44 Notable alumni of
Oakland University
Updated:
Oakland University is 1087th in the world, 396th in North America, and 371st in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 44 notable alumni from Oakland 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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A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam BR was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th president of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied physics and aerospace engineering. He spent the next four decades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and was intimately involved in India's civilian space programme and military missile development efforts. He thus came to be known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He also played a pivotal organisational, technical, and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.
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David Hasselhoff
- Occupations
- screenwriterwritersingerfilm produceractor
- Biography
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David Michael Hasselhoff, nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on The Young and the Restless (1975–1982), playing the role of Dr. Snapper Foster. His career continued with his leading role as Michael Knight on Knight Rider (1982–1986) and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in Baywatch (1989–2000). He also produced Baywatch from the 1990s until 2001 when the series ended with Baywatch Hawaii.
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Robert Englund
- Occupations
- film actorwritertelevision actoractorfilm director
- Biography
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Robert Barton Englund is an American actor and director, best known for playing the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. Classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Englund began his career as a stage actor in regional theatre, and made his film debut in Buster and Billie in 1974. After supporting roles in films in the 1970s such as Stay Hungry, A Star Is Born, and Big Wednesday, Englund had his breakthrough as the resistance fighter Willie in the miniseries V in 1983. Following his performance in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984, he became closely associated with the horror film genre, and is widely-regarded as one of its iconic actors.
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N. R. Narayana Murthy
- Occupations
- businesspersonentrepreneur
- Biography
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Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy is an Indian billionaire businessman. He is one of the seven co-founders of Infosys, and has previously served as the chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), president, and chief mentor of the company before retiring and taking the title chairman emeritus. As of April 2023, his net worth was estimated to be $4.1 billion, making him the 711th richest person in the world according to Forbes.
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Elizabeth Reaser
- Occupations
- stage actortelevision actorfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Elizabeth Ann Reaser is an American film, television, and stage actress. Her work includes the films Stay, The Family Stone, Sweet Land, Against the Current, The Twilight Saga, Young Adult, and Ouija: Origin of Evil, and the TV series Saved, Grey's Anatomy, The Ex-List, The Good Wife, True Detective, The Handmaid's Tale, and The Haunting of Hill House.
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Curtis Armstrong
- Occupations
- film actorscreenwritertelevision actoractorstage actor
- Biography
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Curtis Armstrong is an American actor and singer best known for playing the role of Booger in the Revenge of the Nerds films, Herbert Viola on the TV series Moonlighting, Miles Dalby in the film Risky Business, and record producer Ahmet Ertegun in the film Ray as well as for playing the role of Metatron on the TV series Supernatural.
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Kendrick Nunn
- Enrolled in Oakland University
- Studied in 2016-2018
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Kendrick Melvin Nunn is an American professional basketball player for Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Oakland Golden Grizzlies.
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Kay Felder
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Kahlil Ameer "Kay" Felder Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Felder, a 5-foot-9-inch (1.75 m) point guard, declared for the 2016 NBA draft at the conclusion of his junior year at Oakland. Felder is the Horizon League career assists leader.
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Renee Ellmers
- Enrolled in Oakland University
- In 1990 graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- administratorpoliticiannurse
- Biography
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Renee Louise Ellmers is an American registered nurse and politician who was the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 2nd congressional district from 2011 to 2017. She is a member of the Republican Party. Ellmers defeated seven-term Democratic incumbent Bob Etheridge in 2010 by 1,489 votes, confirmed after a recount. In the 2016 Republican primary, Ellmers was defeated by fellow U.S. Representative George Holding. She ran unsuccessfully in the 2022 election in North Carolina's 13th congressional district, finishing fifth in the primary field.
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Carl Levin
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Carl Milton Levin was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Michigan from 1979 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2007 to 2015.
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Gary Yourofsky
- Occupations
- animal rights advocate
- Biography
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Gary Yourofsky is an American animal rights activist and lecturer. He has had a major influence on contemporary veganism.
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Jayne Houdyshell
- Occupations
- stage actortelevision actorfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Jayne Houdyshell /ˈhaʊdiˌʃɛl/ is an American actress known for her performances on stage and screen. She earned her first Tony Award nomination for her Broadway debut as Ann in the play Well in 2006. Since then, she has received four more Tony Award nominations for her performances in the revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical Follies in 2012, the new play by Lucas Hnath A Doll's House, Part 2 in 2017, and the revival of Meredith Willson's The Music Man in 2022. She won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for the 2016 play The Humans.
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Hank Jones
- Occupations
- music arrangercomposerpianistbandleadersongwriter
- Biography
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Henry Jones Jr. was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award. He was also honored in 2003 with the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) Jazz Living Legend Award. In 2008, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. On April 13, 2009, the University of Hartford presented Jones with an honorary Doctorate of Music for his musical accomplishments.
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Barbara Oakley
- Occupations
- researchertranslatorprofessor
- Biography
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Barbara Ann Oakley is an American professor of engineering at Oakland University and McMaster University whose online courses on learning are some of the most popular massive open online course (MOOC) classes in the world. She is involved in multiple areas of research, ranging from STEM education, to learning practices.
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Brian Gregory
- Occupations
- basketball playerbasketball coach
- Biography
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Brian Francis Gregory is an American college basketball coach who was most recently the head men's basketball coach at South Florida. He was previously serving as a consultant to Tom Izzo at Michigan State after being let go as head coach with Georgia Tech. Prior to coaching at Georgia Tech, he was the head coach at Dayton and an assistant coach under Izzo at Michigan State.
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Doris Eaton Travis
- Occupations
- film actormodelactorsingerstage actor
- Biography
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Doris Eaton Travis was an American dancer, stage and film actress, dance instructor, owner and manager, writer, and rancher, who was the last surviving Ziegfeld Girl, a troupe of acclaimed chorus girls who performed as members in the Broadway theatrical revues of the Ziegfeld Follies.
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Regina Carter
- Occupations
- jazz musicianviolinist
- Biography
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Regina Carter is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of jazz saxophonist James Carter.
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Kelly Williams
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Kelly Williams is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the TNT Tropang Giga in the PBA. He played collegiate basketball at Oakland University, an NCAA Division I school in the United States, and he also represented the Philippines in international competitions.
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Gordon R. England
- Occupations
- politicianbusinesspersonengineer
- Biography
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Gordon Richard England is an American politician and businessman who was the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense and twice served as the U.S. Secretary of the Navy in the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush.
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Keith Benson
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Keith Anderson Benson Jr. is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Oakland University. A 6-foot-11 center, Benson was a second-round pick (48th overall) in the 2011 NBA draft, selected by the Atlanta Hawks. He has since played in Italy, Philippines, Belarus, China, Lithuania, Estonia and the NBA Development League.
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Michael Brosseau
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Michael Dillon Brosseau is an American professional baseball infielder in the Kansas City Royals organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Chiba Lotte Marines.
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Charles Steele, Jr
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Charles Steele Jr. is an American businessman, politician and civil rights leader. He was the first African American elected to the City Council of Tuscaloosa and one of the first African Americans elected to the Alabama State Senate. From 2004 to 2009, he was the National President and CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, co-founded by Martin Luther King Jr. Steele is the founder and President of Charles Steele and Associates, located in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Steve Clark
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Steven Thomas Clark is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo.
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G. Mennen Williams
- Occupations
- diplomatlawyerjudgepoliticianmilitary officer
- Biography
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Gerhard Mennen "Soapy" Williams was an American politician who served as the 41st governor of Michigan, elected in 1948 and serving six two-year terms in office. He later served as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson and as chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.
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Karen Newman
- Born in
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United States - Occupations
- singer
- Biography
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Karen Newman is a professional singer based in Detroit, Michigan and was the anthem singer of the Detroit Red Wings for more than 30 years.
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Ruth Johnson
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Ruth Johnson is an American businesswoman and politician currently serving as a member of the Michigan Senate since 2019. She was the 42nd Secretary of State of Michigan from 2011 to 2019 and a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005. She is a Republican.
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Travis Bader
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Richard Travis Bader is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Oakland University. Bader, a shooting guard, is third on the NCAA career leader for three-point field goals and field goal attempts. He led the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I in three-point field goals per game during his junior season, averaging 4.21 three-pointers made per game.
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Nicole Wilkins
- Years
- 1984-.. (age 40)
- Occupations
- bodybuilder
- Biography
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Nicole Wilkins is an American IFBB professional figure and fitness competitor, fitness model, and fitness trainer. She is the first 4-time winner of the IFBB Figure Olympia Competition and 3-time winner of the IFBB Figure International held during the Annual Arnold Classic.
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Heng Sure
- Occupations
- Bhikkhu
- Biography
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Heng Sure is an American Chan Buddhist monk and a senior disciple of Venerable Hsuan Hua. He is the Managing director of Berkeley Buddhist monastery and president of the board of directors of Dharma Realm Buddhist Association. Heng Sure is also a banjoist and a folk musician. He has released several albums of Buddhist folk music including "Paramita: American Buddhist Folk Songs" (2008). Heng Sure has also been active in interfaith organizations, especially the Institute for World Religions.
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Keith Faber
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Keith Faber is an American politician from Ohio. A Republican, he has been State Auditor of Ohio since 2019. He was formerly a member of the Ohio House of Representatives (2001-2007), elected from the 84th district, and then a member of the Ohio State Senate (2007-2016), elected from the 12th District. He was president of the Ohio Senate from 2013 to 2016.
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Rawle Marshall
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Rawle Junior Kalomo Marshall is a Guyanese-American professional basketball player who last played for Shahrdari Gorgan of the Iranian Super League.
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Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi
- Occupations
- radio personality
- Biography
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Gbemi Olateru Olagbegi is a Nigerian former broadcaster at The Beat 99.9 FM, entrepreneur and co-host of "Off-Air with Gbemi & Toolz" podcast. Gbemi is the granddaughter of late Olowo of Owo Sir Olateru-Olagbegi II KBE. In 2008, Gbemi won the on-air personality of the year at the Future Awards Africa. In 2015, Gbemi founded Gbemisoke shoes. A shoe line created for women with difficulties in shopping for the right shoe size. At the fifth edition of the Arise Fashion Week, Lagos in 2018, Gbemi walked the runway for FIA Factory. In 2019, Gbemi became one of the faces from Megalectrics Ltd for Rémy Martin.
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Jasna Fazlić
- Occupations
- table tennis player
- Biography
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Jasna Rather is former American table tennis player who played for Yugoslavia and then for United States, competing on four Olympics: in Seoul 1988 Summer Olympics, Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics, Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics, and Athens 2004 Summer Olympics respectively.
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Jonathan Mwangangi Mueke
- Years
- 1976-.. (age 48)
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Jonathan Mueke is a Kenyan politician and the current Principal Secretary for State Department for Sports and The Arts. He is also the former Deputy Governor of Nairobi County.
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Tupac A. Hunter
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Tupac Amaru Hunter is an American politician who is a former member of the Michigan Senate, representing the 5th district which encompasses northwest Detroit, Dearborn Heights and Inkster. He served as the Minority Floor Leader.
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Kevin Grazier
- Occupations
- physicistuniversity teacherscience advisorplanetary scientistadvisor
- Biography
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Kevin R. Grazier is an American planetary physicist, known for his work on the Cassini/Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan where he had the dual roles of Science Planning Engineer and Investigation Scientist for the Imaging Science Subsystem instrument. He is an expert in computational methods and planetary dynamics and performs large-scale, long-term simulations of early Solar System evolution, dynamics, and chaos.
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Michael W. Michalak
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Michael Walter Michalak is the former career Foreign Service officer and United States Ambassador to Vietnam from 2007 to 2011. He currently serves as Senior Vice President and Regional Managing Director for the US-ASEAN Business Council.
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Johnathon Jones
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Johnathon Christopher Jones is an American professional basketball player who last played for KK Igokea of the Bosnian League and Adriatic League. At the collegiate level, he played with Oakland. As a junior in 2008–09, he led the NCAA Division I in assists per game with an 8.06 average. Jones first played professionally with MBK Rieker Komárno of the Slovak Extraliga. He was not selected in the 2010 NBA draft.
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Leon Drolet
- Years
- 1967-.. (age 57)
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Leon Drolet is a Michigan Republican politician and Anti-tax activist elected Macomb County Commissioner. He is a political activist known for his conservative fiscal views, which have caused criticism from politicians from both sides, including Candace Miller, L. Brooks Patterson and Mark Hackel. From 2001 to 2006, Drolet served in the Michigan House of Representatives. Drolet also served as a Macomb County, Michigan county commissioner from 1999 to 2000 and from 2006 to 2008. Drolet was active in the Southeast Michigan Tea Party Movement.
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John Beardman
- Occupations
- painter
- Biography
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John Beardman is a contemporary American artist. He is an abstract expressionist and a major contributor to “art as process” and "action painting" influenced by Willem de Kooning. His work has been the subject of several exhibitions in New York City, Louisville, Kentucky, Birmingham, Michigan, and Nova Scotia, Canada. Beardman has received numerous creative artist's grants and fellowships. He currently lives and works in Pennsylvania and has a Studio in Manhattan, New York City.
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Rachael Morrison
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
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Rachael Morrison is an American Paralympic athlete. She competes in the discus throw and club throw and holds world records in both events. She won the discus throw at the 2015 World Championships, 2015 Parapan American Games and 2016 Paralympics.
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Sherry L. Pagoto
- Years
- 20th Century
- Occupations
- researcherpsychologist
- Biography
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Sherry Pagoto is a professor in the Department of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Connecticut and director of the UConn Center for mHealth and Social Media. A behavioural scientist and licensed clinical psychologist, she is an expert in leveraging technology, especially social media, to promote health behavior change with extensive research on the topics of obesity management and cancer prevention. She is the President of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
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Tom Stanton
- Years
- 1960-.. (age 64)
- Occupations
- sportswriterjournalist
- Biography
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Tom Stanton is the author of several nonfiction books, including two memoirs. In 1983, Stanton, a journalist, co-founded The Voice Newspapers in suburban Detroit and served as editor for sixteen years before embarking on a literary career in 1999. A former Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan, Stanton teaches journalism at the University of Detroit Mercy. In 2008, Stanton won the Michigan Author Award.
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Will Hudson
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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William Robert Hudson is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Oakland University where he broke the school record with 137 games played and 345 offensive rebounds.
