67 Notable alumni of
Tennessee State University
Updated:
Tennessee State University is 832nd in the world, 310th in North America, and 289th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 67 notable alumni from Tennessee 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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Oprah Winfrey
- Occupations
- autobiographertelevision presentervoice actormotivational speakertelevision producer
- Biography
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Oprah Gail Winfrey, also known mononymously as Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, broadcast from Chicago, which ran in national syndication for 25 years, from 1986 to 2011. Dubbed the "Queen of All Media", she was the richest African-American of the 20th century and was once the world's only black billionaire. By 2007, she was often ranked as the most influential woman in the world.
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Maurice White
- Occupations
- percussionistrecord producercomposermusic executivebandleader
- Biography
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Maurice White was an American musician, best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter and chief producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, also serving as the band's co-lead singer with Philip Bailey.
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Wilma Rudolph
- Occupations
- sprinter
- Biography
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Wilma Glodean Rudolph was an American sprinter who overcame childhood polio and went on to become a world-record-holding Olympic champion and international sports icon in track and field following her successes in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games. Rudolph competed in the 200-meter dash and won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100-meter relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics at Melbourne, Australia. She also won three gold medals, in the 100- and 200-meter individual events and the 4 x 100-meter relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. Rudolph was acclaimed the fastest woman in the world in the 1960s and became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during a single Olympic Games.
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Robert Covington
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Robert Covington is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Tennessee State Tigers and in 2018, he was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team.
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Moses Gunn
- Occupations
- film actorstage actortelevision actor
- Biography
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Moses Gunn was an American actor of stage and screen. An Obie Award-winning stage player, he is an alumnus of the Negro Ensemble Company. His 1962 off-Broadway debut was in Jean Genet's The Blacks, and his Broadway debut was in A Hand is on the Gate, an evening of African-American poetry. He was nominated for the 1976 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in The Poison Tree, and he also played Othello on Broadway in 1970. For his screen performances, Gunn is best known for his roles as Clotho in WUSA (1970), Bumpy Jonas in Shaft (1971) and Joe Kagan on Little House on the Prairie (1977–1981).
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Rufus Thomas
- Occupations
- composersingeractormusiciandisc jockey
- Biography
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Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Records and Sun Records in the 1950s, before becoming established in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records. His dance records, including "Walking the Dog" (1963), "Do the Funky Chicken" (1969), and "(Do the) Push and Pull" (1970), were some of his most successful songs. According to the Mississippi Blues Commission, "Rufus Thomas embodied the spirit of Memphis music perhaps more than any other artist, and from the early 1940s until his death... occupied many important roles in the local scene."
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Harold Ford, Sr
- Enrolled in Tennessee State University
- In 1967 graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- funeral directorpolitician
- Biography
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Harold Eugene Ford Sr. is an American politician and Democratic former member of the United States House of Representatives representing the area of Memphis, Tennessee, for 11 terms—from 1975 until his retirement in 1997. He was the first African-American to represent Tennessee in the U.S. Congress. He is a member of the Ford political family from Memphis.
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Dick Griffey
- Occupations
- music executivecomposerrecord producer
- Biography
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Richard Gilbert Griffey was an American record producer and music promoter who founded SOLAR Records, a RAS acronym for "Sound of Los Angeles Records". The label played a major role in developing a funk-oriented blend of disco, R&B and soul music during the 1970s and 1980s. As a concert promoter, Griffey arranged bookings for artists such as James Brown, The Sylvers, Aretha Franklin, Jon Gibson, Stevie Wonder and the Jacksons.
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Cecil Newton
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
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Cecil Newton Jr. is a former American football center. He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Tennessee State. He is the son of Cecil Newton Sr. and older brother of Cam Newton.
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Ralph Boston
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
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Ralph Harold Boston was an American track athlete who received three Olympic medals and became the first person to break the 27 feet (8.2 m) barrier in the long jump.
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George Altman
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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George Lee Altman is an American former professional baseball outfielder who had a lengthy career in both Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball. A three-time National League All-Star, he appeared in 991 games over nine full seasons in the major leagues. Then, at age 35, he began an eight-year tenure in Japanese baseball, where he would hit 205 home runs and bat.309 with 985 hits.
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Gary Jenkins
- Born in
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United States - Occupations
- singer
- Biography
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Gary "Lil G" Jenkins is an American musician. He is the lead singer of the R&B group Silk. Born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, he is the youngest of seven children.
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Wyomia Tyus
- Occupations
- sprinterathletics competitor
- Biography
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Wyomia Tyus is a retired American track and field sprinter, and the first person to retain the Olympic title in the 100 m (a feat since duplicated by Carl Lewis, Gail Devers, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Usain Bolt, and Elaine Thompson-Herah).
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Sean Foley
- Years
- 1974-.. (age 50)
- Occupations
- historian
- Biography
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Sean Foley is a Canadian born golf instructor, who resides in Orlando, Florida and has coached Tiger Woods, Lydia Ko, Sean O'Hair, Hunter Mahan, Stephen Ames, An Byeong-hun, Cameron Champ, Michael Kim, Erik van Rooyen, Sam Horsfield, Justin Rose and Lee Westwood, as well as other PGA Tour, LPGA Tour and LIV Golf professionals. Foley also coached many players on PGA Tour Canada, including players such as Chris Baryla. Foley began working with Tiger Woods during the summer of 2010.
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Hank Crawford
- Occupations
- saxophonistrecording artistsongwriterjazz musician
- Biography
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Bennie Ross "Hank" Crawford, Jr. was an American alto saxophonist, pianist, arranger and songwriter whose genres ranged from R&B, hard bop, jazz-funk, and soul jazz. Crawford was musical director for Ray Charles before embarking on a solo career releasing many well-regarded albums for labels such as Atlantic, CTI and Milestone.
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A C Wharton
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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A C Wharton Jr. is an American educator, politician, and attorney who served as the 63rd mayor of Memphis, Tennessee and previously mayor of Shelby County. He was the first African American to serve as mayor of Shelby County.
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Larry Herndon
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Larry Darnell Herndon, sometimes referred to by the nickname "Hondo", is an American former baseball outfielder and hitting coach. He played in Major League Baseball in 1974 and from 1976 to 1988.
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Carl Rowan
- Occupations
- journalistauthorwriterdiplomat
- Biography
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Carl Thomas Rowan was a prominent American journalist, author and government official who published columns syndicated across the U.S. and was at one point the highest ranking African American in the United States government.
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Patrick Miller
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Patrick Miller is an American professional basketball player for the Cairns Taipans of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for Tennessee State.
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Madeline Manning
- Occupations
- middle-distance runner
- Biography
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Madeline Manning Mims is a former American runner. Between 1967 and 1981 she won ten national titles and set a number of American records. She participated in the 1968, 1972, and 1976 Summer Olympics. She likely also would have participated in the 1980 Games in Moscow, had they not been boycotted by the United States. At the 1968 Olympics she won a gold medal in the 800 m, one of only two American women to win this event. (To date, the other was Athing Mu who won gold in the 2020 Olympics.) Until 2008, she was the youngest winner of the event. At the 1972 Games in Munich she won a silver medal in the 4 × 400 m relay with teammates Mable Fergerson, Kathy Hammond, and Cheryl Toussaint. When she was three years old, she was diagnosed with spinal meningitis and not expected to live. She recovered, but was consistently sick until she was a teen.
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Gerald Robinson
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Gerald Anthony Robinson Jr. is an American professional basketball player for Scafati Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). Standing at 1.85 m (6'1"), he plays at the point guard and shooting guard positions.
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Mark Funkhouser
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Mark Funkhouser is an American academic, author, and former politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, serving one four-year term from May 1, 2007, until May 2, 2011. Prior to serving as the city's mayor, Funkhouser served as Kansas City's city auditor. Currently, he serves as the publisher of Governing magazine. He is also the author of the blog, "Bring on the Funk, and the book, Honest, Competent Government: The Promise of Performance Auditing. In 2016, Funkhouser was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.
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Levi Watkins
- Occupations
- surgeon
- Biography
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Levi Watkins Jr. was an American heart surgeon and civil rights activist. On February 4, 1980, he and Vivien Thomas were the first to successfully implant an automatic defibrillator in a human patient at Johns Hopkins University. This took place only a mere seven months after Watkins completed his surgical education at Johns Hopkins. Today, millions of patients everywhere use this device, which detects irregular heart beats and corrects them.
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Clarice Phelps
- Years
- 1981-.. (age 43)
- Enrolled in Tennessee State University
- 1999-2003 graduated with Bachelor of Science in chemistry
- Occupations
- chemistengineer
- Biography
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Clarice Evone Phelps is an American nuclear chemist researching the processing of radioactive transuranic elements at the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). She was part of ORNL's team that collaborated with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research to discover tennessine (element 117). The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) recognizes her as the first African-American woman to be involved with the discovery of a chemical element.
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Cleveland Eaton
- Occupations
- jazz musician
- Biography
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Cleveland Josephus Eaton II was an American jazz double bassist, producer, arranger, composer, publisher, and head of his own record company in Fairfield, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. His most famous accomplishments were playing with the Ramsey Lewis Trio and the Count Basie Orchestra. His 1975 recording Plenty Good Eaton is considered a classic in the funk music genre. He was inducted into both the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
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Lloyd Neal
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Lloyd Neal is an American former professional basketball player born in Talbotton, Georgia.
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Chandra Cheeseborough
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
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Chandra Danette Cheeseborough is a retired American sprinter. She won two gold medals and a silver at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
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Willye White
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
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Willye Brown White was an American track and field athlete who took part in five Olympics from 1956 to 1972. She was America's best female long jumper of the time and also competed in the 100 meters sprint. White was a Tennessee State University Tigerbelle under Coach Ed Temple. An African-American, White was the first U.S. athlete to compete in track in five Olympics.
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Andrea Conte
- Occupations
- First Lady
- Biography
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Andrea Conte is the wife of former Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, serving as First Lady of Tennessee from 2003 to 2011. She is a 1968 graduate of the University of Washington and a registered nurse.
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Lloyd W. Newton
- Occupations
- military officer
- Biography
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Lloyd W. "Fig" Newton is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) four-star general who served as Commander, Air Education and Training Command (COMAETC) from 1997 to 2000. He was also the first African-American pilot in the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.
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Edith McGuire
- Occupations
- sprinterathletics competitor
- Biography
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Edith Marie McGuire, later known as Edith McGuire Duvall, is an American former sprinter.
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Barbara Cooper
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Barbara Lee Cooper was an American politician and a Democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 86th District.
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Arthur Doyle
- Occupations
- singerjazz musiciancomposervocalistsaxophonist
- Biography
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Arthur Doyle was an American jazz saxophonist, bass clarinettist, flutist, and vocalist who was best known for playing what he called "free jazz soul music". Writer Phil Freeman described him as having "one of the fiercest, most unfettered saxophone styles in all of jazz", "a player so explosive that it seems like microphones and recording equipment can barely contain him".
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Harvey Johnson, Jr
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Harvey Johnson Jr., is an American politician from Mississippi. He was elected in 1997 as the first African American Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, serving two terms. He was known for his achievements in gaining reinvestment in the city to revitalize downtown.
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Ed Temple
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
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Edward Stanley Temple was a women's track and field pioneer and coach. Temple was Head Women's Track and Field Coach at Nashville's Tennessee State University for 44 years and was Head Coach of the U.S. Olympic Women's Track and Field Team twice, in 1960 and 1964, and Assistant Coach in 1980. He was also a member of the International Women's Track & Field Committee and a member of the U.S. Olympic Council.
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Lucinda Williams
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
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Lucinda Williams is a retired American sprinter. She won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay at the 1960 Olympics, but failed to reach the finals of the individual 100 m and 200 m events in 1956 and 1960. She earned three gold medals at the 1959 Pan American Games in these three events. In 1994 she was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
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Isabelle Daniels
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
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Isabelle Frances Daniels was an American sprinter.
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Thelma Harper
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Thelma M. Harper was an American politician and the first African-American woman state senator in Tennessee and the longest-serving female state senator in Tennessee history. She was also the first African-American woman to serve as the chair of the Senate Government Operations Committee; she held that position during the 102nd, 103rd, 104th, and 105th General Assemblies, and she also served as vice chair of the Senate State and Local Government Committee during the 97th and 101st General Assemblies and the first senator to serve as chair of the Tennessee Black Caucus.
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La Tonya Johnson
- Occupations
- politiciantrade unionist
- Biography
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LaTonya Johnson is an American activist and Democratic politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 6th Senate district since 2017. Before her election to the Senate, she served two terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, and was president of AFSCME Local 502.
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A.C. Leonard
- Occupations
- player of American footballCanadian football player
- Biography
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AC Leonard is a Canadian football defensive lineman for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played tight end for the BC Lions in 2015 before converting to a defensive lineman in 2016. He attended Tennessee State University, where he played college football for the Tigers and studied criminal justice. Leonard has been member of NFL, AFL, FXFL and CFL.
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Rodney D. Bennett
- Years
- 1966-.. (age 58)
- Occupations
- academic
- Biography
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Rodney D. Bennett is the appointed chancellor of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He was the former President of the University of Southern Mississippi. Bennett received his Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication, Master of Education, and Education Specialist degrees from Middle Tennessee State University and earned his Ed.D. from Tennessee State University in Educational Administration. Bennett served as Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Georgia, and in 2013 Bennett was appointed the 10th President of the University of Southern Mississippi.
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Barbara Jones
- Occupations
- sprinter
- Biography
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Barbara Pearl Jones is a retired American sprinter. She was part of the 4 × 100 m relay teams that won gold medals at the 1952 and 1960 Olympics and at the 1955 and 1959 Pan American Games. At the 1952 Olympics she became the youngest woman to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics, aged 15 years 123 days. She later became a member of the U.S. Paralympic Games Committee.
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Martha Hudson
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
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Martha B. Hudson is a retired American sprinter. She won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay at the 1960 Olympics, but failed to reach the final of the individual 100 m event. In 1959 she held the AAU indoor 100 yd title. In 1986 she was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
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John Barnhill
- Occupations
- basketball coachbasketball player
- Biography
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John Anthony "Rabbit" Barnhill was an American former professional basketball player.
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Brenda Gilmore
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Brenda Gilmore is a former Democratic member of the Tennessee Senate, representing the 19th district from 2019 to 2023.
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Curtis Lynn Collier
- Occupations
- judgelawyer
- Biography
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Curtis Lynn Collier is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
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Cleopatra Tucker
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Cleopatra Gibson Tucker is an American Democratic Party politician, who has represented the 28th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2008.
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Mamie Rallins
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
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Mamie Annette Rallins was an American hurdler. She competed at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics and later coached many future Olympians.
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Jason Powell
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Jason Powell is an American politician. A Democrat, he is a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives. He has served as the representative for State House District 53 since 2013.
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David Naguib Pellow
- Years
- 1969-.. (age 55)
- Occupations
- sociologist
- Biography
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David Naguib Pellow is Dehlsen Chair and Professor of Environmental Studies and Director of the Global Environmental Justice Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Previously he was Professor, Don Martindale Endowed Chair, Department of Sociology, University of Minnesota and Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, San Diego. His area of specialisation include issues concerning environmental justice, race and ethnicity, labour, social protest, animal rights, immigration, free trade agreements, globalization, the global impacts of the high tech industry in Asia, Latin America and elsewhere.
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Martha Watson
- Occupations
- sprinterlong jumper
- Biography
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Martha Rae Watson is a retired American track and field athlete. She qualified for four Olympics, 1964–1976 in the long jump, but also was a fast enough sprinter to be on two United States 4 x 100 metres relay teams. She picked up the individual silver medal in the long jump and the gold in the 4 x 100 relay at the 1975 Pan American Games. She was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1987.
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Ruth Inge Hardison
- Occupations
- sculptorartist
- Biography
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Ruth Inge Hardison was an American sculptor, artist, and photographer, known particularly for her 1960s busts (or sculpted portraits) entitled "Negro Giants in History". Her 1983 collection called "Our Folks", which features sculpted portraits of everyday people, is also of note. Hardison's artistic productions largely surround historical black portraiture, and she is especially interested in creatively representing the unspoken voices of the African American past. She was the only female in the Black Academy of Arts and Letters (BAAL), a group that encourages awareness of black artistic accomplishments, when this organization was founded in 1969.
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Terry Blocker
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Terry Fennell Blocker is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder who played with the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves. The 6'2" outfielder batted and threw left handed.
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Eleanor Montgomery
- Occupations
- high jumper
- Biography
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Eleanor Inez Montgomery was an American high jumper. She was a two-time Olympian, placing 8th in 1964 and 19th in 1968, and a Tigerbelle, the name of the Tennessee State University women's track and field program. Montgomery set her personal best in the high jump (1.80 m) on July 6, 1969 at the US National Championships in Dayton, which was an American record at that time. She also competed in the long jump and the pentathlon during her career.
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Harold Love
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Harold Moses Love Jr. is a Democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, for the 58th District. He is the House Democratic assistant leader and President-Elect of The National Black Caucus of State Legislators. Love's father, Harold Moses Love Sr., was a Nashville city councilman from 1962 to 1970 and a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 54th District from 1968 to 1994.
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Kenneth Pettiford
- Occupations
- American football coachplayer of American footballhead coach
- Biography
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Kenneth Pettiford is a former American college football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU) from 1987 to 1989, Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (AAMU) from 1995 to 1997, and Savannah State University (SSU) from 2002 to 2003, compiling a career college football coaching record of 25–54. He currently works as a video production assistant at the Tennessee Titans games.
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Nate Snell
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Nathaniel Snell is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers, for four seasons.
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David E Rutledge
- Years
- 1945-.. (age 79)
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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David E. Rutledge is a former state representative, who represented the 54th House District.
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Edith Mitchell
- Occupations
- editor
- Biography
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Edith Peterson Mitchell was a retired Brigadier general of the United States Air Force and an oncologist. She was clinical professor of medicine and medical oncology at Thomas Jefferson University. In 2015, she became the president of the National Medical Association.
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Rogers Gaines
- Occupations
- player of American footballCanadian football player
- Biography
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Rogers Gaines is a former American football offensive tackle. He played college football at Tennessee State.
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Veronica L. Turner
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Veronica L. Turner is an American politician who represents District 26 in the Maryland House of Delegates.
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Stephen D. Barnett
- Enrolled in Tennessee State University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering
- Occupations
- military personnel
- Biography
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Stephen D. Barnett is an active duty United States Navy officer and career naval flight officer who serves as the commander of Navy Region Hawaii since June 17, 2022. He most recently served as commander of Navy Region Southwest from July 16, 2021 to May 23, 2022, and before that as commander, Navy Region Northwest from March 2021 to June 2021.
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Dorothy J. Phillips
- Occupations
- chemistbiochemist
- Biography
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Dorothy Jean Phillips is an American chemist and director-at-large of the American Chemical Society. She worked on circular dichroism and bioseparation. In 1967 Phillips was the first African-American woman to complete a bachelor's degree at Vanderbilt University.
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Dick Catledge
- Occupations
- military officer
- Biography
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Richard C. Catledge, born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, was a major general in the US Air Force.
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Markeith Price
- Years
- 1990-.. (age 34)
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
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Markeith LeRoy Price is a visually impaired Paralympic athlete raised in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States competing in T13 (track) and F13 (field) events for the United States.
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Hubert Hamer
- Occupations
- civil servant
- Biography
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Hubert Hamer is the top official of the U.S. National Agricultural Statistics Service, the agency that produces most official U.S. government statistics on agriculture and food.
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Lainie Marsh
- Occupations
- songwritersinger-songwriter
- Biography
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Lainie Marsh is an American singer-songwriter. She grew up in West Virginia, attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and moved to Nashville in 1989.