# List of faculty and alumni of Elon University

This is a list of notable people associated with Elon University in Elon, North Carolina, United States of America.

## Notable faculty

* Crista Arangala - mathematician
* Shane Atkinson – imam and chaplain
* Connie Ledoux Book – ninth president of Elon
* Jan Boxill – ethicist
* Peter S. Brunstetter – Professor of Law, and member of the North Carolina General Assembly
* Cardon V. Burnham – composer, arranger, conductor, and performer
* Ann J. Cahill – feminist philosopher
* Eileen Claussen – American climate and energy policy administrator, diplomat, and executive-in-residence at Elon
* Geoffrey Claussen – rabbi, Jewish ethicist and theologian
* David M. Crowe – historian
* James Danieley – sixth president of Elon
* Rebecca Ehretsman – eighteenth president of Wartburg College
* James G. Exum – Distinguished Professor of the Judicial Process at the Elon Law School
* David Gergen – inaugural Isabella Cannon Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership at Elon
* Thomas S. Henricks – professor of sociology
* David C. Joyce – now president of Brevard College
* Leo Lambert – eighth president of Elon
* Sandra Lawson – sociologist, rabbi and chaplain
* Elliot Mazer – audio engineer and music professor
* Jon Metzger – Professor of Music and artist-in-residence
* Paul Neebe – classical trumpeter and former professor of music at Elon
* Guy Owen – novelist
* Rebecca Todd Peters – feminist Christian ethicist
* Jeffrey Pugh – theologian
* Michael Skube – journalist on the faculty of the Elon University School of Communications
* Megan Squire - computer scientist
* Justin Tornow – dancer and choreographer
* A. R. Van Cleave – professor of philosophy and football coach
* Anthony Weston – philosopher and environmental ethicist
* Tripp York – religious studies scholar
* James Fred Young – seventh president of Elon

## Notable alumni
### Athletics

* Tal Abernathy – Major League Baseball pitcher
* Jesse Branson – National Basketball Association and American Basketball Association player
* John Brebbia – Major League Baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants
* Elijah Bryant (born 1995) - basketball player in the Turkish Basketball Super League
* Ward Burton – NASCAR auto racer
* Cap Clark – Major League Baseball catcher
* Billy Devaney – general manager of the St. Louis Rams
* Bill Dougherty – running back for the New Orleans Saints
* Wes Durham – radio play-by-play announcer for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Atlanta Falcons
* Joey Hackett – tight end for the Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers
* Frank Haith – head basketball coach at the University of Tulsa
* Greg W. Harris – Major League Baseball pitcher
* Bunn Hearn – Major League Baseball pitcher
* Clint Irwin – Colorado Rapids goalkeeper
* Don Kernodle – professional wrestler
* Steven Kinney – defender for the Chicago Fire
* George Kirby (baseball) – starting pitcher for the Seattle Mariners
* Daniel Lovitz – defender for the Nashville SC
* Rich McGeorge – tight end for the Green Bay Packers
* Jack McKeon – Major League Baseball Manager
* Aaron Mellette – Baltimore Ravens wide receiver
* Jim Morris – head baseball coach at the University of Miami
* Chad Nkang – former linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars
* Blake Russell – Olympic runner
* Tony Settles – linebacker for the Washington Redskins
* Ed Sauer – Major League Baseball outfielder
* Jim Schlossnagle – head baseball coach at Texas Christian University
* Jimmy Smith (running back) – former American football running back in the National Football League
* Dick Such – Major League Baseball pitcher and coach
* Oli Udoh - offensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings
* Joe West – Major League Baseball umpire
* Joe Winkelsas – Major League Baseball pitcher
* Deborah A. Yow – North Carolina State University Athletics Director, formerly University of Maryland's Director of Athletics

### Arts, literature, and entertainment

* Rich Blomquist – Emmy Award-winning writer on The Daily Show
* Reno Collier – standup comic, host of NBC's The Great American Road Trip
* Mark St. Cyr – actor, plays Mr. Mazzara on the Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
* Shane Gillis – standup comic (did not graduate)
* Lisa Goldstein – actress, plays Millicent Huxtable on the CW series One Tree Hill
* Grant Gustin – actor Glee, The Flash (did not graduate)
* Tal Henry – orchestra director
* Maity Interiano – journalist and television producer
* Christopher Knight – filmmaker, blogger, and Internet personality
* Tyler Marenyi – American DJ and producer
* Zane Phillips - actor (Legacies, Fire Island)
* H. Reid – American writer, photographer, and historian
* Martin Ritt – director, actor, and playwright (Hud, Norma Rae, Stanley & Iris)
* Brent Sexton - actor (Bosch, Deadwood)
* Mike Trainor – standup comic, panelist on TruTV's The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest...
* Taylor Trensch – Broadway actor (Dear Evan Hansen, Hello Dolly, Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-Time)
* Kenneth Utt – actor and producer (The Silence of the Lambs, Midnight Cowboy, Philadelphia)
* Barrett Wilbert Weed – Broadway actress (Heathers: The Musical, Mean Girls (musical))
* Will Neff – Twitch streamer
* Chris Wood – actor (The Vampire Diaries, Containment, Supergirl)

### Politics and military

* Cary D. Allred – North Carolina politician
* Harris Blake – North Carolina politician
* Cameron DeJong – New Hampshire politician
* Anthony Foriest – North Carolina politician
* Admiral William E. Gortney – Commander, NORAD and US Northern Command
* Hugh Holliman – North Carolina House of Representatives Majority Leader
* Phillip Kellam – Virginia politician
* Nat Robertson – Fayetteville, North Carolina mayor

### Other

* John Decatur Messick – Former President of East Carolina University (1947–1959)
* H. Shelton Smith – scholar of religion at Duke University
* Drew Van Horn - President of Young Harris College (from 2017); former President of Brevard College (2002-2011)