41 Notable alumni of
Western Illinois University
Updated:
Western Illinois University is 1200th in the world, 430th in North America, and 403rd in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 41 notable alumni from Western Illinois 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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Mary Matalin
- Enrolled in Western Illinois University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- punditauthoractorpolitical adviserteacher
- Biography
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Mary Joe Matalin is an American political consultant well known for her work with the Republican Party. She has served under President Ronald Reagan, was campaign director for George H. W. Bush, was an assistant to President George W. Bush, and counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney until 2003. Matalin has been chief editor of Threshold Editions, a conservative publishing imprint at Simon & Schuster, since March 2005. She is married to Democratic political consultant James Carville. She appears in the award-winning documentary film Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story and also played herself, opposite her husband, James Carville, John Slattery, and Mary McCormack in the short lived HBO series K Street.
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Michael Boatman
- Occupations
- writertelevision actorstage actorfilm actoractor
- Biography
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Michael Patrick Boatman is an American actor and writer. He is known for his roles as New York City mayoral aide Carter Heywood in the ABC sitcom Spin City, as U.S. Army Specialist Samuel Beckett in the ABC drama series China Beach, as 101st Airborne soldier Motown in the Vietnam War movie Hamburger Hill, and as sports agent Stanley Babson in the HBO sitcom Arli$$. He also starred in The Good Fight, the Paramount+ spinoff of The Good Wife.
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Paul Vallas
- Occupations
- politicianschool superintendent
- Biography
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Paul Gust Vallas Sr. is an American politician and former education superintendent. He served as the superintendent of the Bridgeport Public Schools and the Recovery School District of Louisiana, the CEO of both the School District of Philadelphia and the Chicago Public Schools, and a budget director for the city of Chicago.
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Robert Nardelli
- Occupations
- entrepreneur
- Biography
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Robert Louis Nardelli is an American businessman who was the CEO of Freedom Group from September 2010 to March 2012. Prior to that role, Nardelli served as chairman and CEO of Chrysler from August 2007 to April 2009 and CEO of The Home Depot from December 2000 to January 2007. Before joining The Home Depot, Nardelli spent most of his career at General Electric and had risen to become one of the top three executives competing to succeed Jack Welch.
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Tim Walberg
- Enrolled in Western Illinois University
- Studied in 1969-1970
- Occupations
- politicianpriest
- Biography
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Timothy Lee Walberg is an American serving as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 5th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he previously represented the 7th district from 2007 to 2009 and from 2011 to 2023. As the longest tenured member from Michigan, Walberg is the current Dean of its delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives.
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Larry Kenney
- Occupations
- actorvoice actorradio personality
- Biography
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Larry Kenney is an American voice actor and radio personality.
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Rick Reuschel
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Rickey Eugene Reuschel is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1972 to 1991, winning 214 games with a career 3.37 ERA. His nickname was "Big Daddy" because his speed belied his portly physique. He was known for his deceptive style of pitching, which kept hitters off balance by constantly varying the speeds of his pitches.
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Christopher Hall
- Occupations
- singer
- Biography
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Christopher Hall is an American musician best known as a founding member and vocalist for the industrial rock band Stabbing Westward. Hall met keyboardist Walter Flakus in 1984 and formed the band in Macomb, Illinois. After the breakup of Stabbing Westward in 2002, Hall founded a new band, The Dreaming in 2001. After reuniting in 2016, Hall has remained active with Stabbing Westward and released a new album, titled Chasing Ghosts in March of 2022.
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Loes Geurts
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Loes Geurts is a Dutch footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Damallsvenskan club BK Häcken. Since making her international debut in 2005, Geurts has collected over 100 caps for the Netherlands national team. She kept goal for the Netherlands at the 2009 and 2013 editions of the UEFA Women's Championship.
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Dan K. Webb
- Occupations
- lawyer
- Biography
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Daniel K. Webb is an American lawyer and public official. He is the co-executive chairman of the international law firm of Winston & Strawn. He is a former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and previously served as the Special Counsel in the Iran-Contra affair. As the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, he was the top federal law enforcement official in the city of Chicago on behalf of the United States Department of Justice. As U.S. Attorney, Webb led Operation Greylord and successfully prosecuted 76 corrupt judges, police officers, court clerks, and lawyers.
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John Rosemond
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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John Rosemond is an American columnist, public speaker, and author on parenting, with 15 books on the subject. His ideas revolve around authority for parents and discipline for children. He sometimes collaborates with PragerU as researcher and spokesperson.
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Kosuke Kimura
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Kosuke Kimura is a Japanese footballer and a coach. A long-time veteran of Major League Soccer, he has also played in Poland. He was the first player in MLS history who was born in Japan.
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Dot Richardson
- Occupations
- softball playersoftball coach
- Biography
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Dorothy Gay Richardson is an American physician and former two-time gold medal-winning Olympian softball player at shortstop. Richardson is currently the head coach at Liberty. Richardson played college softball at UCLA and won the inaugural NCAA Division I softball tournament in 1982. She is a USA Softball Hall of Fame honoree.
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Ross Bjork
- Occupations
- sporting director
- Biography
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Ross Bjork is the athletics director in-waiting for Ohio State University. He previously served as the director of athletics for Texas A&M University, University of Mississippi and Western Kentucky University. He has also previously worked for the University of Miami, UCLA, and the University of Missouri.
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Frank Winters
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
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Frank Mitchell Winters is an American former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League for the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Green Bay Packers. He played college football for the Western Illinois Leathernecks.
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Gene Lamont
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Gene William Lamont is an American special assistant to the general manager of the Kansas City Royals. He was a catcher and manager in Major League Baseball who managed the Chicago White Sox (1992–1995) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1997–2000) and served as a coach for the Detroit Tigers (2006-2017). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
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Judith Ford
- Occupations
- modelbeauty pageant contestanttrampoline gymnast
- Biography
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Judith Anne Ford Nash is a retired teacher who was Miss America 1969. Judith Anne Ford moved to Belvidere, Illinois at age three with her parents and brother. In 1968 she won the title of Miss Boone County, held at the Boone County Fairgrounds. She also worked as a lifeguard at the city's public pool and was a swimming instructor during this time.
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Camilo Osías
- Occupations
- lawyertranslatorwriterpolitician
- Biography
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Camilo Osías y Olaviano, commonly known as Camilo Osias Sr. to distinguish him from his son with the same name, was a Filipino politician, twice for a short time President of the Senate of the Philippines. Along with American Mary A. Lane, Osías translated into English the poem Filipinas that was set to the Marcha Nacional Filipina, producing the Philippine Hymn, now the national anthem Lupang Hinirang.
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Jeremy Schoemaker
- Years
- 1974-.. (age 50)
- Occupations
- businessperson
- Biography
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Jeremy "ShoeMoney" Schoemaker is a web entrepreneur, founder of ShoeMoney Media and PAR Program, and co-founder of the AuctionAds service. He is a frequent speaker at search engine marketing and affiliate conferences. He also co-founded the Elite Retreat, an annual industry expert conference, with Lee Dodd.
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Caryl M. Stern
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Caryl M. Stern is an American author, child advocate, civil and human rights activist, and non-profit executive.
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Vincent R. Stewart
- Enrolled in Western Illinois University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts in history
- Occupations
- military leader
- Biography
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Vincent Raymond Stewart was a Jamaican-born American lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps who served as Deputy Commander at United States Cyber Command. He previously served as the 20th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). LtGen Stewart, who held that post from January 23, 2015 through October 3, 2017, was the first African American, first Jamaican American and first Marine to hold the position of Director of the DIA. LtGen Stewart was the 2023 William Oliver Baker Award Recipient presented by the Intelligence and National Security Alliance.
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Ahmet Kenan Tanrıkulu
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Ahmet Kenan Tanrıkulu is a Turkish politician and economist from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who has served as the Member of Parliament for İzmir's second electoral district since 2007, having previously served between 1999 and 2002. From 1999 to 2002, he served as the Minister of Industry and Commerce in the coalition government of Bülent Ecevit, before losing his seat at the 2002 general election. Re-elected as an MP in the 2007, 2011 and again in June 2015 general election, Tanrıkulu served as the Deputy Leader of the MHP from 2012 to 2015. He resigned as Deputy Leader after he was offered, but declined, a ministerial position by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu during the formation of an interim election government in August 2015.
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Tom Soehn
- Occupations
- association football managerassociation football player
- Biography
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Tom Soehn is an American soccer coach who is the head coach of USL Championship club Birmingham Legion. A former player, his career as a defender spanned seven clubs across 12 seasons, both indoors and outdoors.
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Brandon Gilbeck
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Brandon Gilbeck is an American professional basketball player for the Formosa Dreamers of the ASEAN Basketball League and P. League+. He played college basketball for Western Illinois.
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William James
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
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William James is a former American football cornerback. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the third round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Western Illinois.
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Kirk W. Dillard
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Kirk W. Dillard is an American politician and former Republican member of the Illinois State Senate, representing the 24th District from 1993 until his resignation in August 2014. He is also the former chairman of the DuPage County Republican Party. Dillard is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), serving as Illinois state leader.
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Harlan Watson
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Harlan L. Watson is an American congressional staffer on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.
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Jaelon Acklin
- Occupations
- player of American footballCanadian football player
- Biography
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Jaelon Acklin is an American professional Canadian football wide receiver for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Western Illinois. Acklin has also been a member of the Baltimore Ravens and Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
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David H. Moore
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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David H. Moore is an American politician and member of the Chicago City Council serving as alderman for the 17th ward since May 18, 2015. The 17th ward includes portions of Auburn Gresham, Englewood, Chicago Lawn, Marquette Park and West Englewood.
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Tuğba Palazoğlu
- Occupations
- basketball player
- Biography
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Emine Tuğba Palazoğlu is a Turkish former professional basketball player.
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LaVerne H. Council
- Biography
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LaVerne H. Council, MBA, DBA was the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and Chief Information Officer for the Office of Information and Technology within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Council assumed this role in July 2015. President Obama nominated Council to the role in March 2015. Council was confirmed by the 114th Congress on June 23, 2015, making Council the first female CIO of a Cabinet-level federal agency. She managed a $4.2B Information Technology appropriation, the first centralized and only IT appropriation in the federal government.
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Michael Shonrock
- Occupations
- educational psychologist
- Biography
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Michael D. Shonrock is an American academic and former administrator. He was the president of Lindenwood University, located in St. Charles, Missouri, June 2015 to February 2019. Shonrock previously served as Emporia State University's 16th president from January 3, 2012 to May 28, 2015, and before that as Texas Tech University's vice president for student affairs and enrollment management in Lubbock, Texas.
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Gale Schisler
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Darwin Gale Schisler was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois's 19th congressional district and a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 46th district and later the 48th district.
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Steve King
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Stephen B. King is an American businessman and political activist who served as the United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he is the founder of King Capital LLC, an equity investment and real estate company. He previously worked at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as an agent and campaigned unsuccessfully in 1988 for his party's nomination for the U.S. Senate in Wisconsin. During the Nixon administration, while working for the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, King was involved in the kidnapping of Martha Mitchell, the wife of the then-Attorney General.
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William M. Ulrich
- Years
- 1956-.. (age 68)
- Occupations
- computer scientist
- Biography
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William M. Ulrich is an American business architecture consultant, consultant at Cutter Consortium, director and lecturer, known for development of 'The Systems Redevelopment Methodology' (TSRM) in the 1990s, on legacy systems in the 2000s and more recently on his work on business architecture.
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Tod Bowman
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Tod Bowman, is a Democratic politician and legislator from the state of Iowa. He was elected to the Iowa Senate in 2010. He represents District 29, which holds Clinton, Dubuque, and Jackson counties.
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Rob Lazeo
- Occupations
- Canadian football player
- Biography
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Robert "Rob" Lazeo is a retired professional Canadian football offensive lineman who played 14 seasons in the Canadian Football League. He spent the last four years of his career with the Calgary Stampeders where he won the 96th Grey Cup in the Stampeders' 2008 season. He also played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
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Oskar Gasecki
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
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Oskar Gasecki is a Polish footballer who plays as a defender.
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Daniel Cheever
- Years
- 1963-.. (age 61)
- Enrolled in Western Illinois University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Business
- Occupations
- military personnel
- Biography
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Daniel Lyle Cheever is a United States Navy vice admiral who has served as Commander, Naval Air Forces since January 31, 2024. He most recently served as chief of staff of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command from 2022 to 2023. He previously served as the Director of Plans, Policy, and Strategy of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command from 2020 to 2022. He previously served as the Commander of Carrier Strike Group 4. Raised in Downers Grove, Illinois, Cheever earned a Bachelor of Business degree from Western Illinois University in 1986. He joined the Navy in 1988 and, after flight training, was designated a naval aviator in 1990.
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Russell R. Dohner
- Occupations
- physiciansurgeon
- Biography
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Russell R. Dohner, MD was a general surgeon and private medical practitioner affiliated with the Sarah D. Culbertson Memorial Hospital in Rushville, Illinois. His selflessness as a hometown doctor gained him national attention as he was featured in People Magazine, NBC Nightly News, the Today Show, and other publications and media.
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Frank Wood
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Frank B. Wood is an American politician and educator from Eldridge, Iowa, who served as a state legislator in the Iowa Senate from 2005 to 2009, and the Iowa House of Representatives from 2014 to 2015.
