100 Notable alumni of
Kansas State University
Updated:
Kansas State University is 306th in the world, 130th in North America, and 123rd in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from Kansas State 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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Kirstie Alley
- Occupations
- television produceractor
- Biography
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Kirstie Louise Alley was an American actress. Her breakthrough role was as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom Cheers (1987–1993), for which she received an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991. From 1997 to 2000, she starred as the lead in the sitcom Veronica's Closet, earning additional Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. On film, she played Mollie Jensen in Look Who's Talking (1989) and its two sequels, Look Who's Talking Too (1990) and Look Who's Talking Now (1993).
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Erin Brockovich
- Occupations
- environmentalistbusinesspersonjurist
- Biography
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Erin Brockovich is an American paralegal, consumer advocate, and environmental activist who was instrumental in building a case against Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) involving groundwater contamination in Hinkley, California for attorney Ed Masry in 1993. Their successful lawsuit was the subject of the Oscar-winning film, Erin Brockovich (2000), starring Julia Roberts as Brockovich and Albert Finney as Masry.
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Eric Stonestreet
- Occupations
- actorfilm actortelevision actor
- Biography
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Eric Allen Stonestreet is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Cameron Tucker in the ABC sitcom Modern Family, for which he received two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series out of three nominations. He first rose to prominence in a recurring role on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He has also appeared in films including Bad Teacher (2011), Identity Thief (2013), The Loft (2013), and Confirmation (2016), and provides the voice of Duke in the animated Secret Life of Pets film franchise (2016–2019).
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Scott Bakula
- Occupations
- television actorstage actorfilm actoractorfilm producer
- Biography
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Scott Stewart Bakula is an American actor. He is known for his roles in two science-fiction television series: as Sam Beckett on Quantum Leap – for which he received four Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe Award – and as Captain Jonathan Archer on Star Trek: Enterprise. From 2014 to 2021, he portrayed Special Agent Dwayne Cassius "King" Pride on NCIS: New Orleans.
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Rob Riggle
- Occupations
- television actorcomedianactorvoice actormilitary officer
- Biography
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Robert A. Riggle Jr. is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and retired United States Marine Officer.
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Juan Manuel Santos
- Occupations
- lawyerpoliticianeconomistinternational forum participantjournalist
- Biography
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Juan Manuel Santos Calderón is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.
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Michael Beasley
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Michael Paul Beasley Jr. is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State University for one year before declaring for the NBA draft in 2008. Beasley was the 2nd pick in the 2008 NBA draft and was selected by the Miami Heat. He is regarded as one of the best freshman college basketball players of the 2000s. Though he is ambidextrous, he shoots left-handed.
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Jordy Nelson
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
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Jordy Ray Nelson is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and the Oakland Raiders. He played college football for the Kansas State Wildcats, receiving consensus All-American honors in 2007. He was selected by Green Bay in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. During his tenure with the Packers, he won Super Bowl XLV with the team over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2010 season. After spending 10 seasons in Green Bay, he played one year with the Raiders before announcing his retirement. In 2023, he was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame.
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Darren Sproles
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
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Darren Lee Sproles is an American football executive and former running back. He is now a personnel consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kansas State Wildcats, earning first-team All-American honors and becoming the school's all-time leading rusher. Sproles was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He also played for the New Orleans Saints and the Eagles. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
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Allen West
- Enrolled in Kansas State University
- In 1986 graduated with Master of Arts
- Occupations
- army officermilitary advisorpoliticianteacher
- Biography
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Allen Bernard West is an American politician and retired military officer. A member of the Republican Party, West represented Florida's 22nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013 and served as the chairman of the Republican Party of Texas from 2020 to 2021.
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Earl Woods
- Occupations
- writerarmy officerbaseball player
- Biography
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Earl Dennison Woods was the father of American professional golfer Tiger Woods. Woods started his son in golf at a very early age and coached him exclusively over his first years in the sport. He later published two books about the process.
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Mitch Richmond
- Occupations
- basketball playerbasketball coachactorfilm producer
- Biography
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Mitchell James Richmond III is an American former professional basketball player. He played collegiately at Moberly Area Community College and Kansas State University. He was a six-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-NBA Team member, and a former NBA Rookie of the Year. In 976 NBA games, Richmond averaged 21.0 points per game and 3.5 assists per game. Richmond was voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014. His jersey No. 2 was retired in his honor by the Sacramento Kings, for whom he played seven seasons.
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Clyde Tombaugh
- Occupations
- astronomeruniversity teacher
- Biography
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Clyde William Tombaugh /ˈtɒmbaʊ/ was an American astronomer. He discovered Pluto in 1930, the first object to be discovered in what would later be identified as the Kuiper belt. At the time of discovery, Pluto was considered a planet, but was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006. Tombaugh also discovered many asteroids, and called for the serious scientific research of unidentified flying objects.
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Josh Freeman
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
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Joshua Tyler Freeman is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kansas State Wildcats, and was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft. Freeman became the starter for Tampa Bay in his rookie year and went on to break numerous franchise passing records. However, he was released partway through his fifth year with the team.
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Sam Brownback
- Enrolled in Kansas State University
- Studied in 1979
- Occupations
- broadcasterteacheradministratorwriterpolitician
- Biography
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Samuel Dale Brownback is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011 and as the 46th governor of Kansas from 2011 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, Brownback also served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom during the administration of President Donald Trump and was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President in 2008.
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Lung Ying-tai
- Enrolled in Kansas State University
- Graduated with doctorate
- Occupations
- university teacherwriter
- Biography
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Lung Ying-tai is a writer, cultural critic, and public intellectual. With more than 30 books to her credit, she not only has a large number of readers in her native Taiwan, but her works also have an impact in Chinese-language communities in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Malaysia, and North America. Lung became widely known for her criticism on the Kuomintang party's martial law regime and has since become a critic of Mainland China's increasing restrictions on press freedom and civil liberties. Her critical essays on cultural and political issues contributed to the democratization of Taiwan.
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Paul R. Ehrlich
- Occupations
- environmentalistbiologistdemographeruniversity teacher
- Biography
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Paul Ralph Ehrlich is an American biologist known for his predictions and warnings about the consequences of population growth, including famine and resource depletion. Ehrlich is the Bing Professor Emeritus of Population Studies of the Department of Biology of Stanford University, and President of Stanford's Center for Conservation Biology.
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Gary Patterson
- Occupations
- player of American footballhead coach
- Biography
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Gary Allen Patterson is an American football coach and former player. He was most recently the special assistant to the head coach at the University of Texas. He is the former head football coach at Texas Christian University and the coach with the most wins in Horned Frogs' history. Patterson led the TCU Horned Frogs to six conference championships—one Conference USA title in 2002; four Mountain West Conference titles in 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2011; —and eleven bowl game victories—including victories in the 2011 Rose Bowl and 2014 Peach Bowl. His 2010 squad finished the season undefeated at 13–0 after a 21–19 Rose Bowl victory over the Wisconsin Badgers on New Year's Day 2011, and ranked second in the final tallying of both major polls.
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Lon Kruger
- Occupations
- basketball playerbasketball coach
- Biography
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Lonnie Duane Kruger is a retired American college and professional basketball coach who was most recently the men's basketball head coach of the University of Oklahoma. Kruger played college basketball for Kansas State University. He has served as the head coach of the University of Texas–Pan American, Kansas State, the University of Florida, the University of Illinois, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, as well as the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
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Brad Underwood
- Occupations
- basketball playerbasketball coach
- Biography
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Bradley Cole Underwood is the current head coach for the Illinois men's basketball team. Previously, he served as head coach at Oklahoma State, Stephen F. Austin, Dodge City Community College, and Daytona Beach Community College and assistant coach at Western Illinois, Kansas State, and South Carolina.
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Ricky Lee Neely
- Occupations
- television actoractor
- Biography
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Ricky Lee Neely, known professionally as Ricky Kim, is an American actor.
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Pete Souza
- Occupations
- journalistphotographerphotojournalist
- Biography
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Peter Joseph Souza is an American photojournalist, the former chief official White House photographer for Presidents of the United States Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama and the former director of the White House Photography Office. He was a photographer with The Chicago Tribune, stationed at the Washington, D.C., bureau from 1998 to 2007; during this period he also followed the rise of then-Senator Obama to the presidency.
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Jim Ryun
- Occupations
- politicianathletics competitormiddle-distance runnerconsultantmotivational speaker
- Biography
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James Ronald Ryun is an American former Republican politician and Olympic track and field athlete, who at his peak was widely considered the world's top middle-distance runner. He won a silver medal in the 1500 m at the 1968 Summer Olympics, and was the first high school athlete to run a mile in under four minutes. He is the last American to hold the world record in the mile run. Ryun later served in the United States House of Representatives from 1996 to 2007, representing Kansas's 2nd congressional district.
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Susanna M. Salter
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Susanna Madora Salter was an American politician and activist. She served as mayor of Argonia, Kansas, becoming the first woman elected to serve as mayor in the United States and one of the first women to serve in any political office in the United States.
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Kenji Fujimori
- Occupations
- politicianbusinessperson
- Biography
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Kenji Gerardo Fujimori Higuchi is a Peruvian businessman, politician and a former congressman representing Lima from 2011 until he was suspended from congressional duty in June 2018, in aftermath of the Mamanivideos scandal. He is the son of former President Alberto Fujimori and former First Lady and congresswoman Susana Higuchi. He has three siblings: Hiro Alberto, Sachi Marcela and Keiko Fujimori. In the 2011 elections, he ran for Congress in the constituency of Lima, under the Force 2011, a Fujimorist political party led by his sister Keiko, being the most voted congressman in 2011. In the 2016 elections, he was re-elected for a second term to Congress, once again representing the same constituency, under the Popular Force, as he received a high number of votes and being the most voted congressman in 2016. In June 2018, following the "Mamanivideos" scandal, Congress suspended Kenji and two other congressmen of his party for allegations of crimes of influence peddling and bribery.
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Pat Roberts
- Enrolled in Kansas State University
- In 1958 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- journalistpoliticianmilitary officernewspaper proprietor
- Biography
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Charles Patrick Roberts is a retired American politician and journalist who served as a United States senator from Kansas from 1997 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Roberts served 8 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 1981 to 1997, before his election to the Senate.
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Rolando Blackman
- Occupations
- basketball coachbasketball player
- Biography
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Rolando Antonio Blackman is a Panamanian-American former professional basketball player. He was a four-time NBA All-Star who spent most of his career with the Dallas Mavericks. He holds the Mavericks' franchise single-game record for free throws made (22).
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Curtis Hughes
- Occupations
- professional wrestler
- Biography
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Curtis Hughes is an American professional wrestler, also known by the ring name Mr. Hughes. He is best known for his stints in World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation. He also worked for the American Wrestling Association, the American Wrestling Federation and Extreme Championship Wrestling. He trained wrestlers at WWA4 wrestling school for more than ten years and wrestles on the independent circuit.
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Bud Adams
- Occupations
- businesspersonbasketball coach
- Biography
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Kenneth Stanley "Bud" Adams, Jr. was an American businessman who was the founder and owner of the Houston Oilers of the American Football League, of which he was also a co-founder. The franchise eventually was moved to Nashville, where it was re-named the Tennessee Titans, a National Football League (NFL) franchise. A member of the Cherokee Nation who originally made his fortune in the petroleum business, Adams was chairman and CEO of Adams Resources & Energy Inc., a wholesale supplier of oil and natural gas. He was instrumental in the founding and establishment of the former American Football League (AFL).
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Steve Grogan
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
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Steven James Grogan is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for sixteen seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college football for the Kansas State Wildcats and was selected by the Patriots in the fifth round of the 1975 NFL Draft.
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Deuce Vaughn
- Enrolled in Kansas State University
- Studied marketing
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
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Christopher "Deuce" Vaughn II is an American football running back for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kansas State Wildcats.
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Vernon L. Smith
- Occupations
- economistuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Vernon Lomax Smith is an American economist and professor of business economics and law at Chapman University. He was formerly a professor of economics at the University of Arizona, professor of economics and law at George Mason University, and a board member of the Mercatus Center. Along with Daniel Kahneman, Smith shared the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to behavioral economics and his work in the field of experimental economics. He worked to establish 'laboratory experiments as a tool in empirical economic analysis, especially in the study of alternative market mechanisms'.
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Rodney McGruder
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Rodney Christian McGruder is an American professional basketball player for EA7 Emporio Armani Milan of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Kansas State Wildcats.
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Thomas Frank
- Occupations
- historianjournalistpolitical scientist
- Biography
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Thomas Carr Frank is an American political analyst, historian, and journalist. He co-founded and edited The Baffler magazine. Frank is the author of the books What's the Matter with Kansas? (2004) and Listen, Liberal (2016), among others. From 2008 to 2010 he wrote "The Tilting Yard", a column in The Wall Street Journal.
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Francisco Santos Calderón
- Occupations
- journalisthuman rights activistinternational forum participantpolitician
- Biography
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Francisco Santos Calderón, also known as Pacho Santos, is a Colombian politician and journalist. Santos was elected as Álvaro Uribe's running mate and became Vice President in 2002. Santos was re-elected in 2006 for a second term with President Uribe. His great-uncle Eduardo Santos was President of Colombia from 1938 to 1942 and he is also a cousin of former president Juan Manuel Santos. Santos was appointed Ambassador of Colombia to the United States in 2018. He presented his credentials to president Donald Trump on 17 September 2018 and served until 2020.
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Sara Paretsky
- Occupations
- novelistcrime fiction writerwriter
- Biography
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Sara Paretsky is an American author of detective fiction, best known for her novels focused on the protagonist V. I. Warshawski.
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Gene Keady
- Occupations
- player of American footballbasketball coachbasketball player
- Biography
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Lloyd Eugene Keady is an American Hall of Fame basketball coach. He is best known for his 25 years serving as the head men's basketball coach at Purdue University in Indiana. In his tenure leading the Boilermakers from 1980 to 2005, he went to the NCAA Tournament seventeen times, twice advancing to the Elite Eight.
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Jeff Colyer
- Occupations
- surgeonpoliticianlawyer
- Biography
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Jeffrey William Colyer is an American surgeon and politician who served as the 47th governor of Kansas from January 31, 2018, to January 14, 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 49th lieutenant governor of Kansas from 2011 to 2018. Colyer served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2007 to 2009 and the Kansas Senate from 2009 to 2011. He assumed the governorship when Sam Brownback resigned to become United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. Colyer ran for a full term as governor in 2018, but narrowly lost the Republican primary to Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach, who in turn lost the general election to Democratic nominee Laura Kelly.
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Joseph Boakai
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Joseph Nyumah Boakai is a Liberian politician who is the 26th and current president of Liberia. He previously served as the 29th vice president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018, under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and as the minister of agriculture from 1983 to 1985. Boakai ran for president in 2017, losing the election to George Weah. He went on to defeat Weah in the 2023 election.
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Richard Bowman Myers
- Enrolled in Kansas State University
- In 1965 graduated with Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering
- Occupations
- air force officer
- Biography
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Richard Bowman Myers is a retired United States Air Force general who served as the 15th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As chairman, Myers was the highest ranking uniformed officer of the United States military forces. He also served as the 14th president of Kansas State University from 2016 to 2022.
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Jacob Pullen
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Jacob Everse Pullen is an American-Georgian professional basketball player for Napoli Basket of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played for the Kansas State Wildcats. Pullen has both American and Georgian citizenship, and has played for the Georgian national team.
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Dalton Risner
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
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Dalton William Risner is an American football guard for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kansas State Wildcats.
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Dean Wade
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Dean Jackson Wade is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kansas State Wildcats.
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Robert L. Caslen
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
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Robert Louis Caslen Jr. is a retired United States Army officer who served as the 59th superintendent of West Point from 2013 until 2018 and as the 29th president of the University of South Carolina from July 2019 until May 2021. Between January and May 2019, Caslen was senior counsel to the president and interim chief financial officer at the University of Central Florida. On July 19, 2019, the Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina elected him as the school's 29th president, a position he assumed on August 1, 2019. Caslen also served as HigherEchelon's Special Advisor on Executive Leadership and Character Development. He resigned as President at South Carolina on May 12, 2021.
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Bill Walker
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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William Henry Walker is an American professional basketball player for Gladiadores de Anzoátegui of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto (SPB). Previously known as Bill Walker, the 6-foot-6-inch-tall (1.98 m) player was selected out of Kansas State University by the Washington Wizards with the 47th overall pick in the second round of the 2008 NBA draft and traded shortly thereafter to the Boston Celtics in exchange for cash considerations.
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Jane Dee Hull
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Jane Dee Hull was an American politician and educator who was the 20th governor of Arizona from 1997 to 2003. She ascended to the office following the resignation of Fife Symington; Hull was elected in her own right in 1998 and served one term. She was the first woman formally elected as Governor of Arizona, and the second woman to serve in the office after Rose Mofford. She was a member of the Republican Party.
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Cody Whitehair
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
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Cody Michael Whitehair is an American football offensive guard who is currently a free agent. He has previously played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Kansas State.
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Peter Ruckman
- Occupations
- pastordisc jockey
- Biography
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Peter Sturges Ruckman was an American Independent Fundamental Baptist pastor, author, and founder of the Pensacola Bible Institute in Pensacola, Florida (not to be confused with the Pensacola Christian College in the same city).
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Bill Guthridge
- Occupations
- basketball coachbasketball player
- Biography
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William Wallace Guthridge was an American college basketball coach. Guthridge initially gained recognition after serving for thirty years as Dean Smith's assistant at the University of North Carolina and summing many wins as a result. Following Smith's retirement in 1997, Guthridge was head coach of the Tar Heels for three seasons. He took the team to the NCAA Final Four twice and was named national coach of the year in 1998, before retiring in 2000.
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Charles T. Payne
- Occupations
- librarianmilitary personnel
- Biography
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Charles Thomas Payne was an American veteran who served in the U.S. military during World War II as a member of the U.S. Army's 89th Infantry Division that liberated Ohrdruf, a sub-camp of the Buchenwald concentration camp when he was age 20. A brother of Madelyn Lee Payne Dunham, Payne was former President Barack Obama's granduncle and was mentioned in Obama's speeches, including the one given in 2009 commemorating the anniversary of D-Day.
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Milton Stover Eisenhower
- Occupations
- screenwriterpolitician
- Biography
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Milton Stover Eisenhower was an American academic administrator. He served as president of three major American universities: Kansas State University, Pennsylvania State University, and Johns Hopkins University. He was the youngest brother of, and advisor to, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
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Bob Boozer
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Robert Louis Boozer was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Boozer won a gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics and won an NBA Championship as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971. Boozer was a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic team, which was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a unit in 2010.
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Marlin Fitzwater
- Occupations
- military personnel
- Biography
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Max Marlin Fitzwater is an American writer-journalist who served as White House Press Secretary for six years under U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, making him one of the longest-serving press secretaries in history. He is the only U.S. Press Secretary to be appointed by two different U.S. Presidents (Stephen Early and Pierre Salinger served as transition press secretaries for a few weeks and a few months, respectively).
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Lynn Jenkins
- Enrolled in Kansas State University
- In 1985 graduated with associate degree
- Occupations
- politicianaccountant
- Biography
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Lynn Haag Jenkins is an American politician and lobbyist who served as the U.S. representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district, in office from 2009 to 2019. She previously served as Kansas State Treasurer from 2003 to 2008, in the Kansas House of Representatives from 1999 to 2000 and the Kansas Senate from 2000 to 2002. She is a member of the Republican Party.
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Wesley Iwundu
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Wesley Deshawn Iwundu is an American professional basketball player for Rasta Vechta of the German Bundesliga. He played college basketball for the Kansas State Wildcats.
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John Jacob Rhodes
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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John Jacob Rhodes Jr. was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Rhodes served as a U.S. Representative from Arizona for thirty years. He was the minority leader in the House of Representatives from 1973 to 1981 and pressed a conservative agenda.
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Dominique Sutton
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Dominique Leondres Sutton is an American basketball player for Mayrouba Club of the Lebanese Basketball League. Sutton played college basketball for Kansas State University and North Carolina Central University.
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Dana Dimel
- Occupations
- head coach
- Biography
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Dana August Dimel is an American football coach and former player. He was most recently the head football coach of the University of Texas at El Paso. Previously he was the co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Kansas State University from 2009–2017. Dimel has also coached at the University of Arizona and served as the head football coach at the University of Wyoming from 1997 to 1999 and at the University of Houston from 2000 to 2002, compiling a career college football record of 47-79.
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Jim Pillen
- Occupations
- politicianbusinesspersonplayer of American football
- Biography
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James Douglas Pillen is an American politician, veterinarian and livestock producer serving as the 41st and current governor of Nebraska since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Pillen served on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents from 2013 to 2023.
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Theresa Vail
- Occupations
- beauty pageant contestantradio personality
- Biography
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Theresa Marie Vail is Miss Kansas 2013. She subsequently placed in the top ten of the Miss America 2014 pageant, where she became the first contestant to openly display tattoos (during the swimsuit competition) and won the "America's Choice" award. Vail later hosted programs for the Outdoor Channel.
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B. J. Finney
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
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Benjamin J. Isaac Finney II is a former American football guard. He played college football at Kansas State University, and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015.
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David Grandison Fairchild
- Occupations
- explorermycologistwriterbotanist
- Biography
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David Grandison Fairchild was an American botanist and plant explorer. Fairchild was responsible for the introduction of more than 200,000 exotic plants and varieties of established crops into the United States, including soybeans, pistachios, mangos, nectarines, dates, bamboos, and flowering cherries. Certain varieties of wheat, cotton, and rice became especially economically important.
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Cynthia Carroll
- Years
- 1956-.. (age 68)
- Occupations
- geologistbusiness executiveinternational forum participant
- Biography
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Cynthia Blum Carroll is an American businesswoman. She was the chief executive officer of Anglo American PLC, a South African mining company, which, among other things, is the world's largest platinum producer.
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Tracey Mann
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Tracey Robert Mann is an American businessman and politician who has served as the U.S. representative from Kansas's 1st congressional district since 2021. The district, popularly known as "the Big First," includes parts of 63 counties in central and western Kansas and is the seventh-largest district in the nation that does not cover an entire state.
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Robert Streb
- Enrolled in Kansas State University
- In 2009 studied marketing
- Occupations
- golfer
- Biography
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Robert Charles Streb is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour where he has been a member since 2013.
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Austra Skujytė
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
-
Austra Skujytė is a retired Lithuanian athlete, competing in both the heptathlon and the decathlon. On 15 April 2005 in Columbia, Missouri, she broke the women's decathlon world record, with a score of 8358. She is the 2004 Olympic silver medalist and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist in the heptathlon. The latter medal was allocated retrospectively following the disqualification in 2016 of original medalist Tatyana Chernova for historic doping offences.
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Marri Shashidhar Reddy
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Marri Shashidhar Reddy is an Indian politician. He has been active both at the state level and national level politics in India. He was elected as an MLA four times from Sanathnagar (Assembly constituency). The first time he contested by-polls was in 1992 and he was elected again three times (1994, 2004, 2009) from the same constituency.
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Tejaswin Shankar
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
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Tejaswin Shankar is an Indian athlete who competes in the decathlon event. He holds the high jump national record of 2.29 metres set in April 2018.
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Nick Martini
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Nicholas Scott Martini is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has played previously in MLB for the Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, and Chicago Cubs, and in the KBO League for the NC Dinos.
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Steve Physioc
- Occupations
- sports journalist
- Biography
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Steve Physioc is a retired American sportscaster who has called play-by-play for various baseball, basketball, and football teams. He retired while working with the Kansas City Royals, whom he had worked with since February 2012.
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Andrew P. Poppas
- Enrolled in Kansas State University
- Graduated with Master of Science in occupational education
- Occupations
- military officer
- Biography
-
Andrew Peter Poppas is a United States Army general who serves as the commanding general of the United States Army Forces Command since 8 July 2022. He previously served as the director of the Joint Staff from 2020 to 2022. As director, he assisted the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in managing the Joint Staff and with the management and organization of the staff's members. He previously served as the director of operations of the Joint Staff, where he served as the principal assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for global integration initiatives and current and future operations. He also served as the commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division.
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Mitch Holthus
- Occupations
- sports commentator
- Biography
-
Mitchell G. Holthus, is the play-by-play announcer for the Kansas City Chiefs Radio Network. Holthus is fondly nicknamed "the voice of the Chiefs", and he hosts various programs and events for the Chiefs organization's 65TPT production arm for broadcast as well as Chiefs Radio Network and the NFL team's YouTube channel. He was on call for Super Bowls LIV, LVII, and LVIII when the Chiefs won the second, third, and fourth NFL national championships in Chiefs franchise history. Holthus also hosts the Chiefs Insider program, Defending the Kingdom podcast, Chiefs Rewind and is a contributor with the Chiefs Senior Team Reporter Matt McMullen on Chiefs Field Pass. He also hosts the award-winning "Minute With Mitch" television and radio series that is seen and heard in five states.
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James Harbord
- Occupations
- military officerbusinessperson
- Biography
-
Lieutenant General James Guthrie Harbord was a senior officer of the United States Army and president and chairman of the board of RCA. During World War I, he served from mid-1917 to mid-1918 as chief of staff of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), commanded by General John J. Pershing, before commanding a brigade and briefly a division and then the Services of Supply of the AEF. In the former role he was, in the words of former soldier-turned historian David T. Zabecki,
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Ángel Rodríguez
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
-
Ángel Daniel Rodríguez Tricoche is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player for Liège Basket of the BNXT League. He played college basketball for Kansas State University and the University of Miami.
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Gail Gregg
- Occupations
- painterphotographer
- Biography
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Gail Gregg is an American artist, photographer, and journalist, based in New York City.
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Carla Provost
- Occupations
- officiallaw enforcement officer
- Biography
-
Carla L. Provost is a retired American government official who served as the Chief of the United States Border Patrol from August 2018 through January 2020. She was the first woman to serve as Chief of the Border Patrol, a career law enforcement position. Provost held numerous positions during her 25-year career in the Border Patrol, including serving as Deputy Chief beginning in October 2016, and Acting Chief from April 2017 until her promotion in August 2018.
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John W. Carlin
- Occupations
- university teacherpoliticianarchivist
- Biography
-
John William Carlin is an American educator and politician who served as the 40th governor of Kansas from 1979 to 1987, and the archivist of the United States from May 30, 1995, to February 15, 2005. He teaches at Kansas State University as a visiting professor and previously operated a website to advance civic engagement. Carlin is also a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.
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Matt McCrane
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
-
Matthew McCrane is an American football placekicker for the DC Defenders of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Kansas State University. He was signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He has also played for the Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Guardians, and Cleveland Browns.
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Cartier Martin
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
-
Cartier Alexander Martin is an American former professional basketball player who played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State.
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Frank Carlson
- Enrolled in Kansas State University
- Studied agricultural science
- Occupations
- politicianfarmer
- Biography
-
Frank Carlson was an American politician who served as the 30th governor of Kansas, Kansas State representative, United States representative, and United States senator from Kansas. Carlson is the only Kansan to have held all four offices. His political career spanned 40 years, beginning in November 1928 and ending in January 1969.
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Taylor Mali
- Occupations
- poetvoice actorteacher
- Biography
-
Taylor McDowell Mali is an American slam poet, humorist, teacher, and voiceover artist.
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Craig Bolerjack
- Years
- 1958-.. (age 66)
- Occupations
- sports commentator
- Biography
-
Kyle Craig Bolerjack is an American sportscaster. He is currently calling Utah Jazz telecasts on KJZZ with Thurl Bailey. He also calls games for CBS, ESPN, and CBS College Sports Network in a national broadcasting career that dates back to the late 1990s.
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Theresa Sparks
- Occupations
- politicianengineer
- Biography
-
Theresa Sparks is an American transgender woman, and is the Executive Director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission and was a candidate for San Francisco Supervisor for District 6 in the November 2010 election. She is a former president of the San Francisco Police Commission and former CEO of Good Vibrations. She is also one of San Francisco's most famous transgender women and was a Grand Marshal in the 2008 San Francisco Pride Parade.
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Eric Wolford
- Occupations
- coach
- Biography
-
Eric Wolford is an American football coach and former player who is currently the offensive line coach at the University of Kentucky. He had also served in that role in the 2021 season. Wolford previously served as the offensive line coach at the University of Alabama from 2022-2023. He was the head football coach at Youngstown State University from 2010 to 2014. After a 3–8 mark in his first season, the Penguins compiled a 28–18 mark over his final four campaigns, were ranked in the top-10 three times, and broke 32 school records during his tenure. Highlights included a 2012 win over 2012 Pittsburgh Panthers football team—the first win over a BCS team in school history, and a 2011 win over top-ranked North Dakota State.
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Jeremiah Massey
- Occupations
- association football playerbasketball player
- Biography
-
Jeremiah Massey is an American-born naturalized Macedonian former professional basketball player. Standing at 6 ft 7 1⁄2 in (2.02 m), he played at the power forward and center positions during his professional club career.
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Jim Geringer
- Occupations
- military officerpolitician
- Biography
-
James Edward Geringer is an American politician who was the 30th Governor of Wyoming, serving from 1995 to 2003.
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Leanne Caret
- Years
- 1966-.. (age 58)
- Occupations
- business executive
- Biography
-
Leanne Caret is an American businesswoman, former president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS), former executive vice president of Boeing, and serves on the United Service Organizations (USO) board of governors.
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Gary E. Luck
- Occupations
- military personnel
- Biography
-
Gary Edward Luck is a retired four-star general of the United States Army. Following his retirement, he was a senior advisor to the United States Joint Forces Command prior to that command's inactivation. He is currently a Senior Fellow for the National Defense University in support of the Pinnacle, Capstone, and Keystone programs.
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Barry Brown Jr
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
-
Barry Gerard Brown Jr. is an American professional basketball player for Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the Kansas State Wildcats.
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Joseph W. Kennedy
- Occupations
- chemistuniversity teacherphysicist
- Biography
-
Joseph William Kennedy was an American chemist who was a co-discoverer of plutonium, along with Glenn T. Seaborg, Edwin McMillan and Arthur Wahl. During World War II he was head of the CM (Chemistry and Metallurgy) Division at the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory, where he oversaw research onto the chemistry and metallurgy of uranium and plutonium. After the war, he was recruited as a professor at Washington University in St. Louis, where he is credited with transforming a university primarily concerned with undergraduate teaching into one that also boasts strong graduate and research programs. He died of cancer of the stomach at the age of 40.
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G. P. "Bud" Peterson
- Occupations
- international forum participantengineer
- Biography
-
George Paul "Bud" Peterson is the former president of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Peterson is a graduate of Kansas State University, where he earned B.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics and an M.S. in Engineering, and Texas A&M University, where he earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. On January 7, 2019, Peterson announced his upcoming retirement from Georgia Tech, effective summer of 2019. His successor, Ángel Cabrera, assumed the office September 1, 2019, after serving for seven years as president of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. In September 2019, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents voted to name Peterson President Emeritus and Regents Professor of Mechanical Engineering for the standard three-year term. The Board of Regents also awarded him tenure.
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Donald M. Campbell, Jr
- Years
- 20th Century
- Biography
-
Lieutenant General Donald M. Campbell Jr. is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as the commanding general of United States Army Europe. He commanded the United States Army Europe from December 1, 2012, to November 6, 2014.
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Mike Hayden
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
John Michael Hayden is a retired American politician and veteran who served as the 41st governor of Kansas, from 1987 to 1991. He subsequently served as the Secretary of the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Department under Kansas governors Kathleen Sebelius and Mark Parkinson.
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Charles Hazelius Sternberg
- Occupations
- paleontologist
- Biography
-
Charles Hazelius Sternberg was an American fossil collector and paleontologist. He was active in both fields from 1876 to 1928, and collected fossils for Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel C. Marsh, and for the British Museum, the San Diego Natural History Museum and other museums.
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Jordan Wicks
- Years
- 1999-.. (age 25)
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
-
Jordan Wicks is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.
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Howie Shannon
- Occupations
- basketball coachbasketball player
- Biography
-
Howard Shannon was an American basketball player and coach. He played professionally in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the early years of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He later coached at the high school and college levels.
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Roger Marshall
- Enrolled in Kansas State University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- politicianarmy officerobstetrician
- Biography
-
Roger Wayne Marshall is an American politician, physician, and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator from Kansas since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he served from 2017 to 2021 as the U.S. representative for Kansas's 1st congressional district, a mostly rural district covering much of the western and northern parts of the state.
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Walter Tennyson Swingle
- Occupations
- explorermycologistbotanist
- Biography
-
Walter Tennyson Swingle was an American agricultural botanist who contributed greatly to the classification and taxonomy of citrus.
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Beverly Ramos
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
-
Beverly Sue Ramos is a Puerto Rican runner. She competed in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2012 Summer Olympics, placing 35th with a time of 9:55.26. Ramos competed for Colegio Nuestra Senora de Belén. Ramos has trained in Manhattan, Kansas, since 2007 where she was an All-American at Kansas State University. In 2021, she set the all-time record for the Maratón La Guadalupe de Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
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Geraldine L. Richmond
- Occupations
- physicistscience writeruniversity teacherchemist
- Biography
-
Geraldine Lee Richmond is an American chemist and physical chemist who is serving as the Under Secretary of Energy for Science in the US Department of Energy. Richmond was confirmed to her DOE role by the United States Senate on November 5, 2021. Richmond is the Presidential Chair in Science and professor of chemistry at the University of Oregon (UO). She conducts fundamental research to understand the chemistry and physics of complex surfaces and interfaces. These understandings are most relevant to energy production, atmospheric chemistry and remediation of the environment. Throughout her career she has worked to increase the number and success of women scientists in the U.S. and in many developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America. Richmond has served as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and she received the 2013 National Medal of Science.
