List of Auburn University people

The list of Auburn University people includes notable alumni, faculty, and former students of Auburn University.

Contents 1 Notable Alumni 2 Academia 3 Arts and Humanities 4 Athletics 5 Business and Economics 6 Coaches 7 Government and Politics 8 Other Notable Alumni 9 Former Students 10 Faculty 11 References

Notable Alumni

Academia

• Walter Merritt Riggs (1892); president of Clemson University (1910–1924), "father of Clemson football";
• Luther Duncan (1900 and 1907); 4-H pioneer, Cooperative Extension administrator; Auburn University President.
• P. O. Davis (1916); Agricultural Editor, radio pioneer, Alabama Extension Service director, and national agricultural leader and spokesman
• Paul Rudolph (1940); architect, chairman of Yale Department of Architecture - 1958 to 1965
• E. T. York (1942 and 1946); Alabama Cooperative Extension System director (1959–1961); interim president of the University of Florida (1973–1974); chancellor of the State University System of Florida (1974–1980)
• James L. McCorkle, Jr. (1957); agricultural historian at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, from 1966-2003.
• Ali Abdelghany (1980); Egyptian academic and prominent marine biologist

Arts and Humanities

• William Spratling (1921); silversmith and artist, "father of Mexican silver"
• Paul Rudolph (architect) (1940); architect and later Dean of the Yale School of Architecture
• Anne Rivers Siddons (1958); best-selling author
• Toni Tennille (1962); award winning singer, half of the singing group "The Captain & Tennille."
• Elmo Shropshire (1964): Veterinarian and singer, most notable for Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
• Jimmy Johnson (1974); cartoonist, "Arlo and Janis"
• Michael O'Neill (1974); actor
• Thom Gossom Jr (1975); actor
• Rheta Grimsley Johnson (1977); syndicated newspaper columnist
• Bill Holbrook (1980); cartoonist, "On The Fast Track", "Safe Havens" and "Kevin & Kell"
• Tim Dorsey (1983); author
• Kevin O'Keefe (1983); best-selling author of The Average American
• Kimberly Page (1990); American actress & professional wrestling valet
• Travis S. Taylor (1991); science fiction author and host of Rocket City Rednecks on National Geographic Channel
• Jake Adam York (1993); poet
• Jason Sanford (1993); science fiction author
• Ace Atkins (1994); Author and journalist
• Octavia Spencer (1994); Actress
• Justice Leak (2003); actor, The Great Debaters
• Richard Marcinko (M.A. Political Science); founder U.S. Navy SEAL Team SIX and Red Cell; author of Rogue Warrior and several other fictional and non-fictional books.
• Kevin Still (2000); Copywriter GSD&M Ideacity
• Big Bill Morganfield (Communications); blues singer and guitarist
• Selena Roberts Sportswriter Sports Illustrated
• Lindsay McCormick (2009); TV Personality and Sports reporter

Athletics

• Jimmy Hitchcock (1932); Pro baseball player; former Auburn assistant football coach, head baseball coach, and trustee
• Billy Hitchcock (1938); Former pro baseball player, coach, manager, and scout
• Hal Herring (1948); Pro football player and coach
• James Brooks (1980); 4-time pro bowl NFL running back
• Jim Phillips (1957); Three time NFL Pro-Bowler
• Pat Sullivan (1972); 1971 Heisman trophy winner
• Rowdy Gaines (1982); Olympic gold medalist, world record holder and television sports commentator
• Randy Campbell (1984);1983 SEC Championship Quarterback, President of Campbell Wealth Management, LLC
• Kevin Greene (1985); Pro-Bowl NFL linebacker and WCW pro wrestler
• Chuck Person (1986); NBA forward, 1987 NBA Rookie of the Year
• Bo Jackson (1992); 1985 Heisman trophy winner, former professional football and baseball player
• Stephen Huss (2000); 2005 Wimbledon Men's Doubles champion — the first ever as a qualifier
• Willie Anderson (1996); NFL offensive tackle
• Mark Bellhorn (1997); major league baseball player (played for World Series winning Red Sox in 2004)
• Jason Dufner (2000); PGA Tour Player
• Rob Bironas (2000); professional football player
• Roderick Hood (2003); professional football player
• Carnell Williams (2004); professional football player and 2005 NFL first round draft pick
• Ronnie Brown (2004); professional football player and first round NFL draft pick
• Jason Campbell (2004); professional football player and first round NFL draft pick
• Carlos Rogers (2004); professional football player and first round NFL draft pick
• Kirsty Coventry (2006); Olympic gold medal swimmer for Zimbabwe
• Margaret Hoelzer (Psychology); Olympic medalist (100m Backstroke, 200m Backstroke, and 4x100 Medley Relay)
• Cam Newton (2011); 1st overall draft pick in 2011 NFL Draft

Business and Economics

• John M. Harbert (1946); Billionaire businessman and founder of Harbert Corporation, philanthropist
• John W. Brown (1957); Billionaire businessman; Chairman and former CEO of Stryker corporation
• Millard Fuller (1957); founder of Habitat for Humanity
• Samuel Ginn (1959); wireless communications pioneer and former chairman, Vodafone.
• Don Logan (1966); Former CEO of Time, Inc, and former Chairman of Time Warner Cable.
• Edwin "Mac" Crawford; former Chief Executive Officer of MedPartners and Caremark.
• Joe Forehand (1971); Chairman, Accenture
• Timothy D. Cook (1982); CEO, Apple Inc.
• Donald J. Boudreaux (1986); economist
• Jimmy Wales (1989); co-founder of Wikipedia
• Mark Thornton (1989 Ph.D.); economist
• Mark Spencer (1999); President and CEO, Digium. Creator of Asterisk PBX.
• Arthur L. Williams, Jr. (M.S.); Insurance executive former owner of Tampa Bay lightning
• Roger Gurnani (B.A. and M.S.); Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Verizon
• Charles D. McCrary (B.A. Mechanical Engineering); President and Chief Executive Officer of Alabama Power Company.

Coaches

• Ralph "Shug" Jordan (1932); National Championship Winning Coach of Auburn Tigers Football Team
• Vince Dooley (1954, M. His 1963); University of Georgia Head Football Coach 1964-1988, Athletic Director 1979-2004
• Tim Beckman (1989 M.A.) Head Coach Illinois
• Will Muschamp (1996 M.A) Head football coach of University of Florida
• Erk Russell (1946. B.A.) (1949M.A) Football Coach at Georgia Southern 1981-1989

Government and Politics

• Major Gen. Wilton B. Persons (1916); Special Adviser to President Eisenhower
• Gordon Persons (1922); Governor of Alabama, 1951–1955
• Fob James (1957); Governor of Alabama, 1979–1983, 1995–1999
• Richard Myers (1967, M.S.); Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the United States of America
• Spencer Bachus (1969); Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives.
• Harold D. Melton (1988); Georgia Supreme Court Justice, 2005-current
• Susan Whitson (1991); Press Secretary, Office of First Lady Laura Bush
• Rick Austin (1993); Georgia State Congressman
• Spencer Bachus (1969) Congressman from Alabama
• Bobby Bright (1975) Former Congressman from Alabama 2nd congressional district. Former mayor of Montgomery

Other Notable Alumni

• Gen. Holland Smith (1901); United States Marine Corps General, "father of modern U.S. amphibious warfare"
• James Harrison (1925); Founder of Harco Drugs, which later merged with Rite Aid
• Miller Reese Hutchison (1897); Inventor of the electric hearing aid and Klaxon automobile horn
• Kenneth R. Giddens (1931); director of Voice of America and founder of WKRG-TV, Inc. in Mobile, Alabama
• Alvin Vogtle - World War II fighter pilot who inspired Steve McQueen's character in The Great Escape
• Hank Hartsfield (1954); astronaut, STS-4, STS-41-D, STS-61-A
• Clifton Williams (1954); Gemini astronaut, test pilot
• George F. Kirchoff (1955); Inventor of the automobile airbag ^[1]
• Eugene Sledge (1955); World War II Marine; author of With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa
• Carl Mundy Jr. (1957); Commandant of the United States Marine Corps (1991–1995)
• Ken Mattingly (1958); astronaut, Apollo 13 (pulled), Apollo 16 (spacewalk), STS-4, STS-51-C
• Byron Lavoy Cockrell (1957); aeronautical engineer and rocket scientist
• Dr. Lester Crawford (1963); former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner.
• "Sandy" Purdon (1967) active in America's Cup sailing.
• Tom Hardy (designer) (1970); design strategist and former corporate head of the IBM Design Program ^[2]
• James Voss (1972); astronaut, STS-44, STS-53, STS-69, STS-101, ISS
• Hugh Shelton (1973, M.S.); retired general, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (US) from 1997–2001
• Gerald Roush (1968 B.A., 1973 M.A.); Ferrari historian, publisher of the Ferrari Market Letter
• Samuel Mockbee (1974); architect, founder of Auburn's Rural Studio, 2004 AIA Gold Medal
• Kathryn Thornton (1974); astronaut, second US woman in space, spacewalk, STS-33, STS-73
• Robert E. Bailey (1975); U.S. Air Force general
• Charles Durward Griffin (1975); biomedical engineer, member of the Alabama Engineers Hall of Fame as of 2006^[update][3]
• Cynthia Tucker (1976); syndicated columnist, Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial page editor, Pulitzer Prize winner
• Jan Davis (1977); astronaut, STS-47, STS-60
• Donda West (1980, Ph.D); mother to rapper Kanye West, former chair of English department at Chicago State University.^[4]
• Damon R. Eubank (1984]; Kentucky historian
• Johnny Micheal Spann (1992); first American killed in combat after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
• Eric O'Neill (1995); FBI Investigative Specialist who played a pivotal role in the investigation and arrest of his fellow agent, Robert Hanssen, for spying on behalf of the Soviet Union and Russia. The story is the subject of the 2007 film Breach, in which O'Neill is portrayed by Ryan Phillippe.
• Major General James Livingston- USMC Medal of Honor recipient

Former Students

• Andy Andrews (writer); self-help/advice author and corporate speaker
• Charles Barkley; former professional basketball player (joined the NBA after his junior year in 1984)
• Jimmy Buffett; singer/songwriter (attended Auburn and was a pledge of Sigma Pi Fraternity, but graduated from The University of Southern Mississippi)
• Tom Cochran; (1924–2010), Former fullback for the NFL
• Jon Coffelt; attended Auburn in 1986 - New York Artist, Painter, Sculptor
• Ashley Crow; American movie and TV actress (May have graduated. Need verification.)
• Taylor Hicks; singer, American Idol season five winner
• Kate Higgins; Voice actress, notably Sakura Haruno on Naruto
• Tim Hudson; (1997) Major League Baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves
• Victoria Jackson; comedian of Saturday Night Live fame (attended Auburn for one year but graduated from Furman University)
• Brandon Jacobs; NFL running back
• Rudi Johnson; NFL running back
• John Mengelt; former NBA player 1971-1981 and network ABC basketball analyst
• Herman Clarence Nixon; Professor, member of the Southern Agrarians
• Red Smith; (1912) Major League Baseball third baseman for Brooklyn
• Takeo Spikes; NFL linebacker
• Frank Thomas; professional baseball player
• Lorenz J. "Lo" Walker; Retired Air Force Colonel and mayor of Bossier City since 2005
• Cam Newton; NFL Quarterback, 2010 Heisman Trophy Winner and 1st Pick of the 2011 NFL Draft
• Nick Fairley; NFL Defensive Tackle, 2010 Lombardi Award Winner and 13th Pick in the 2011 NFL Draft

Faculty

• Wayne Flynt; Professor Emeritus; a leading authority on Alabaman history and Baptist history in Alabama. The author of eleven books, including the Pulitzer Prize nominated Poor But Proud: Alabama's Poor Whites.
• Krystyna Kuperberg; mathematician, known for creating a counterexample to the Seifert conjecture.
• Roderick Long; libertarian political commentator.
• Mel Rosen (born 1928), track coach
• James Voss; former US astronaut and veteran of five spaceflights; teaching courses on Space Mission Design.
• Olav Kallenberg; mathematician known for research in the field of probability theory.
• Mrinal Thakur; mechanical engineering faculty, co-discoverer of conducting polymers.
• Herbert W. Ehrgott; U.S. Air Force general

References