# List of University of South Dakota people

The following is a list of notable people associated with University of South Dakota, located in the American city of Vermillion, South Dakota.

## Notable alumni
### Academia

* Kay Schallenkamp, president of Emporia State University, and later Black Hills State University
* Robert Legvold, former director of the Harriman Institute, Columbia University Sovietologist

### Politics and government

* James Abourezk, U.S. Senator and U.S. Representative from South Dakota, first Arab-American U.S. Senator
* Sigurd Anderson, Governor of South Dakota
* Joseph H. Bottum, 27th Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota and a member of the United States Senate
* Kevin Brady, U.S. Representative from Texas
* Dwight W. Burney, 30th Governor of Nebraska
* Dan Crippen, Director of the Congressional Budget Office
* Dennis Daugaard, 32nd Governor of South Dakota
* George E. "Bud" Day, retired Air Force colonel, ex-POW, and most highly decorated military officer since Douglas MacArthur
* Frank Farrar, 24th governor of South Dakota
* Joe Foss, Marine Corp Medal of Honor recipient, 20th Governor of South Dakota, first commissioner of the American Football League
* Carl Gunderson, Governor of South Dakota
* Charles R. Hayes, Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court
* Daryl Hecht, Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court
* Carole Hillard, Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota
* Dusty Johnson, U.S. Representative and PUC Commissioner
* Marty Jackley, 30th Attorney General of South Dakota
* Bill Janklow, Governor of South Dakota and Representative of South Dakota
* Leslie Jensen, Governor of South Dakota
* Tim Johnson, U.S. senator from South Dakota
* Steve T. Kirby, Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota
* Roberto Lange, Judge of U.S. District Court of South Dakota
* Richard Barrett Lowe, Governor of American Samoa and Governor of Guam
* Matt Michels, current Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota
* George S. Mickelson, Governor of South Dakota
* John C. Miller Jr., United States Marine Corps Brigadier General
* Byron S. Payne, South Dakota Attorney General
* Larry Pressler, U.S. Representative and Senator from South Dakota
* A. J. Rosier, Wyoming state senator
* Merrell Q. Sharpe, Attorney General of South Dakota from 1929 through 1933, and Governor of South Dakota from 1943 through 1947
* Harold J. Sykora, National Guard Major General, Adjutant General of South Dakota
* John Thune, U.S. senator from South Dakota

### Athletics

* Dwight Anderson, cornerback and 2010 CFL All-Star
* Ordell Braase, 1957–68, drafted in 14th round by the Baltimore Colts, two-time All-Pro, NFL Players Association President
* George Burnside, former Racine Legion blocking back
* Matt Chatham, former NFL linebacker, (2000–05, New England Patriots, 2006–07, New York Jets)
* Tom Compton, offensive lineman for the Washington Redskins
* Jack Doyle, former athletic director, former men's basketball coach, former assistant men's basketball coach, inducted into the USD Athletic Hall of Fame 2002, member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Hall of Fame
* Filip Filipović, former NFL punter (2002–2003 Dallas Cowboys, 2003–2004 San Francisco 49ers, 2004 Minnesota Vikings, 2006 Houston Texans, 2007 Chicago Bears)
* Emily Grove, pole vaulter
* John Kohler, former offensive lineman, drafted in the 3rd Round, 1969, Denver Broncos
* Greg Lansing, basketball head coach, Indiana State
* Stefan Logan, return specialist for Detroit Lions
* Mark McLoughlin, former Calgary Stampeders kicker
* Derek Miles, pole vaulter for USA Track and Field and Olympian
* Ko Quaye, defensive lineman for the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League
* Joe Robbie, original owner of the Miami Dolphins franchise
* A.J. Schable, defensive end for NFL Seattle Seahawks; 2006, Arizona Cardinals
* Josh Stamer, former NFL linebacker. (2003–07, Buffalo Bills; 2008, Tennessee Titans; 2009, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills)
* Tyler Starr, Atlanta Falcons linebacker, drafted 255th overall in 7th round of 2014 NFL Draft
* Johnny Vann, former defensive back, drafted in the 10th round, Washington Redskins, 1973–74
* Jamel White, former running back (1999, Indianapolis Colts; 1999, Cleveland Browns; 2004, Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 2005, Detroit Lions)

### Other

* Tillie Black Bear, anti-domestic violence activist
* Norman H. Boke, botanist
* Ernest Bormann, rhetorical theorist
* Tom Brokaw, longtime NBC News anchorman and retired NBC Nightly News anchor
* Pete Dexter, novelist
* Ernest O. Lawrence, inventor of the cyclotron; winner of 1939 Nobel Prize for Physics; namesake of chemical element 103, lawrencium; participated in the Manhattan Project;
* John H. Lawrence, physicist and physician recognized for pioneering work in nuclear medicine; often referred to as the father of modern nuclear medicine
* Faye Cashatt Lewis, physician and author, first women to receive an M.D. from Washington University School of Medicine
* Kenneth J. Meier, Charles Gregory Professor of Political Science, Texas A&M University
* Greg Mortenson, humanitarian and founder of the Central Asia Institute
* Al Neuharth, founder of USA Today and the Freedom Forum, former CEO of Gannett
* Pat O'Brien, television presenter
* Earl Rose, Dallas County medical examiner at the time of the assassination of John F. Kennedy
* Faith Spotted Eagle, Yankton Dakota counselor and activist
* Gene Vidal, athlete, aviation pioneer, New Deal official and father of Gore Vidal
* Anna Johnson Pell Wheeler, mathematician, known for her contributions to infinite dimensional linear algebra
* Abby Whiteside, piano teacher and theorist

## Faculty

* Roger Baron, professor of law
* William O. Farber, former professor of political science
* Oscar Howe, Native American painter
* Patrick Garry, professor of law
* Sheila Gestring, 18th president
* Arne B. Larson, founder and curator of the National Music Museum or "Shrine to Music"
* Alexander Pell (known in Russia as Sergey Degayev), first Dean of the School of Engineering (1905); researcher in mathematics
* Frank Pommersheim, professor of law