Ed Thomas, high school football coach
* Krista Voda, NASCAR on Fox announcer
* Kurt Warner, two-time NFL MVP, MVP of Super Bowl XXXIV
* Joey Woody, national champion US hurdler

### Notable faculty

* Donna Alvermann, former professor of education, now distinguished professor and researcher in education at the University of Georgia
* Jeremy Beck, composer, Associate Professor of Composition & Theory (1992–1998)
* Herb Hake, television personality
* James Hearst, poet and former professor
* Miguel Franz Pinto, vocal coach, conductor, and pianist
* Loree Rackstraw, literary critic and memoirist
* Leland Sage, former professor
* Norm Stewart, former men's basketball coach who went on to become a coach at the University of Missouri
* Robert James Waller, alumnus, former professor and Dean of College of Businesses Administration, author of The Bridges of Madison County