List of University of Iowa alumni

This list of University of Iowa alumni includes notable current and former students of the University of Iowa.

Academia

• Edwin Adams Davis – M.A. from Iowa; historian of Louisiana; father of Louisiana state archives; Louisiana State University professor^[1]
• R. William Field – Associate Professor, College of Public Health, University of Iowa
• Michael P. Johnson – emeritus professor of sociology, Pennsylvania State University
• James Kennedy – professor of the history of the Netherlands at the University of Amsterdam
• Allan J. Kuethe – historian of Latin America
• Minnette Gersh Lenier – teacher who used magic to improve students' learning skills
• Robert Moyers – Founder of Center of Growth and Development at University of Michigan
• W. Ann Reynolds – chancellor of the California State University and City University of New York
• Clifford V. Smith, Jr. – 4th chancellor of University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
• William A. Staples – president of the University of Houston–Clear Lake
• John E. Visser – President of Emporia State University, 1967–1984

Business

• Helen Brockman – fashion designer
• Paul P. Harris – lawyer and founder of the first Rotary Club
• Scott Heiferman – founder and CEO, Meetup.com; founder, Fotolog.com
• Howard R. Hughes, Sr. – father of aviation pioneer and film producer Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. and builder of his fortune that started his empire
• Kerry Killinger – chairman and CEO of Washington Mutual
• C. Maxwell Stanley – engineer, entrepreneur, philanthropist; founder of Stanley Consultants and The Stanley Foundation; co-founder of HON Industries
• Ted Waitt – co-founder of Gateway, Inc.
• Frank R. Wallace (pen name of Wallace Ward), 1957, entrepreneur, publisher, writer, and developer of the Neo-Tech philosophy

Government and politics

• Theodore J. Bauer – former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention^[2]
• Fred H. Blume – Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court for 42 years^[3]
• David E. Bonior – formerly represented Michigan in the United States House of Representatives; current member of President Barack Obama's Economic Advisory Board^[4]
• Terry E. Branstad – two-time Governor of Iowa, and longest-tenured Governor in the nation^[5]
• John Burke – tenth Governor of North Dakota^[6]
• James Cartwright – retired U.S. Marine Corps General and the 8th Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff^[7]
• Norm Coleman – former Democratic mayor of St. Paul, former Junior Republican U.S. Senator of Minnesota^[8]
• James Dooge – Irish senator and academic in the area of Hydrology; served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Irish Government, and instrumental in forming the framework of the modern European Union and beginning the debate on climate change^[9]
• Martha Angle Dorsett – first woman admitted to the Bar of Minnesota (in 1878)
• James B. French – member of the Wisconsin State Assembly^[10]
• Paul C. Gartzke – Presiding Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals^[11]
• Mads Gilbert – Norwegian doctor in Gaza providing humanitarian care at Al-Shifa Hospital during the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict^[12]
• Silas B. Hays – Surgeon General of the United States Army^[13]
• Leo A. Hoegh – former Governor of Iowa and National Security Council member^[14]
• Chuck Horner – United States Air Force general; commanded Coalition Air Forces during the Gulf War^[15]
• George Koval – Soviet intelligence officer and Hero of the Russian Federation^[16]
• Donald P. Lay – judge of the Eighth Circuit^[17]
• Ronald H. Lingren – member of the Wisconsin State Assembly^[18]
• John Walter Grant MacEwan – MS 1928; Western Canadian Lieutenant Governor of Alberta; Canadian legislator; Mayor of Calgary^[19]
• Jayaprakash Narayan – Indian freedom fighter, social reformer, politician
• Kay A. Orr – first woman Governor of Nebraska; Republican^[20]
• John E. Osborn – former Commissioner, U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy; former executive vice president and general counsel, Cephalon, Inc.
• Gregory A. Peterson – Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals^[21]
• John Pickler – member of the United States House of Representatives^[22]
• Coleen Rowley – shared 2002 Time "Person of the Year" award; the FBI whistleblower who helped bring in terrorist suspect Zacarias Moussaoui^[23]
• Mubyarto, former Expert Staff of The Coordinating Ministry of Economic, Finance and Industry of The Republic of Indonesia
• Juanita Kidd Stout – first woman appointed as a federal judge; Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice^[24]
• Jim Summerville – Tennessee Senator^[25]
• Hugh E. Wild – U.S. Air Force Brigadier General^[26]
• Ann Williams – member of Illinois House of Representatives^[27]
• Wu Jin – Minister of Education of Taiwan, 1996–1998^[28]

Art and architecture

• Ryan Bliss – 3D artist; founder of Digital Blasphemy
• David Cantine – Canadian artist
• Elizabeth Catlett – painter; studied under Grant Wood; first African American woman to earn an MFA from the University of Iowa
• Evan Lindquist – Artist Laureate of the State of Arkansas^[29]
• Charles Ray – contemporary artist
• Joe Sharpnack – editorial cartoonist
• Rudi Stern – multimedia artist
• Shirley Briggs – artist and writer; studied under Grant Wood; provided artwork for a number of projects within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and worked on a number of dioramas for the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History
• Eve Drewelowe – artist

Literature and journalism

• Mildred Benson – writer under pen name Carolyn Keene of Nancy Drew books
• T.C. Boyle – PEN/Faulkner award-winning writer (World's End, Drop City)
• Tom Brokaw – broadcast journalist, former anchor (NBC Nightly News), author (The Greatest Generation)
• Sandra Cisneros – author (The House on Mango Street)
• Max Allan Collins – writer of comic strip Dick Tracy (Chester Gould was the creator and Collins took over in 1977 when Gould retired); also writes mystery novels
• Justin Cronin – author (The Passage, The Twelve)
• Rita Dove – 1993 Poet Laureate of the United States
• David Drake – science-fiction writer (Hammer's Slammers series)
• Andre Dubus – short story writer (Killings – adapted into 2001 film In the Bedroom)
• Jeannette Eyerly – writer of young adult fiction
• Joshua Ferris – novelist
• Charles Gaines – author (Pumping Iron) and inventor of paintball
• George Gallup – founder of the Gallup Poll
• Ezzat Goushegir – playwright
• Oscar Hahn – author
• Joe Haldeman – science-fiction writer (The Forever War)
• L. D. Hotchkiss – editor-in-chief, Los Angeles Times
• John Irving – writer (A Widow for One Year, The World According to Garp)
• Amy Jacobson – Chicago broadcast journalist
• Denis Johnson – author (Jesus' Son)
• W.P. Kinsella – author (Shoeless Joe, the book on which Field of Dreams was based)
• William Lashner – author of Past Due
• Robie Macauley – novelist and editor of Playboy
• Anthony Marra – author (A Constellation of Vital Phenomena)
• Bharati Mukherjee – Bengali-American writer
• Flannery O'Connor – novelist and author of numerous short stories
• Chris Offutt – short story writer and essayist
• Ann Patchett – author (Bel Canto, State of Wonder)
• Tappy Phillips – consumer affairs reporter for WABC-TV in New York City; correspondent for ABC News
• Dr. La Ferne Price – philosopher and author
• Jim Simmerman – poet; founded creative writing program at Northern Arizona University
• Wallace Stegner – author
• Stewart Stern – screenwriter (Rebel Without a Cause, Sybil)^[30]
• Douglas Unger – novelist and founder of UNLV's creative writing MFA program
• Yu Guangzhong – Taiwanese poet and author

Pulitzer Prize winners

• Stephen Berry – 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for story he co-wrote for the Orlando Sentinel; associate professor in School of Journalism and Mass Communication
• Robert Olen Butler Jr. – won the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for fiction
• Marquis Childs – commentator; 1969 winner for distinguished commentary
• Paul Conrad – editorial cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times; won in 1964, 1971, and 1984
• Michael Cunningham – writer/novelist (The Hours)
• Jorie Graham – poet (1996 winner for The Dream of the Unified Field: Selected Poems 1974–1994) and MacArthur Fellow on faculty of Iowa Writers' Workshop
• Paul Harding – author (Tinkers)
• Robert Hass – poet (2008 winner for Time and Materials: Poems 1997–2005) and former Poet Laureate of the United States
• Josephine Johnson – novelist (1935 winner for her first novel, Now in November), writing instructor
• Donald Justice – poet (1980 winner for Selected Poems)
• Tracy Kidder – 1982 winner for The Soul of a New Machine
• James Alan McPherson – author (1978 winner for Elbow Room, becoming the first African-American to win the Pulitzer for fiction) and MacArthur Fellow on faculty of Iowa Writers' Workshop
• Marilynne Robinson – 2005 winning author for Gilead: A Novel; faculty in Iowa Writers' Workshop
• Jane Smiley – novelist; 1992 winner for A Thousand Acres
• William De Witt Snodgrass – confessional poet; 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
• Mark Strand – poet; 1999 winner for A Blizzard of One
• Tennessee Williams – playwright; won for A Streetcar Named Desire in 1948 and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1955

Performing arts

• Tom Arnold – actor (Roseanne, True Lies) and host of Fox Sports Net's talk show Best Damn Sports Show Period
• Macdonald Carey – actor (Days of Our Lives)
• Don DeFore – actor (The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Hazel)
• Ellen Dolan – soap opera actress (Guiding Light, As the World Turns)
• Duck's Breath Mystery Theater (Dan Coffey, Bill Allard, Merle Kessler, Leon Martrell, and Jim Turner) – touring comedy troupe featured on National Public Radio's All Things Considered
• David Eigenberg – actor (Steve Brady on Sex and the City)
• Simon Estes – bass baritone opera singer, formerly of the New York Metropolitan Opera
• Tanna Frederick – stage and independent film actress
• Bruce French – actor (Mr. Mom, Legal Eagles, Fletch)^[30]
• Robin Green – executive producer of the HBO series The Sopranos
• Don Hall – director of the Disney animated movie Big Hero 6 which won the Oscar for best animated feature in 2015 and Moana (2016 film)
• John Shifflett - Jazz Double bass player and teacher at San Jose State University
• Joy Harjo – poet, songwriter
• Candace Hilligoss – actress (1960 film Carnival of Souls)
• Mary Beth Hurt – actress (The World According to Garp, Interiors)
• Toby Huss – actor, creator of Artie, the Strongest Man in the World from The Adventures of Pete and Pete, which he created at No Shame Theatre at the university
• Barry Kemp – producer (Coach, Newhart) (Hayden Fox, the title character of Coach, was named after Iowa football coach Hayden Fry)
• Ashton Kutcher – actor (That '70s Show, Two and a Half Men), producer (created Punk'd)
• Adam LeFevre – film and television actor, playwright
• Nicholas Meyer – director (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
• Greg Morris – actor (Barney Collier in original Mission: Impossible TV series)
• Terry O'Quinn – actor (Lost)
• Lara Parker – actress (Angelique in the serial Dark Shadows)
• Ben Rollins – actor ("Zadar! Cow From Hell" and "The Orange Man")
• Eugene Rousseau – saxophonist
• Brandon Routh – actor (Superman Returns)
• Joe Russo of Russo Brothers – director-writer Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and TV shows Arrested Development (TV series) and Community (TV Series)
• Paul Rust – actor (I Love You, Beth Cooper and Love (TV series))
• Jean Seberg – actress (Breathless, Paint Your Wagon, Airport)
• William Oscar Smith – jazz double bassist
• David Strackany – musician
• Susan Werner – singer-songwriter
• Brooks Wheelan – comedian (Saturday Night Live)
• Gene Wilder – actor (Silver Streak, Young Frankenstein, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)
• David Bryan Woodside – actor (Wayne Palmer on the TV series 24)

Academy Award winners

• Diablo Cody – screenwriter, winner of the 2008 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Juno
• Charles Guggenheim – Washington, D.C.-based documentary filmmaker; winner of three Academy Awards; nominated for eight others

Grammy Award winners

• Al Jarreau – seven-time Grammy Award-winning vocalist
• David Sanborn – six-time Grammy-winning saxophonist^[31]

Science and technology

• Archie Alexander – first African-American graduate (in engineering); governor of the Virgin Islands
• M. M. Ayoub – a pioneer in the field of ergonomics
• Alfred Marshall Bailey – ornithologist and long-term director of the Denver Museum of Natural History
• Sidney W. Bijou, (1908–2009) – developmental psychologist^[32]
• Lawrence Einhorn – pioneering oncologist whose research increased testicular cancer survival rates from 10% to 95%
• Mildred Adams Fenton – geologist, paleontologist, writer on paleontology
• Leon Festinger – social psychologist who was responsible for the theory of cognitive dissonance
• James E. Hansen – heads NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies; recognized in Time's "100 Most Influential People of 2006" for his efforts to bring understanding and fighting the effects of global climate change
• Bruce C. Heezen – led a team from Columbia University that mapped the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
• Darrell Huff – writer known for best-selling book How to Lie with Statistics
• Marshall Kay – geologist and Penrose Medal winner
• Tom Krimigis – space scientist, physicist
• E.F. Lindquist – co-founder of the ACT examination
• Charles F. Lynch – medical director of the Iowa Cancer Registry
• Mark Mattson – neuroscientist at the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
• Deane Montgomery – mathematician
• Mary Lawson Neff – neurologist
• Kent Norman – cognitive psychologist and expert on computer rage
• Clair Cameron Patterson – geochemist who developed the uranium-lead dating method into lead-lead dating, worked on the Manhattan Project, and led early campaigns against lead poisoning
• James Van Allen – space scientist
• Oswald Veblen – mathematician
• Shirley Briggs – conducted work in pesticide and synthetic chemical research
• Wang Shizhen – Chinese academician, father of Chinese nuclear medicine

Sports

Baseball

• Cal Eldred – Major League Baseball pitcher who played for 14 years^[33]
• Milo Hamilton – sportscaster for the Iowa Hawkeyes and seven different Major League Baseball teams; recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award^[34]
• Hal Manders – relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played in 1941, 1942, and 1946^[35]
• Wes Obermueller – Major League Baseball pitcher^[36]
• Jim Sundberg – catcher for the Texas Rangers and other teams^[37]
• Art Reinhart – Major League Baseball pitcher, 1919–1928^[38]

Basketball

• B.J. Armstrong – NBA point guard for the Chicago Bulls^[39]
• "Downtown" Freddie Brown – guard for the Seattle SuperSonics where he was captain of the 1978–79 World Championship team^[40]
• Keno Davis – men's basketball coach at Providence College^[41]
• Ricky Davis – Los Angeles Clippers player^[42]
• Acie Earl – NBA basketball player^[43]
• Bob Hansen – player for the Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls; basketball analyst for the Hawkeye Radio Network^[44]
• John Johnson – player on 1978–79 Seattle SuperSonics championship team^[45]
• Noble Jorgensen – player for the Sheboygan Red Skins, Tri-Cities Blackhawks and Syracuse Nationals^[46]
• Brad Lohaus – NBA player^[47]
• Don Nelson – player for the Boston Celtics and coach for the Golden State Warriors^[48]
• Tangela Smith – center for the WNBA Phoenix Mercury^[49]

Football

• Bret Bielema – football player and assistant coach; head coach of University of Arkansas^[50]
• Paul Burmeister – NFL quarterback, NFL Network anchor^[51]
• Jim Caldwell – offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens^[52]
• Dallas Clark – tight end for the Colts, Buccaneers, and Ravens^[53]
• Sean Considine – free agent NFL safety, member of the Ravens' Super Bowl XLVII championship team^[54]
• Kerry Cooks – NFL defensive back^[55]
• John Derby – NFL linebacker^[56]
• Jeff Drost – NFL defensive tackle^[57]
• Wayne Duke – Commissioner of the Big Ten Conference 1971–1989^[58]
• Tim Dwight – NFL player^[59]
• Harold Ely – NFL player^[60]
• Dick Evans – NFL player^[61]
• Wesley Fry – general manager for the Oakland Raiders^[62]
• Robert Gallery – NFL offensive tackle, second overall pick in 2004 draft^[63]
• Dennis Green – head coach with the Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals^[64]
• Merton Hanks – NFL defensive back (four-time Pro Bowl selection)^[65]
• Homer Harris – player in 1937; first African American captain of a Big Ten Conference team^[66]
• Jay Hilgenberg – center for Chicago Bears (seven-time Pro Bowl selection)^[67]
• Lou Holtz – assistant football coach (1960), only football coach in NCAA history to lead six different programs to bowl games; television commentator^[68]
• Walt Housman – football player^[69]
• Carlos James – Arena Football League player^[70]
• Cal Jones – one of two Iowa football players to have his jersey retired; won the Outland Trophy in 1955^[71]
• Nate Kaeding – NFL placekicker^[72]
• Harry Kalas – voice of the Philadelphia Phillies (MLB), NFL on Westwood One and NFL Films^[73]
• Aaron Kampman – NFL defensive end^[74]
• Alex Karras – professional football player and actor^[75]
• Nile Kinnick – Iowa's 1939 Heisman trophy winner with Iowa's Kinnick Stadium named for him in 1972^[76]
• Dick Klein – professional football player^[77]
• Chuck Long – closest-ever Heisman Trophy runner-up in 1985; later a college head coach; analyst for the Big Ten Network^[78]
• Jim Miller – NFL offensive guard^[79]
• Tom Moore – longtime NFL coach and offensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts^[80]
• Bruce Nelson – guard and center^[81]
• Ed Podolak – player with the Kansas City Chiefs; football analyst for Hawkeye Radio Network^[82]
• Eddie Robinson – winningest coach in football history at Grambling State University from 1942 until 1997^[83]
• Reggie Roby – punter (three-time Pro Bowl Selection) for the Miami Dolphins^[84]
• Bob Sanders – free agent safety, member of the Indianapolis Colts' Super Bowl XLI championship team^[85]
• Tyler Sash – safety for the New York Giants' Super Bowl XLVI championship team^[86]
• Zud Schammel – NFL guard^[87]
• Scott Slutzker – NFL player^[88]
• Larry Station – two-time All-American player^[89]
• Bob Stoops – player and coach; head coach of the University of Oklahoma^[90]
• Mark Stoops – player; head coach of the University of Kentucky^[91]
• Mike Stoops – player, coach; defensive coordinator at Oklahoma^[92]
• Andre Tippett – Hall of Fame linebacker for the New England Patriots^[93]
• Emlen Tunnell – player; first African American to play for the New York Giants; later played for the Green Bay Packers^[94]
• Marshal Yanda – Pro-Bowl offensive lineman for the Ravens; member of Super Bowl XLVII championship team^[95]

Olympics

• Ed Banach – light heavyweight gold medalist at 1984 Olympic Games, Los Angeles^[96]
• Lou Banach – heavyweight gold medalist at 1984 Olympic Games, Los Angeles^[97]
• Terry Brands – bronze medalist at 2000 Olympic Games, Sydney, Australia
• Tom Brands – gold medalist at 1996 Olympic Games, Atlanta, Georgia; current University of Iowa wrestling coach
• Chuck Darling – member of the 1956 Summer Olympics gold medal basketball team
• Deacon Jones – 1956 and 1960 Olympics, track and field
• Randall Lewis – featherweight gold medalist at 1984 Olympic Games, Los Angeles, CA
• Anthuan Maybank – 1996 Olympic Games gold medalist in the men's 4x400 meter relay for the US
• Wally Ris – Olympic swimmer, winner of two gold medals
• George Saling – Olympic hurdler who won the 110-meter hurdles in the 1932 Summer Olympics^[31]

Track and field

• Francis X. Cretzmeyer – track and field coach, 1948–78; coached Ted Wheeler and Deacon Jones (1956 and 1960 Olympics)^[98]
• Mel Rosen – track coach^[99]

Wrestling

• Paul Bradley – two-time NCAA All-American;^[100] professional mixed martial artist, formerly with the UFC^[101] and currently with Bellator^[102]
• Terry Brands – NCAA Champion in 1990 and 1992, 2000 Olympic bronze medalist, and two-time World freestyle Champion in 1993 & 1995
• Tom Brands – Outstanding Wrestler Award at the 1992 NCAA Tournament; World Champion in 1993; Olympic Champion in 1995
• Barry Davis – bantamweight silver medalist 1984 Olympic Games, Los Angeles^[103]
• Ettore Ewen – professional wrestler for WWE under the name "Big E"^[104]
• Brent Metcalf – 2008 and 2010 NCAA Champion; 2008 Dan Hodge Trophy winner
• Steve Mocco – 2003 NCAA Division I Champion at Heavyweight; 2008 Olympic team member; current professional MMA fighter^[105]
• Tony Ramos – 2014 NCAA Champion
• Joe Williams – three-time NCAA Champion; 2001 and 2005 wrestling world bronze medalist
• Bill Zadick – 1996 NCAA Wrestling Champion, 2006 World Champion
• Mike Zadick – 2006 wrestling world silver medalist
• Jim Zalesky – three-time NCAA Champion; current coach for Oregon State University

References

External links

• Notable University of Iowa Alums