34 Notable alumni of
Virginia State University
Updated:
Virginia State University is 1550th in the world, 543rd in North America, and 510th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 34 notable alumni from Virginia 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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2 Chainz
- Occupations
- rappersongwriterbasketball player
- Biography
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Tauheed K. Epps, known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, alongside fellow hometown rapper Earl "Dolla Boy" Conyers. The duo was signed to fellow Georgia-based rapper Ludacris' Disturbing tha Peace label and became best known for their 2007 debut single "Duffle Bag Boy" (featuring Lil Wayne).
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James Avery
- Occupations
- film actorscreenwriterpoetactortelevision actor
- Biography
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James La Rue Avery was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Philip Banks in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Judge Michael Conover on L.A. Law, Steve Yeager in The Brady Bunch Movie, and Dr. Crippen on The Closer (2005–2007); and as the voice actor for Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Haroud Hazi Bin in Aladdin.
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Wale
- Occupations
- singerrappersongwriter
- Biography
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Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, better known by his stage name Wale, is an American rapper. He first gained recognition in 2006 when his song "Dig Dug (Shake It)" became popular in his hometown of Washington D.C., leading to Wale gaining local recognition as he continued recording music for the regional audience. Wale became acquainted with English DJ-producer Mark Ronson in 2006, and signed to his label Allido Records the following year. During this time, Wale released several mixtapes which amassed national attention as he appeared on MTV and various Black America-focused magazines.
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Lucy McBath
- Enrolled in Virginia State University
- In 1982 graduated with bachelor's degree in political science
- Occupations
- politicianflight attendant
- Biography
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Lucia Kay McBath is an American politician who has served in the United States House of Representatives from a district in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia since 2019. She represented Georgia's 6th congressional district from 2019 to 2023, and has represented the neighboring 7th district since 2023. McBath is a member of the Democratic Party.
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Gladys West
- Occupations
- surveyormathematician
- Biography
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Gladys Mae West is an American mathematician. She is known for her contributions to mathematical modeling of the shape of the Earth, and her work on the development of satellite geodesy models, that were later incorporated into the Global Positioning System (GPS). West was inducted into the United States Air Force Hall of Fame in 2018. West was awarded the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award for the development of satellite geodesy models.
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Deshauna Barber
- Occupations
- beauty pageant contestantmodelmotivational speakermilitary officer
- Biography
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Deshauna Barber is an American beauty pageant titleholder, motivational speaker, and captain in the United States Army Reserve. On June 5, 2016, she was crowned Miss USA 2016 by the outgoing titleholder Olivia Jordan of Oklahoma. She represented the United States at the Miss Universe 2016 pageant and finished as a Top 9 finalist.
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Reginald Lewis
- Occupations
- financierbusinesspersonlawyer
- Biography
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Reginald F. Lewis, was an American businessman. He was one of the richest Black American men in the 1980s, and the first African-American to build a billion-dollar company: TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc.
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Christine Darden
- Enrolled in Virginia State University
- In 1967 graduated with Master of Science in applied mathematics
- Occupations
- aerospace engineermathematician
- Biography
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Christine Darden is an American mathematician, data analyst, and aeronautical engineer who devoted much of her 40-year career in aerodynamics at NASA to researching supersonic flight and sonic booms. She had an M.S. in mathematics and had been teaching at Virginia State University before starting to work at the Langley Research Center in 1967. She earned a Ph.D. in engineering at George Washington University in 1983 and has published numerous articles in her field. She was the first African-American woman at NASA's Langley Research Center to be promoted to the Senior Executive Service, the top rank in the federal civil service.
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Billy Taylor
- Occupations
- university teacherjazz musiciancomposerradio personalitymusic teacher
- Biography
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Billy Taylor was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the artistic director for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
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Jennifer Carroll Foy
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Jennifer Denise Carroll Foy is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she is a public defender by occupation. Carroll Foy was elected to represent Virginia's 2nd House of Delegates district in 2017, which covers parts of Prince William County and Stafford County in Northern Virginia. In December 2020, she resigned from the House of Delegates, in order to focus on her campaign for Governor of Virginia in 2021. She lost in the Democratic primary, placing second behind Terry McAuliffe. She was the 2023 Democratic nominee for State Senate in Virginia's 33rd Senate district, winning the race with nearly 63% of the vote.
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Roger Gregory
- Occupations
- judgelawyer
- Biography
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Roger Lee Gregory is an American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
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Al Bumbry
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Alonza Benjamin Bumbry is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder who played for the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres from 1972 through 1985. Bumbry was the 1973 American League Rookie of the Year, and went on to be an All-Star and World Series champion. He is an inductee of the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame and the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. Prior to his major league career, Bumbry served in the US Army during the Vietnam War and was awarded a Bronze Star.
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Dennis L. Via
- Biography
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Dennis L. Via is a retired United States Army four-star general who last served as the 18th commanding general of the United States Army Materiel Command from August 7, 2012 to September 30, 2016. He is the first Signal Corps officer since General Henry H. Arnold to achieve four-star rank. He retired from the army on September 30, 2016 after over 36 years of service.
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Camilla Williams
- Occupations
- opera singer
- Biography
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Camilla Ella Williams was an American operatic soprano who performed nationally and internationally. After studying with renowned teachers in New York City, she was the first African American to receive a regular contract with a major American opera company, the New York City Opera. She had earlier won honors in vocal competitions and the Marian Anderson Fellowship in 1943–44.
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Herman Branson
- Occupations
- physicist
- Biography
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Herman Russell Branson was an American physicist, chemist, best known for his research on the alpha helix protein structure, and was also the president of two colleges. He received a fellowship from the Rosenwald Foundation.
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Gaye Adegbalola
- Enrolled in Virginia State University
- In 1978 graduated with Master of Education
- Occupations
- guitaristlectureractivistmusic teachersinger
- Biography
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Gaye Adegbalola is an American blues singer and guitarist, teacher, lecturer, activist, and photographer.
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Clay Rapada
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Clayton Anthony Rapada is a Filipino American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Cleveland Indians. He is currently an assistant pitching coordinator for the San Francisco Giants organization.
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Black Cobain
- Occupations
- rappersongwriter
- Biography
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Marcus Vance Gloster, known professionally as Black Cobain, is an American rapper. He collaborated on the Wale track "4 AM" and was the opening act of Wale's 2011-2012 53-city "Ambition" tour.
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William R. Harvey
- Occupations
- businessperson
- Biography
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William Robert Harvey is an American educator, academic administrator, and businessman who served as president of Hampton University from 1978 to 2022. He is the longest serving president in the school's history. Harvey became the first African-American owner in the soft drink bottling industry when he and his wife, Norma Baker Harvey, purchased a Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company franchise together in 1986.
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Lashrecse Aird
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Lashrecse Dianna Aird /ˌla.ʃəˈɹis/ is an American Democratic politician who represented the 63rd District in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2016 to 2022. The district includes Dinwiddie County and the city of Petersburg as well as parts of the counties of Chesterfield and Prince George. Aird served on the General Laws, Health, Welfare and Institutions, and Appropriations committees.
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Rosalyn Dance
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Rosalyn Randolph Dance is an American politician, who served in the Senate of Virginia from 2014 until 2020. She was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 2005 to 2014, and was mayor of Petersburg, Virginia from 1992 to 2004. Dance is a member of the Democratic Party.
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Rodney Robinson
- Occupations
- high school teacher
- Biography
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Rodney Alexander Robinson is an American educator. After teaching for over a decade in middle and high schools in Richmond, Virginia, he became a social studies and history teacher for grades 6 through 12 at the Virgie Binford Education Center, located inside the Richmond Juvenile Detention Center. He was named Virginia Teacher of the Year in 2018 and National Teacher of the Year in 2019.
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Thomas Miller
- Occupations
- graphic designer
- Biography
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Thomas Miller was a prolific graphic designer and visual artist, whose best known publicly accessible work is the collection of mosaics of the founders of DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, Illinois. The mosaics are a prominent feature of the lobby of the museum, the original portion of which was designed c.1915 by D.H. Burnham and Company to serve as the South Park Administration Building in Washington Park on the city's south side. After serving various purposes, the building became the home of the DuSable in 1973.
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Yvonne B. Miller
- Occupations
- politicianteacher
- Biography
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Yvonne Bond Miller was a Virginia educator and American politician who became the first African-American woman to serve in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly. A Democrat, in 1983 Miller became the first African-American woman elected to the state house, where she served for four years before winning election to the state Senate, where she consistently won re-election until her death in office. Miller taught in the Norfolk Public schools, and later taught early and childhood education at one of her alma maters, which had become Norfolk State University during her lifetime.
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Pamela E. Bridgewater
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Pamela E. Bridgewater is an American career diplomat who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Jamaica.
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Bobby Orrock
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Robert Dickson Orrock, Sr. is an American politician. Since 1990, he has been a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 66th district in the east-central part of the state, including parts of Caroline and Spotsylvania counties; the former county is included in the Greater Richmond Region and the latter county is included in the Washington metropolitan area. From 1990–1991, the District encompassed all of Spotsylvania County, part of Caroline County, and part of the Fredericksburg City. From 1992–2001, the District encompassed part of Spotsylvania County and all of Fredericksburg City. He is a member of the Republican Party.
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Antwan McClellan
- Years
- 1974-.. (age 50)
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Antwan McClellan is an American Republican Party politician who has represented the 1st Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since January 14, 2020. McClellan served as a councilman in Ocean City, New Jersey from 2012 until 2020.
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Avis Wyatt
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Avis Wyatt is an American retired basketball player. Wyatt is 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) and played as power forward and center. After four years playing in college for Virginia State, Wyatt played in the Netherlands, Cyprus and Greece.
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Ruppert L. Sargent
- Occupations
- military personnel
- Biography
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Ruppert Leon Sargent was a United States Army officer and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War.
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Delores G. Kelley
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Delores Goodwin Kelley is an American politician from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. She was a member of the Maryland Senate, representing Maryland's District 10 in Baltimore County.
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Ora Brown Stokes Perry
- Years
- 1882-1957 (aged 75)
- Occupations
- teacher
- Biography
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Ora Brown Stokes Perry was an American educator, probation officer, temperance worker, suffragist, and clubwoman based in Richmond, Virginia.
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David S. Holmes, Jr
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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David S. Holmes Jr. was a member of both houses of the Michigan Legislature between 1959 and his death in 1994.
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Dzigbordi Kwaku-Dosoo
- Occupations
- entrepreneur
- Biography
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Dzigbordi Kwaku-Dosoo is a Ghanaian businesswoman, speaker, media personality and consultant. She is the founder and CEO of The DCG Consulting Group and Allure Africa.
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Alonzo Short
- Enrolled in Virginia State University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Science in education
- Occupations
- military officer
- Biography
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Alonzo Earl Short Jr. is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as Director of the Defense Information Systems Agency.
