51 Notable alumni of
Illinois Wesleyan University
Updated:
Illinois Wesleyan University is 1225th in the world, 440th in North America, and 412th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 51 notable alumni from Illinois Wesleyan University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Richard Jenkins
- Occupations
- stage actortelevision actorfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Richard Dale Jenkins is an American actor. He is well known for his portrayal of deceased patriarch Nathaniel Fisher on the HBO funeral drama series Six Feet Under (2001–2005). He began his career in theater at the Trinity Repertory Company and made his film debut in 1974. He has worked steadily in film and television since the 1980s, mostly in supporting roles. His eclectic body of work includes such films as The Witches of Eastwick (1987), Little Nikita (1988), Flirting with Disaster (1996), Snow Falling on Cedars (1999), The Mudge Boy (2003), Burn After Reading (2008), Step Brothers (2008), Let Me In (2010), Jack Reacher (2012), The Cabin in the Woods (2012), Bone Tomahawk (2015), The Last Shift (2020), The Humans (2021), and Nightmare Alley (2021).
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Colin Egglesfield
- Occupations
- television actormodelfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Colin Egglesfield is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Josh Madden in the soap opera All My Children, Auggie Kirkpatrick on The CW's reboot of the drama series Melrose Place, Dex in the film Something Borrowed, and Evan Parks on The Client List.
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Frankie Faison
- Occupations
- stage actortelevision actorfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Frankie Russel Faison is an American actor known for his role as Deputy Commissioner, and, later, Commissioner, Ervin Burrell in the HBO series The Wire, as Barney Matthews in the Hannibal Lecter franchise, and as Sugar Bates in the Cinemax series Banshee.
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Kevin Dunn
- Occupations
- television actorfilm actoractorfilm producer
- Biography
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Kevin Dunn is an American actor who has appeared in supporting roles in a number of films and television series since the 1980s.
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Christina Moore
- Occupations
- television actorscreenwriterfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Christina Moore is an American actress. She is best known for her recurring roles as Laurie Forman on the sixth season of the Fox period comedy series That '70s Show (2003–04), Tracy Clark on The CW teen drama series 90210 (2008–13), Suzanne McKittrick on the fourth and fifth seasons of the HBO fantasy horror series True Blood (2011–12), Christina Ross on the Disney Channel comedy series Jessie (2011–15), and Mandy Heiser on the first three seasons of the TNT comedy drama series Claws (2017–19).
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Adlai Stevenson I
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Adlai Ewing Stevenson was an American politician who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Grover Cleveland. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Representative for Illinois in the late 1870s and early 1880s. He was the founder of the Stevenson political family.
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Jack Sikma
- Occupations
- basketball coachbasketball player
- Biography
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Jack Wayne Sikma is an American former professional basketball center. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star with the Seattle SuperSonics, who drafted him in the first round with the eighth overall pick of the 1977 NBA draft. In 1979, he won an NBA championship with Seattle. Sikma finished his playing career with the Milwaukee Bucks. He was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
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Lester C. Hunt
- Enrolled in Illinois Wesleyan University
- Studied in 1912-1913
- Occupations
- politiciandentist
- Biography
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Lester Callaway Hunt, Sr., was an American Democratic politician from the state of Wyoming. Hunt was the first to be elected to two consecutive terms as Wyoming's governor, serving as its 19th governor from January 4, 1943, to January 3, 1949. In 1948, he was elected by an overwhelming margin to the U.S. Senate, and began his term on January 3, 1949.
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James E. Talmage
- Occupations
- geologisttheologianwriter
- Biography
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James Edward Talmage was an English chemist, geologist, and religious leader who served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1911 until his death.
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Bill Brady
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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William E. Brady is an American politician who was a Republican member of the Illinois Senate from May 2002 until his resignation in December 2020.
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Scott W. Lucas
- Enrolled in Illinois Wesleyan University
- In 1914 graduated with Juris Doctor
- Occupations
- lawyerpoliticianstate's attorneybaseball playerchairperson
- Biography
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Scott Wike Lucas was an American attorney and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives (1935–1939) and the U.S. Senate (1939–1951). He was the Senate Majority Leader from 1949 to 1951.
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Glen Gray
- Occupations
- saxophonistconductorbandleaderjazz musician
- Biography
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Glenn Gray Knoblauch, known professionally as Glen Gray, was an American jazz saxophonist and leader of the Casa Loma Orchestra.
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Doug Rader
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Douglas Lee Rader, nicknamed "the Red Rooster", is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball who was known primarily for his defensive ability, winning five straight Gold Glove Awards from 1970 to 1974.
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Bill Damaschke
- Occupations
- actorfilm producertelevision producer
- Biography
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William Damaschke is an American film executive and producer who currently serves as the president of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation. Previously, he had spent 20 years at DreamWorks Animation, most recently as Chief Creative Officer, where he was involved in the creative, artistic, and operational direction of the company. His tenure oversaw the release of some of the company's big franchise films, including Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon and The Croods. He also oversaw all of DreamWorks's live theatrical productions, including the award-winning Shrek the Musical. Damaschke’s other projects as a producer include the Broadway musical The Prom, directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, which played at the Longacre Theatre from 15 November 2018 to 11 August 2019; the Broadway-bound musical Half Time, directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, which was presented at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Spring of 2018; and the stage adaptation of Moulin Rouge, directed by Alex Timbers, on which Damaschke serves as executive producer. He was also formerly the president of Skydance Animation.
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Peter D. Haas
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Peter D. Haas is an American diplomat who has served as the United States ambassador to Bangladesh since March 2022. Haas previously served as acting assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs.
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Charles "Buffalo" Jones
- Occupations
- rancherconservationistpolitician
- Biography
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Charles Jesse Jones, known as "Buffalo Jones", was an American frontiersman, farmer, rancher, hunter, and conservationist. He cofounded Garden City, Kansas. He has been cited by the National Archives as one of the "preservers of the American bison".
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William R. Roy
- Occupations
- politiciangynaecologistmilitary officerobstetricianjournalist
- Biography
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William Robert Roy, also known as Bill Roy, was a United States representative from Kansas, a physician, and a columnist for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the Democratic nominee for U.S Senator from Kansas in the 1974 and 1978 senate elections, but lost both races.
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Sandra Steingraber
- Occupations
- biologistuniversity teachernon-fiction writerecologist
- Biography
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Sandra Steingraber is an American biologist, author, and cancer survivor. Steingraber writes and lectures on the environmental factors that contribute to reproductive health problems and environmental links to cancer.
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Grace Raymond Hebard
- Occupations
- historianwritersuffragisteconomistlibrarian
- Biography
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Grace Raymond Hebard was an American historian, suffragist, scholar, writer, political economist, and noted University of Wyoming educator. Hebard's standing as a historian in part rose from her years trekking Wyoming's high plains and mountains seeking first-hand accounts of Wyoming's early pioneers. Today, her books on Wyoming history are sometimes challenged due to her romanticization of the Old West, spurring questions regarding accuracy of her research findings. In particular, her conclusion after decades of field research that Sacajawea (participant in the Lewis and Clark Expedition) was buried in Wyoming's Wind River Indian Reservation is questioned.
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Tom Cross
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Tom Cross is an American lawyer and former Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives where he served from 1993 to 2015. He served as House Minority Leader from January 2002 to August 2013, when he resigned to run for Illinois Treasurer.
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Phill Wilson
- Occupations
- HIV/AIDS activist
- Biography
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Phill Wilson is an American activist who founded the Black AIDS Institute in 1999, and served as its CEO, and is a prominent African-American HIV/AIDS activist.
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Robert B. Duncan
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Robert Blackford Duncan was an American politician from the state of Oregon. A Democrat, he served multiple terms in the Oregon Legislative Assembly and as a U.S. congressman from Oregon. In the Oregon House of Representatives he served as speaker for four years, and in the U.S. House he represented two different districts. The Illinois native and World War II veteran ran three unsuccessful campaigns to be elected to the U.S. Senate.
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Harold Hodge
- Years
- 1904-1990 (aged 86)
- Occupations
- toxicologist
- Biography
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Harold Carpenter Hodge was a well-known toxicologist who published close to 300 papers and five books. He was the first president of the Society of Toxicology in 1960. He received a BS from Illinois Wesleyan University and a PhD in 1930 from the State University of Iowa, publishing his first paper in 1927. He received a number of honors and awards during his career.
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Harlan Hogan
- Years
- 1946-.. (age 78)
- Occupations
- voice actor
- Biography
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Harlan Hogan is a voice actor and author. He has provided the voice-overs for countless commercials, documentaries and films. Many famous advertising catch phrases such as: "Strong enough for a man...", "You never get a second chance to make a first impression...", "When you care enough to send the very best..." and "Quaker Life, It's the cereal even Mikey likes...", ranked 10th in TV Guides list of best commercials, have been performed by Harlan. He has also written several books on the subject of voice acting.
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George W. English
- Occupations
- politicianjudgelawyer
- Biography
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George Washington English was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois. Charged with abuse of power and other offenses, English was impeached by the United States House of Representatives on April 1, 1926, and resigned his position before proceedings could continue.
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Margaret Illington
- Occupations
- actorstage actor
- Biography
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Margaret Illington was an American stage actress popular in the first decade of the 20th century. She later made an attempt at silent film acting by making two films with Adolph Zukor's Famous Players–Lasky franchise.
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Joseph Crane Hartzell
- Occupations
- priest
- Biography
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Joseph Crane Hartzell was an American Missionary Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church who served in the United States and in Africa.
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Alfred Oscar Coffin
- Years
- 1861-1933 (aged 72)
- Occupations
- biologist
- Biography
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Alfred Oscar Coffin was a professor of mathematics and Romance language. He is best known for being the first African American to obtain a PhD in biology.
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Arthur Naparstek
- Occupations
- social worker
- Biography
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Dr. Arthur J. Naparstek was a professor of social work and Dean of the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He was an expert on urban redevelopment and neighborhood revitalization whose community-building concepts served as the basis for local and national government programs in both the United States and Israel.
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Stephen Ondra
- Years
- 1957-.. (age 67)
- Occupations
- surgeon
- Biography
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Stephen L. Ondra is the chief medical adviser for the MITRE Corporation’s work as operator of the CMS Alliance to Modernize Healthcare federally funded research and development center. Ondra advises all HHS organizations to advance private insurance markets, Medicare and Medicaid, value-based payments, and healthcare quality. Ondra was most recently CEO of Cygnus-AI Inc., a company specializing in artificial intelligence and clinical decision support tools for diagnostic radiology. He was also founder and chief executive officer of North Star Health Care Consulting, and served on the board of directors of Triple-S Management and electroCore. A neurosurgeon and neuroscientist, Ondra has also served in senior positions in the Federal government, having a role in health reform efforts and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He advises corporations, provider organizations and early-stage start-ups on the transition to value-based care and health IT strategy.
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H. C. Baldridge
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Henry Clarence Baldridge was an American politician. A Republican, he was the 14th governor of Idaho, serving from 1927 until 1931.
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George L. Fox
- Occupations
- Methodist ministerprotestant military chaplain
- Biography
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George Lansing Fox was a Methodist minister and a lieutenant in the United States Army. He was one of the Four Chaplains who gave their lives to save other soldiers during the sinking of the troop transport Dorchester during World War II.
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Juan Salgado
- Occupations
- community leader
- Biography
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Juan Salgado is a Chicago-based community leader. Since 2017, he has been chancellor of the City Colleges of Chicago. He is a 2015 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship.
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Julia A. Ames
- Occupations
- editorjournalist
- Biography
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Julia A. Ames was an American journalist, editor and temperance reformer. She served as associate editor of the Woman's Temperance Publishing Association's Union Signal. Ames died in 1891 at the age of 30. The year after her death, the journalist and spiritualist W. T. Stead published automatic writing which was said to have been sent by Ames to her friend. Stead also created "Julie's Bureau" to allow others to communicate with the dead.
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Lindley H. Hadley
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Lindley Hoag Hadley was a U.S. Representative from Washington.
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Florence Fifer Bohrer
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Florence Fifer Bohrer was an American activist and politician in Illinois. She was the daughter of former Illinois governor Joseph W. Fifer and was the first female senator in the Illinois General Assembly. She served for two terms from 1924 to 1932.
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Harriet Burton Laidlaw
- Occupations
- suffragist
- Biography
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Harriet Wright Laidlaw was an American social reformer and suffragist. She campaigned in support of the Nineteenth Amendment and the United Nations, and was the first female corporate director of Standard & Poor's.
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J. Bradley Burzynski
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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J. Bradley Burzynski is a former Republican member of the Illinois General Assembly serving in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1990 to 1993 and the Illinois Senate from 1993 to 2011.
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Alfred Orendorff
- Years
- 1845-1909 (aged 64)
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Alfred Orendorff was an Illinois lawyer and politician.
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Charles A. Karch
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Charles Adam Karch was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.
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Woodson Ratcliffe Oglesby
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Woodson Ratcliffe Oglesby was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1913 to 1917. He was a cousin of Richard James Oglesby.
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Martin A. Brennan
- Occupations
- politicianjudgelawyer
- Biography
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Martin Adlai Brennan was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.
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Antoinette Funk
- Occupations
- suffragistlawyer
- Biography
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Antoinette Funk was a lawyer and women's rights advocate during the 20th century. She served as the executive secretary of the Congressional Committee of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.
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John O. Spencer
- Biography
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John Oakley Spencer, Ph.D., LL.D. was an ordained minister and college administrator who served as the 4th president of Morgan State University from 1902 to 1937. Spencer's presidency is considered to be a renaissance period and the first "Era of Progress" for Morgan, in which the campus underwent major transformations. The other "Era's of Progress" were under the presidency of Martin D. Jenkins, Ph.D. (1948–1970) and during the presidency of Earl S. Richardson (1984–2010).
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Arthur Hall Smith
- Occupations
- painter
- Biography
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Arthur Hall Smith was an American painter.
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John Allen Sterling
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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John Allen Sterling was a U.S. Representative from Illinois, and brother of Thomas Sterling.
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Louis Fitzhenry
- Occupations
- journalistlawyerpoliticianjudge
- Biography
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Louis FitzHenry was a United States representative from Illinois, a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
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Margaret Ashmore Sudduth
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Margaret Ashmore Sudduth was an American educator, editor, and temperance advocate. She was the senior editor upon the staff of the Woman's Temperance Publishing Association, overseeing The Union Signal.
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Alfred Augustus Stockton
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Alfred Augustus Stockton, Ph.D, LL.D was a Canadian lawyer, professor, politician, and writer.
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Rudolph B. Welch
- Occupations
- lawyer
- Biography
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Rudolph Blair Welch was an American educator and attorney most notable for serving as the fourth president of the Kansas State Normal School (KSN), now known as Emporia State University, in Emporia, Kansas.
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James Stevenson Ewing
- Occupations
- lawyer
- Biography
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James Stevenson Ewing was an American diplomat and lawyer.
