58 Notable alumni of
Washburn University
Updated:
Washburn University is 1242nd in the world, 443rd in North America, and 415th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 58 notable alumni from Washburn 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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Bob Dole
- Enrolled in Washburn University
- In 1952 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- politicianjuristlawyer
- Biography
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Robert Joseph Dole was an American politician and attorney from Kansas who served in both chambers of the United States Congress, the United States House of Representatives from 1961 to 1969 and a member of the United States Senate from 1969 to his resignation in 1996 to campaign for President of the United States in the 1996 election. He was the Republican Leader of the Senate during the final 11 years of his tenure, including three non-consecutive years as Senate Majority Leader. Dole was also the vice presidential nominee in the 1976 election, making Dole the only unsuccessful major party nominee for both president and vice president in the history of the United States.
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Fred Phelps
- Occupations
- lawyerpastor
- Biography
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Fred Waldron Phelps Sr. was an American minister and disbarred lawyer who served as the pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church, worked as a civil rights attorney, and ran for statewide election in Kansas. A divisive and controversial figure, he gained national attention for his homophobic views and protests near the funerals of gay people, AIDS victims, military veterans, and disaster victims who he believed were killed as a result of God punishing the U.S. for having "bankrupt values" and tolerating homosexuality. Phelps founded the Westboro Baptist Church, a Topeka, Kansas-based independent Primitive Baptist congregation, in 1955. It has been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as "arguably the most obnoxious and rabid hate group in America". Its signature slogan, "God Hates Fags", remains the name of the group's principal website.
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Gary Woodland
- Occupations
- golfer
- Biography
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Gary Lynn Woodland is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He won the U.S. Open in 2019, his first major championship and sixth professional victory. Following a successful college career, he turned professional in 2007 and briefly competed on the Nationwide Tour.
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Larry Niven
- Occupations
- screenwriternovelistwriterscience fiction writermathematician
- Biography
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Laurence van Cott Niven is an American science fiction writer. His 1970 novel Ringworld won the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. With Jerry Pournelle he wrote The Mote in God's Eye (1974) and Lucifer's Hammer (1977). The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America gave him the 2015 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award.
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Shirley Phelps-Roper
- Occupations
- lawyer
- Biography
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Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper is an American lawyer and political activist. She was the lead spokesperson of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, an organization that protests against homosexuality conducted under the slogan "God Hates Fags" until a power struggle within the organization reduced her status.
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Bill Kurtis
- Enrolled in Washburn University
- Graduated with Juris Doctor
- Occupations
- television producerwriterjournalisttelevision presenter
- Biography
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Bill Kurtis is an American television journalist, television producer, narrator, and news anchor.
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Kerry Livgren
- Occupations
- guitaristkeyboardistsongwriter
- Biography
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Kerry Allen Livgren is an American musician, best known as one of the founding members and primary songwriters for the American rock band Kansas.
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Lauren Drain
- Occupations
- fitness modelnurse
- Biography
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Lauren Drain is an American nurse and former member of the Westboro Baptist Church who wrote the 2013 book Banished, which chronicles her experiences and eventual banishment from the church.
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Delano Lewis
- Enrolled in Washburn University
- In 1963 graduated with Juris Doctor
- Occupations
- bankerbusinesspersonlawyerdiplomat
- Biography
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Delano Eugene Lewis was an American attorney, businessman and diplomat. He was the United States ambassador to South Africa from 2000 to 2001, and previously held leadership roles at the Peace Corps and National Public Radio. He was the father of actor Phill Lewis.
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Karl Menninger
- Occupations
- academicpsychiatristbusinesspersonnon-fiction writer
- Biography
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Karl Augustus Menninger was an American psychiatrist and a member of the Menninger family of psychiatrists who founded the Menninger Foundation and the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas.
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Michelle Bowman
- Occupations
- aquatic ecologistpolitician
- Biography
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Michelle White "Miki" Bowman is an American attorney who has served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors since 2018. She is the first person to fill the community bank seat on the board, a seat created by a 2015 law.
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Earl Wilbur Sutherland, Jr
- Occupations
- physiologistpharmacistchemistpharmacologistbiochemist
- Biography
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Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr. was an American pharmacologist and biochemist born in Burlingame, Kansas. Sutherland won a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1971 "for his discoveries concerning the mechanisms of the action of hormones", especially epinephrine, via second messengers, namely cyclic adenosine monophosphate, or cyclic AMP.
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Arthur Fletcher
- Occupations
- politicianAmerican football player
- Biography
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Arthur Allen Fletcher was an American government official and Republican politician, he was a pioneer of affirmative action as he was largely responsible for the Revised Philadelphia Plan.
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Jerry Schemmel
- Occupations
- sports commentator
- Biography
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Gerard H. Schemmel is an American sportscaster working as a play-by-play radio announcer for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball. He previously called Denver Nuggets games on both Radio and TV for 18 seasons.
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Michael Wilhoite
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
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Michael Wilhoite is an American football coach and former linebacker who is currently the outside linebackers coach for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Washburn University where he played six different positions, including linebacker and safety. He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League (UFL) in 2011.
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Carl Rowan
- Occupations
- writerauthorjournalistdiplomat
- 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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Joan Finney
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Joan Marie Finney was an American politician who served as the 42nd governor of Kansas from 1991 to 1995. Prior to her tenure as governor, Finney served four terms as the Kansas state treasurer from 1975 to 1991. Finney was the first woman to hold either office.
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Dennis Moore
- Enrolled in Washburn University
- In 1970 graduated with Juris Doctor
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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Dennis Moore was an American politician and lawyer, a "Blue Dog" centrist who served for six terms as a U.S. Representative for Kansas's 3rd congressional district, from 1999 until 2011. He was a member of the Kansas Democratic Party.
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Harry J. Middleton
- Occupations
- journalist
- Biography
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Harry Joseph Middleton Jr. was an American journalist, author, and library director who served as Lyndon B. Johnson's Presidential speech writer and staff assistant from 1967 to 1969. Middleton was also director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum from 1971 until 2002, and led the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation from 1993 until 2004.
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Jim Slattery
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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James Charles Slattery is an American politician. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 1995 representing Kansas's 2nd congressional district as a Democrat, was the Democratic nominee for governor in 1994 and was the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senator in 2008.
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Bradbury Thompson
- Occupations
- graphic designerdesigner
- Biography
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J. Bradbury Thompson was an American graphic designer and art director known for his work designing magazines and postage stamps.
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Roger Noriega
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Roger Francisco Noriega is an American diplomat who served as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs in the George W. Bush administration He is a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
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Togiola Tulafono
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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Togiola Talalelei A. Tulafono is an American Samoan politician and lawyer who served as the sixth governor of American Samoa. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He had previously served as the seventh lieutenant governor.
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William R. Roy
- Occupations
- obstetricianmilitary officergynecologistpoliticianjournalist
- Biography
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William Robert Roy, also known as Bill Roy, was a United States representative from Kansas, a physician, and a columnist for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the Democratic nominee for U.S Senator from Kansas in the 1974 and 1978 senate elections, but lost both races.
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Nancy Moritz
- Occupations
- lawyerjudge
- Biography
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Nancy Louise Moritz is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and former justice of the Kansas Supreme Court.
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Ken Berry
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Allen Kent Berry is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1962 through 1975, most notably as a member of the Chicago White Sox. The two-time Gold Glove winner was an American League All-Star player in 1967. He also played for the California Angels, Milwaukee Brewers and the Cleveland Indians. In 2015, Berry was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.
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William C. Menninger
- Occupations
- psychiatrist
- Biography
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William Claire Menninger was a co-founder with his brother Karl and his father of The Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas, an internationally known center for treatment of behavioral disorders.
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Margaret Murdock
- Occupations
- sport shooternurse
- Biography
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Margaret Thompson Murdock is a nurse and former United States Army officer most widely known for her success in international shooting competitions, including a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
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Eric Rosen
- Years
- 1953-.. (age 72)
- Occupations
- lawyerjudge
- Biography
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Eric S. Rosen is a justice of the Kansas Supreme Court. He was appointed to the court by Governor Kathleen Sebelius in 2005.
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John E. Erickson
- Occupations
- judgepoliticianlawyer
- Biography
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John Edward Erickson was an American politician of the Democratic Party from Montana. He served as the eighth Governor of Montana and as a United States senator.
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Sam A. Crow
- Enrolled in Washburn University
- Graduated with Juris Doctor
- Occupations
- lawyerjudge
- Biography
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Samuel Alfred Crow was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas.
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John W. Broomes
- Occupations
- lawyerjudge
- Biography
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John Wesley Broomes is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas.
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Donald R. Heath
- Occupations
- diplomatuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Donald Read Heath was a member of the United States Foreign Service for more than four decades including service as the Minister to Laos (1950–1954), and Ambassador to Cambodia (1950–1954), Vietnam (1952–1955), Lebanon (1955–1957) and Saudi Arabia (1958–1961). During his tenure as Ambassador to Vietnam, Heath advocated and carried out American policy under Secretary of State John Foster Dulles that helped set the stage for American military involvement.
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John Brooks Slaughter
- Occupations
- engineeruniversity teacher
- Biography
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John Brooks Slaughter was an American electrical engineer and college president who served as the first African-American director of the National Science Foundation (NSF). His work focused on the development of computer algorithms for system optimization and discrete signal processing.
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Arthur S. Champeny
- Biography
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Arthur Seymour Champeny was a United States Army officer, reaching the rank of Brigadier General. He is the only American to earn the Distinguished Service Cross in three different wars. In addition to his three Distinguished Service Crosses, he was awarded the Silver Star, two Legions of Merit, five Purple Hearts, two French Croix de Guerre, the French Legion of Honor, and the Italian Bronze Medal of Military Valor.
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Don W. Wilson
- Occupations
- historianarchivist
- Biography
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Don W. Wilson was appointed the Archivist of the United States, serving from December 4, 1987, to March 24, 1993. Afterwards, he became the executive director of the George Bush Center at Texas A&M University.
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Jack M. Campbell
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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John Moren Campbell was an American politician who served as the 21st governor of New Mexico from January 1, 1963 until January 1, 1967.
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William Beach
- Occupations
- civil servant
- Biography
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William W. Beach is the former Commissioner of Labor Statistics and head of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an independent U.S. government fact-finding agency focused on labor economics and statistics, inflation, and productivity.
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Georgia Neese Clark
- Occupations
- politicianbankeractor
- Biography
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Georgia Neese Clark Gray was an American actress and banker who served as the 29th treasurer of the United States from 1949 to 1953, and was the first woman to hold that office.
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John McCuish
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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John Berridge McCuish was the 34th governor of Kansas. A member of the Republican Party, McCuish is best known for his 11-day tenure as Kansas' governor, during which he appointed his immediate predecessor to the Kansas Supreme Court. The episode, dubbed the "Triple Play of 1956", spurred legislation designed to prevent it from happening again.
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Larry L. Jacoby
- Years
- 1944-.. (age 81)
- Occupations
- psychologist
- Biography
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Larry L. Jacoby was an American cognitive psychologist specializing in research on human memory. He was particularly known for his work on the interplay of consciously controlled versus more automatic influences of memory.
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Clifford Ragsdale Hope
- Enrolled in Washburn University
- In 1917 graduated with Juris Doctor
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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Clifford Ragsdale Hope was a U.S. Representative from Kansas, and a member of the Republican Party. Born in Birmingham, Iowa, Hope attended public schools and Nebraska Wesleyan University, in Lincoln, Nebraska. He served during the First World War, as a second lieutenant. He served in the Kansas House of Representatives. He was elected to the Seventieth United States Congress in 1927 and served in Congress through 1957, making him the longest-serving Kansan in the United States House of Representatives.
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Michelle Black
- Born in
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United States - Occupations
- novelist
- Biography
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Michelle Black is an American author of historical fiction and historical mystery novels. She is also an attorney, former bookstore owner, and publisher.
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Joe Skubitz
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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Joe Skubitz was an American politician and U.S. Representative from Kansas.
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Albert McDonald Cole
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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Albert McDonald Cole was a U.S. Representative from Kansas.
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Jeff Stone
- Occupations
- businesspersonpolitician
- Biography
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Jeff A. Stone is an American businessman and former politician. A Republican, he was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1998 through 2013. He currently serves as chair of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.
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Kathleen E. Fick
- Biography
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Kathleen Dodson Fick is a retired United States Air Force major general.
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Gary Jackson
- Occupations
- poet
- Biography
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Gary Jackson is an American educator and poet. He had received a Cave Canem and Bread Loaf fellowship and was awarded the Cave Canem Poetry Prize in 2009.
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Butch Felker
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Harry L. "Butch" Felker III was an American politician and former Mayor of Topeka, Kansas who served two full terms and one portion of a term, resigning in 2003 due to political pressure as a result of a scandal.
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Herbert Loper
- Occupations
- cartographer
- Biography
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Major General Herbert Bernard Loper was a United States Army officer who helped plan the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign and the Okinawa campaign during World War II. He was chief of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project from 1952 to 1953, and Chairman of the Military Liaison Committee of the United States Atomic Energy Commission from 1954 to 1961.
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Mike Racy
- Born in
- United States
- Biography
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Michael Racy is an American College Sports Leader, a Higher Education Attorney, and a former University Executive. Racy currently serves as the commissioner for the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. Prior to being appointed MIAA commissioner, Racy practiced law in the Kansas City metropolitan area, served as a vice president at the University of Central Missouri, and as a vice president at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
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Delmas Carl Hill
- Occupations
- lawyerjudge
- Biography
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Delmas Carl Hill was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas.
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Art Griggs
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Arthur Carle Griggs was an American professional baseball player. He played seven seasons in Major League Baseball in Major League Baseball between 1909 and 1918, compiling a.277 batting average. He appeared in 442 major league games, including 195 games as a first baseman, 96 games as an outfielder, and 60 games as a second baseman.
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Carl Schurz Vrooman
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Carl Schurz Vrooman was the Assistant United States Secretary of Agriculture under Woodrow Wilson. He started the victory garden campaign during World War I.
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Roy Wilford Riegle
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Roy Wilford Riegle, known as Wilford, was an American attorney, politician and Member of the Kansas House of Representatives.
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Denver David Hargis
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Denver David Hargis was a U.S. Representative from Kansas from 1959 to 1961.
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Lawrence Banks
- Occupations
- head coachAmerican football coach
- Biography
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Lawrence B. Banks was an American football player and coach. He was the sixth head football coach for Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, serving for one season, in 1901, and compiling a record of 3–2–3. The son of Alexander and Jennie Banks, Banks attended Washburn as a preparatory student from 1898 to 1900. He died in 1935 of a cerebral hemorrhage.
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George Darrow
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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George Oliver Darrow was a professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher for one season (1934) with the Philadelphia Phillies. For his career, he compiled a 2–6 record, with a 5.51 earned run average, and 14 strikeouts in 49 innings pitched.