List of Pennsylvania State University people
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This is a list of famous individuals associated with the Pennsylvania State University, including graduates, former students, and professors.
Contents |
[edit] Alumni
[edit] Art and literature
- Louis Astorino, architect, PNC Park, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
- John Balaban, author/poet, Words for My Daughter and Locusts at the Edge of Summer
- Joseph Borkovich, stage manager
- Dale Brown, bestselling author, Act of War, Battle Born, and Plan of Attack
- Alan Furst, novelist
- Jean Craighead George, Newbery Medal-winning children's author
- Chip Kidd, renowned book-jacket designer
- Norris J. Lacy, expert on the Arthurian legend
- Steve McCurry, world-renowned photojournalist; most famous for the photograph of the “Afghan Girl” in National Geographic Magazine
- David Morrell, novelist, First Blood
- James Morrow, author
- John Pielmeier, playwright, Agnes of God, etc...
- Oliver Smith, ten-time Tony Award-winning scenic designer
- Robert Yarber, American artist
[edit] Business
- Kathleen L. Casey, commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Robert E. Eberly, Chairman Eberly Natural Gas Co., Penn State benefactor
- Herman Fisher, co-founder of Fisher-Price toy company
- Lloyd Huck, chairman emeritus of Merck & Co., Inc. and former CEO of Nova Pharmaceutical Corp.
- Richard T. James, Inventor of the Slinky
- Mike Keebaugh, president of Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems
- Albert Lord, Chairman and former CEO of SLM Corporation
- Blaine Martin, Executive Compensation Consulting
- Mike McBath - co-founder/part-owner of the Orlando Predators
- Mark Parker, CEO of Nike, Inc.
- William Schreyer, chairman emeritus and former CEO of Merrill Lynch. The Schreyer Honors College was renamed in his honor after he and his wife made a large donation.
- Jordan Pearlman, marketing executive for the Pittsburgh Xplosion professional basketball team
- Frank Smeal, a partner of the Goldman Sachs Group of New York City on Wall Street; an expert in the municipal bond market. The Smeal College of Business is named after his generosity.
- Patricia A. Woertz, CEO of Archer Daniel Midland. Named to Fortune magazine's "Most Powerful Women in Business" list.[1]
[edit] Entertainment/Media
- Tareq Al-Suwaidan, renowned Muslim scholar, reformer, TV personality and management guru.
- John Aniston, actor, Days of our Lives; father of actress Jennifer Aniston
- Brian Baker, former Sprint spokesman
- Donald Bellisario, television producer
- Charles Bierbauer, television journalist
- Benjy Bronk, comedian and writer, The Howard Stern Show
- Ty Burrell, actor, star of FOX sitcom Back to you
- Margaret Carlson, journalist, pundit. First female columnist for TIME
- Leon Carr, songwriter and composer
- John A. Dalles, hymn writer and clergyman
- Steven E. de Souza, screenwriter; Judge Dredd, Lethal Weapon, 48 Hrs., Die Hard
- Julius J. Epstein, screenwriter of Casablanca
- Carmen Finestra, Emmy Award-winning television writer and producer; The Cosby Show, Home Improvement
- Jonathan Frakes, actor and director (Star Trek: The Next Generation series)
- Keegan-Michael Key, actor, comedian; MADtv, host of Animal Planet’s The Planet's Funniest Animals
- Stan Lathan, television producer and director, co-creator of Def Comedy Jam
- Rick Lyon, actor/creator of Broadway show "Avenue Q"
- Adam McKay, film director and screenwriter; writer and director of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and The Landlord (2007 film)
- Amy Wynn Pastor, TV personality, TLC's Trading Spaces
- Denis Phillips, chief meteorologist of WFTS-TV in Tampa Bay.
- Mike Reid, Grammy Award-winning songwriter
- Ian Rosenberger, 3rd place in Survivor: Palau on CBS and one time President of Penn State's USG
- Lisa Salters, ESPN reporter and former Nittany Lady Lion Basketball Star
- David Schelzel, lead singer of The Ocean Blue
- Lara Spencer, TV host of The Insider
- Tom Verducci, senior writer for Sports Illustrated
- Andrew Kevin Walker, screenwriter of Seven
- Fred Waring, Bandleader
- Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz, chief meteorologist of WCAU-TV in Philadelphia.
[edit] Politics, Government and Military
- Charlie Dent, United States Congressman (R-PA 15)
- Michael F. Doyle, United States Congressman (D-PA. 14)
- Tom Feeney, United States Congressman (R-FL 24)
- Barbara Hackman Franklin, former United States Secretary of Commerce
- David C. Hodge, President of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio
- Harold Gehman, former commander-in-chief of the U.S. Joint Forces Command and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic
- Robert Jubelirer, former President Pro Tempore of the Pennsylvania State Senate, former Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania.
- Maria Leavey, political strategist
- Michael P. Murphy, a United States Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor recipient.[1]
- William Perry, former United States Secretary of Defense
- Valerie Plame, former CIA officer
- Hugh Ellsworth Rodham, father of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
- Hugh Edwin Rodham, politician and brother of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
- James Patrick Rossiter, Mayor of Erie, Pennsylvania
- Rick Santorum, former United States Senator. (R-PA)
- Richard Schweiker, United States Senator and Secretary of Health and Human Services.
- Lyonpo Jigme Thinley, ’76g — Prime Minister and Head of the Government of Bhutan.[2]
- George J. Trautman, III, Major General, United States Marine Corps
- William E. Ward, General, United States Army
[edit] Science
- Paul Berg, recipient of 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Elliott Abrams, Accuweather Meteorologist
- Guion Bluford, astronaut, first African-American in space
- Robert Cenker, Space Shuttle astronaut, STS-61-C
- Nina Fedoroff, geneticist
- James T Harris III (D.Ed. 1988), educator and academic administrator; 2003 Alumni Fellow Award recipient[3]
- Joel N. Myers, founder and CEO of AccuWeather
- Erwin Müller, physicist, inventor of the field ion microscope, and the first person ever to "see" an atom
- James Pawelczyk, Space Shuttle astronaut, STS-90
- Jef Raskin, author and human-computer interface expert best-known for starting the Macintosh project for Apple Computer
- Paul J. Weitz, astronaut, Skylab 2, STS-6
[edit] Sports
- See also: List of Penn State Football Players
- See also: Major Leaguers Who Played for Penn State
For a list of Penn State Olympians: http://www.psu.edu/sports/olympics/index.html
- David Aardsma, major league pitcher spent 1 semester before transferring to Rice University
- John Amaechi, former professional basketball player; BBC, ITV, and SKY television personality
- Richie Anderson, former NFL running back
- LaVar Arrington, All-Pro NFL linebacker
- Horace Ashenfelter, 1952 Olympic gold medalist, track and field
- Terry Bartlett, Olympic gymnast
- Paul Bucci, Olympic badminton champion
- Mark Baldwin (baseball), former Major League baseball player
- Todd Blackledge, retired NFL quarterback and television sports analyst
- Kyle Brady, NFL tight end
- Courtney Brown, NFL defensive end and #1 overall NFL draft pick
- Nate Bump, professional baseball player
- John Cappelletti, Heisman Trophy winner and subject of book "Something for Joey"
- Ki-Jana Carter, NFL Halfback and #1 overall NFL draft pick
- Ken Chertow, US Wrestling Team and Olympian, 1986-1993
- Mary Ellen Clark, 1992 and 1996 Olympic bronze medalist, diving
- Kerry Collins, Pro Bowl NFL Quarterback and 4,000 yard passer (2002)
- Shane Conlan, former NFL linebacker
- Bob Coulson, former Major League Baseball player
- Birdie Cree, former Major League Baseball player
- Joe Crispin, professional basketball player
- John Gilmore, NFL tight end
- Robbie Gould, Professional Kicker for Chicago Bears
- Helen Darling, Professional WNBA guard for the San Antonio Silver Stars
- Bobby Engram, NFL wide receiver with the Seattle Seahawks
- Rosey Grier, former professional football player
- Tamba Hali, Professional football player
- Franco Harris, former professional football player
- Jeff Hartings, All-Pro NFL Offensive Lineman
- Jack Ham, former professional football player
- Michael Haynes, NFL defensive end
- Cliff Heathcote, former Major League Baseball player
- Dan Heisman, chess master
- Tom Irwin, former Major League Baseball player
- Larry Johnson, Pro Bowl NFL running back
- Bhawoh Jue, NFL safety
- Joe Jurevicius, NFL wide receiver
- Jimmy Kennedy, NFL defensive tackle
- Ed Klepfer, former Major League Baseball player
- David Macklin, NFL cornerback
- Kelly Mazzante, professional basketball player
- Mike McBath - co-founder/part-owner of the Orlando Predators
- Suzie McConnell Serio, former professional basketball player, current coach
- Kerry McCoy, 2x United States Olympian in Wrestling, current coach Stanford University Wrestling
- O. J. McDuffie, former NFL wide receiver
- Kareem McKenzie, NFL Offensive Lineman
- Matt Millen, former professional football player and current president of the Detroit Lions
- Lenny Moore, former NFL Running Back
- Adam Mizrahi, former NFL Wide Receiver, Car Salesman Hall of Famer
- Jim O'Hora former football player, football coach
- Mike Scioscia, former Major League Baseball catcher and current manager
- Chad Severs, professional soccer player
- Bud Sharpe, former Major League Baseball player
- Jack Sherry, captain of the 1954 Final Four Team
- Alan Strange, former Major League Baseball player
- Myles Thomas, former Major League Baseball player
- Wallace Triplett, former NFL Running Back (first African-American draftee to play in the NFL)
- Russ Van Atta, former Major League Baseball pitcher
- John Montgomery Ward, former Major League Baseball player, manager, and executive
[edit] Fictional Alumni
- Toby Flenderson, Human Resources Representative to the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch on the U.S. television series, The Office.
- Mark Wiggum, mentioned in The Italian Bob episode of the television series The Simpsons, Cousin of Chief Clancy Wiggum.
[edit] Notable professors and coaches
- Gregory Ain, architect, Head of Department of Architecture 1963-67
- Richard Alley, glaciologist and climate scientist, IPCC lead author
- John Barth, American novelist and short-story author
- Samuel Preston Bayard, folklorist, expert on fife and fiddle tunes
- Christian M. M. Brady, targumist and Dean of Schreyer Honors College
- Velvet Brown, tuba soloist and recording artist; is associate professor of music
- O. Richard Bundy, Director of Athletic Bands, including the Penn State Blue Band
- Donald Byrne, coach of America's first varsity chess team
- Paul DeMaine, one of the founders of the Computer Science Department.
- Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22
- Ivan Illich, polymath: author, philosopher, and polemicist
- Philip Jenkins, professor of religious studies and writer on modern religious controversies
- James Kasting, atmospheric chemist and astrobiologist, a.k.a. "Dr. Habitable zone"
- Gary N. Knoppers, Head of the Department of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies who has written a massive and hugely significant two-volume commentary on I Chronicles (I Chronicles 1 - 9 Anchor Bible Vol. 12: Doubleday, 2003) and I Chronicles 10 - 29 Anchor Bible Vol. 12A: Doubleday, 2004)
- , Co-creator of BLAST, a research tool used by geneticists worldwide.
- Erwin Müller, inventor of the field emission microscope, the field ion microscope, the atom probe, and the first person to view atoms
- Joe Paterno, head football coach since 1966
- Roger Penrose
- Rene Portland, head women's basketball coach from 1980 – 2007
- C. R. Rao, 2002 National Medal of Science winning statistician
- Theodore Roethke, 1954 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry recipient
- Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Empire Falls, His novel Straight Man was drawn from his experiences teaching at Penn State Altoona
- William Tenn (pen name of Philip Klass), famous science fiction writer
- Frank C. Whitmore, pioneering organic chemist who described the mechanism of carbocation reactions.
- Aleksander Wolszczan, discoverer of first extrasolar planets and pulsar planets
[edit] References
- ^ soa.htm
- ^ Penn State Live - Penn State alumnus to lead Bhutan
- ^ Alumni Fellow Award Recipients: 2001-2010. Individual Awards. Penn State Alumni Association (2007-11-13). Retrieved on 2007-12-15.

