List of Northern Illinois University people

The list of Northern Illinois University people includes notable alumni, non-graduates, faculty and staff, chief executives, and affiliates of the Northern Illinois University.

This is an incomplete list that may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Notable alumni

Academe

• Judith Curry (B.S. 1974, Ph.D. 1982), climatologist^[1]
• Thomas Lindsay (B.A. 1977, M.A. 1983), president of Shimer College^[2]
• Timothy P. Marshall, (B.S. 1978), meteorologist and civil engineer, damage analysis expert
• Paul Sereno, paleontologist, University of Chicago, B.S., Biology, 1979^[3]
• Dr. Christopher J. Schneider (M.A. 2004) is an award-winning professor at Wilfrid Laurier University^[4]
• Bharath Sriraman, academic editor, professor of mathematics at The University of Montana (M.S. 1999, Ph.D. 2002)^[5]

Arts and entertainment

• Joan Allen, 1980, actress, Academy Award nominee^[6]
• Dan Castellaneta, 1979, actor, Emmy Award-winning actor, voice of "Homer Simpson" and others on The Simpsons^[7]
• Jimmy Chamberlin, musician, drummer of The Smashing Pumpkins
• Andrew Harris, musician, lead vocals for Judas Iscariot
• Steve Harris, 1989, actor, Emmy Award nominee, The Practice^[8]
• Wood Harris, actor, Remember the Titans and The Wire^[9]
• E. E. Knight,1987, author, Vampire Earth series; Age of Fire series^[10]
• Justin Mentell, 2005, actor, Boston Legal
• Sebastian Maniscalco, comedian
• Nicole Mitchell, musician and composer
• Anthony Padilla, concert pianist, winner of the American Pianists Association Fellowship
• Kurt Sutter, actor, writer, producer, Sons of Anarchy and The Shield^[11]
• Matt Walsh, comedian, actor, Upright Citizens Brigade, Old School, Role Models, and The Hangover
• Doug Walker, Internet comedian and co-founder of Channel Awesome
• Barbara Alyn Woods, actress, One Tree Hill

Media

• Terry Boers, 1972, co-host, Boers and Bernstein, 670AM WSCR Chicago (The Score)
• Nicole Briscoe (née Manske), ESPN
• Fredrik Graesvik, 1991, Author, War correspondent and Host of several TV shows, TV 2 Norway
• T.J. Simers, former sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times
• Joe Soto, 1982, on-air personality 102.7FM WVAZ Chicago (Today's R&B and Old School)
• Brian Walski, Los Angeles Times photographer who admitted to altering a news photograph from the 2003 Invasion of Iraq

Business

• Ralph de la Vega, CEO, AT&T Mobility
• John Tobin, President, Slalom Consulting

Athletics

American football

• Ken Bishop, defensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys
• Larry Brink, former NFL defensive lineman, two time Pro Bowler^[12]
• Brad Cieslak, NFL tight end for the Cleveland Browns^[13]
• Ryan Diem, former NFL offensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts^[14]
• Larry English, NFL former defensive end/linebacker for the San Diego Chargers^[15]
• P. J. Fleck, former NFL wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers^[16]
• Doug Free, NFL offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys^[17]
• Thomas Hammock, assistant coach for the Wisconsin Badgers^[18]
• Duane Hawthorne, former NFL cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys^[19]
• Darrell Hill, former NFL qide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs^[20]
• Chandler Harnish, NFL quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts^[21]
• Sam Hurd, former NFL wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears^[22]
• LeShon Johnson, former NFL running back, 1994^[23]
• Jordan Lynch, former quarterback/running back for the Chicago Bears
• Justin McCareins, former NFL wide receiver for the Tennessee Titans^[24]
• Rashaan Melvin, cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Jake Nordin, NFL tight end/fullback for the Detroit Lions^[25]
• Patricia Palinkas, first woman to play professional football with the Atlantic Coast Football League as a placekick holder for the Orlando Panthers attended Northern Illinois but did not play football at the school^[26]
• Nathan Palmer, NFL wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos^[27]
• Todd Peat, former NFL guard for the St. Louis Cardinals^[28]
• David Petway, former NFL defensive back for the Green Bay Packers^[29]
• Chad Spann, NFL running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers^[30]
• John Spilis, former NFL wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers^[31]
• Hollis Thomas, former NFL defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints^[32]
• Michael Turner, NFL former running Back for the Atlanta Falcons^[33]
• Tim Tyrrell, former NFL running back for the Atlanta Falcons, St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers^[34]
• Jimmie Ward, safety for the San Francisco 49ers
• Scott Wedige, NFL center for the Arizona Cardinals^[35]
• Tom Wittum, former NFL punter for the San Francisco 49ers^[36]
• Garrett Wolfe, former NFL running back for the Chicago Bears, Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League and Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.^[37]

Baseball

• Ned Colletti, MLB general manager for Los Angeles Dodgers.^[38]
• Davy Jones, early 20th century player with Detroit Tigers.^[39]
• Fritz Peterson MLB pitcher with New York Yankees.^[40]
• Tom Tennant, MLB player with the St. Louis Browns.^[41]
• Larry Young, MLB umpire.^[42]

Basketball

• Kenny Battle, former NBA player^[43]
• Jim Bradley, former ABA player^[44]
• Paul Dawkins, former NBA player^[45]
• Billy Harris, former ABA player^[46]
• Xavier Silas, NBA player for the Washington Wizards^[47]
• Donald Whiteside, former NBA player^[48]
• Bob Wood, former NBA player^[49]

Professional wrestling

• Brad Bradley, wrestler, B.A. History, 2004
• Maria Kanellis, wrestler and valet^[50]
• Marty Lurie, professional wrestling manager and announcer, B.A., Political Science, 1995

Other

• Terry Martin, UFC Professional Fighter, B.A., Psychology, 2004
• Steven Schafersman, President of Texas Citizens for Science, (B.S., 1971, Geology and Biology; M.S., 1973, Geology)

Politics

• Sharon J. Coleman, jurist, presidential nominee for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois^[51]
• Tammy Duckworth, U.S. Senate Candidate, 2016, Congresswoman, 2012, Illinois 8th Congressional District^[52]
• Robert Fioretti, Chicago 2nd Ward Alderman, Former Candidate for Mayor of Chicago
• Dennis Hastert, Republican U.S. Congressman 1987–2008; Longest-serving Republican Speaker of the House. M.S., Education, 1967^[53]
• Robin Kelly, Congresswoman, 2013, Illinois 2nd Congressional District^[54]
• Dr. Kent Moors (Ph.D.), oil and natural gas policy writer, financial and government intelligence advisor
• Markos Moulitsas, founder of the Daily Kos weblog, B.A., Journalism, Political Science, B.A. Philosophy 1996^[55]
• Ricardo Muñoz, Chicago 22nd Ward Alderman
• Michael D. Smigiel, Sr., (1985), Maryland politician.^[56]

Presidents of Northern Illinois University

• Douglas D. Baker, 2013–present^[57]
• John G. Peters, 2000–2013
• John E. La Tourette, 1986-2000
• Clyde Wingfield, 1985-1986
• William R. Monat, 1978-1984
• Richard J. Nelson, 1971-1978
• Rhoten A. Smith, 1967-1971
• Leslie A. Holmes, 1949-1967
• Karl Langdon Adams, 1929-1948
• Joseph Clifton Brown, 1927-1929
• J. Stanley Brown, 1919-1927
• John Williston Cook, 1899-1919^[58]

Notable faculty and staff

Academics

• Romualdas Kasuba (Ph.D. 1962), Engineer, academician, co-founder of the College of Engineering and Engineering Technologies^[59]
• Han Kuo-Huang, former professor of music^[60]
• Michael J. Kolb, associate professor of anthropology^[61]
• Dr. Thomas C. Wiegele, professor of political science, founder of Association for Politics and the Life Sciences;^[62]

Arts and Entertainment

• Fareed Haque, professor of Jazz and Classical Guitar Studies^[63]

Athletics

• Rod Carey, head coach for football (2012–present)^[64]
• Dave Doeren, former head coach for football (2010-2012)^[65]
• Lindsey Durlacher, wrestling coach^[66]
• Marci Jobson, former head coach for women's soccer^[67]
• Jerry Kill, former head coach for football (2008–2010)^[68]
• Mark Montgomery, head coach for men's basketball (2011–present)^[69]
• Joe Novak, former head coach for football (1996–2007)^[70]
• Ricardo Patton, former head coach for men's basketball (2007–2011)^[71]

References