43 Notable alumni of
Wittenberg University
Updated:
Wittenberg University is 1480th in the world, 525th in North America, and 493rd in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 43 notable alumni from Wittenberg 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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James Rebhorn
- Occupations
- film actorstage actortelevision actor
- Biography
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James Robert Rebhorn was an American character actor who appeared in over 100 films, television series, and plays. At the time of his death, he had recurring roles in the series White Collar and Homeland. He also appeared in films including Scent of a Woman, The Game, Carlito's Way, Independence Day, My Cousin Vinny, and Meet the Parents.
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Sherwood Anderson
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Sherwood Anderson was an American novelist and short story writer, known for subjective and self-revealing works. Self-educated, he rose to become a successful copywriter and business owner in Cleveland and Elyria, Ohio. In 1912, Anderson had a nervous breakdown that led him to abandon his business and family to become a writer.
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Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
- Occupations
- television producerscreenwriter
- Biography
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Lauren Schmidt-Hissrich is an American television producer and screenwriter. She is the series creator of the television series The Witcher.
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John E. McLaughlin
- Enrolled in Wittenberg University
- Studied in 1964
- Occupations
- intelligence officerspy
- Biography
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John Edward McLaughlin is an American intelligence official who was Deputy Director of Central Intelligence and briefly acting Director of Central Intelligence. He is a Senior Fellow and Distinguished Practitioner-in-Residence at the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University.
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Marietje Schaake
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Maria Renske "Marietje" Schaake is a Dutch politician who served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from the Netherlands between 2009 and 2019. She is a member of Democrats 66, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party.
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John Chowning
- Occupations
- physicistcomputer scientistcomposeruniversity teacher
- Biography
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John M. Chowning is an American composer, musician, discoverer, and professor best known for his work at Stanford University, the founding of CCRMA - Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics in 1975 and his development of the digital implementation of FM synthesis and the digital sound spatialization while there.
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Ron Lancaster
- Occupations
- sports commentatorCanadian football playerplayer of American football
- Biography
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Ronald Lancaster was an American-Canadian professional football player and coach in the Canadian Football League (CFL). As the starting quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders for 16 seasons, he led the team to its first Grey Cup championship in 1966 and is the franchise's all-time leader in passing yards, attempts, completions, touchdowns, and interceptions. At the time of his retirement, he was the CFL's career leader in passing yards and still ranks sixth overall as of 2016. After his retirement as a player, he served as a head coach and general manager in the CFL; he led his teams to two Grey Cups and currently ranks fourth all-time with 142 regular season wins. He was also a colour commentator on the CFL on CBC from 1981 to 1990. At the time of his death, he was the Senior Director of Football Operations of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (1982), Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (1985) and the Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Honour (1985).
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Brian Agler
- Occupations
- basketball coachbasketball player
- Biography
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Brian Agler is an American college athletics administrator and former women'sbasketball coach. He is the athletic director at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio]], a position he has held since 2021. Agler served as head coach of the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 2019 to 2020. He had previously been head coach of the Seattle Storm and the Los Angeles Sparks, each of whom he led to a WNBA championship, in 2010 and 2016, respectively. During his coaching career, Agler has guided young stars like Candace Parker, Nneka Ogwumike, Alana Beard, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Tayler Hill, Liz Cambage, Megan Gustafson, and Arike Ogunbowale.
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Margo Smith
- Occupations
- singermusiciansongwriter
- Biography
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Margo Smith was an American country and Christian music singer–songwriter. She had several years of country success during the 1970s, which included two number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. In the 1990s, she transitioned towards the Christian market and issued two successful albums. She is also known for her yodeling vocal skills and is often referred to as "The Tennessee Yodeler".
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Sheila Simon
- Enrolled in Wittenberg University
- In 1983 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Sheila J. Simon is an American politician who served as the 46th lieutenant governor of Illinois, from 2011 to 2015. In 2014, she was the Democratic nominee for Illinois State Comptroller, losing to Republican incumbent Judy Baar Topinka. Simon is the daughter of former U.S. Senator Paul Simon, who had previously served as Lieutenant Governor of Illinois (1969–1973), and his first wife, former Illinois State Representative Jeanne Hurley Simon.
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Pierre Lhomme
- Occupations
- cinematographerscreenwriterphotographerdirector
- Biography
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Pierre Lhomme was a French cinematographer and filmmaker.
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Jennette Bradley
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Jennette B. Bradley is an American politician of the Republican party and served as the 62nd lieutenant governor of Ohio from 2003 to 2005 and Ohio State Treasurer from 2005 to 2007. Bradley was the first African American elected to statewide office in Ohio.
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Beth McCann
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Beth McCann is an American politician who serves as the current Denver District Attorney, the first woman to hold the office. A Democrat, McCann beat her opponent, independent Helen Morgan, winning 74% of the vote in the November, 2016 general election. Before serving as Denver's DA, McCann served from 2008 to 2017 as a Colorado State Representative, representing House District 8, which encompasses portions of central Denver, Colorado.
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Albert Bryan Jr
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Albert Bryan Jr. is a United States Virgin Islands politician serving since 2019 as the ninth governor of the United States Virgin Islands.
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Peter Tomsen
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Peter Tomsen is an American retired diplomat and educator, serving as U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan from 1989 to 1992, United States Ambassador to Armenia between 1995 and 1998, and was Deputy Ambassador at the United States Embassy in Beijing from 1986 to 1989. Ambassador Tomsen’s thirty-two year diplomatic career emphasized South and Central Asia, Northeast Asia and the former Soviet Union.
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Isaac K. Funk
- Enrolled in Wittenberg University
- Studied in 1860
- Occupations
- theologianlexicographerpublisher
- Biography
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Isaac Kaufmann Funk was an American Lutheran minister, editor, lexicographer, publisher, and spelling reformer. He was the co-founder of Funk & Wagnalls Company, the father of author Wilfred J. Funk (who founded his own publishing company, Wilfred Funk, Inc., and wrote the Word Power feature in Reader's Digest from 1945 to 1962), and the grandfather of author Peter Funk, who continued his father's authorship of Word Power until 2003. Funk & Wagnalls Company published The Literary Digest, The Standard Dictionary of the English Language, and Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia.
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Elwood V. Jensen
- Enrolled in Wittenberg University
- Studied in 1940
- Occupations
- chemistuniversity teacherbiologist
- Biography
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Elwood Vernon Jensen was the Distinguished University Professor, George and Elizabeth Wile Chair in Cancer Research at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine's Vontz Center for Molecular Studies. In 2004 he received the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research for his research on estrogen receptors. He is considered the father of the field of hormone action.
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Benjamin Thurman Hacker
- Enrolled in Wittenberg University
- Studied in 1957
- Occupations
- military officer
- Biography
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Rear Admiral Benjamin Thurman Hacker was a U.S. Naval officer, who became the first Naval Flight Officer (NFO) to achieve Flag rank.
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Sandra Postel
- Years
- 1956-.. (age 68)
- Occupations
- earth scientist
- Biography
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Sandra Postel is the founding director of the Global Water Policy Project. She is a world expert on fresh water and related ecosystems. From 2009-2015, she served as Freshwater Fellow of the National Geographic Society. She is the author of scores of articles and several books on global freshwater issues, including Last Oasis, which appears in eight languages, and most recently Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity. She is the recipient of four honorary doctor of science degrees. From 1988 to 1994 she served as the Vice President for Research at the Worldwatch Institute. Postel has taught water policy courses at Tufts University and Mount Holyoke College. In 2002, Scientific American magazine named her as one of their "Scientific American 50" to recognize her contribution to science and technology. Postel's work aims to build a more water-secure world for all earthly beings. In 2021, Postel was awarded the Stockholm Water Prize, often described as the Nobel Prize for water.
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Adam Willis Wagnalls
- Years
- 1843-1924 (aged 81)
- Occupations
- publisher
- Biography
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Adam Willis Wagnalls was an American publisher. He was the co-founder of the Funk & Wagnalls Company in 1877.
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Michael Dourson
- Years
- 20th Century
- Occupations
- toxicologist
- Biography
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Michael L. Dourson is an American toxicologist and Director of Science at the nonprofit organization, Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment. He was formerly a senior advisor to the Administrator of EPA, and prior to that, a professor at the Risk Science Center at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Prior to joining the University of Cincinnati, he was founder and president of the nonprofit Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment. Earlier in his career, he was employed by the Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office, among other assignments.
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Samuel McChord Crothers
- Years
- 1857-1927 (aged 70)
- Occupations
- Christian ministerauthorwriteressayist
- Biography
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Samuel McChord Crothers was an American Unitarian minister with The First Parish in Cambridge. He was a popular essayist.
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Luther Alexander Gotwald
- Years
- 1833-1900 (aged 67)
- Biography
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Luther Alexander Gotwald, D.D. was a professor of theology in the Wittenberg Theological Seminary in the United States. He was tried for heresy by the board of directors at Wittenberg College in Springfield, Ohio, on April 4 and 5, 1893, which put on trial many key issues that Lutherans still debate today.
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James G. Polk
- Enrolled in Wittenberg University
- Studied in 1923
- Occupations
- head teacherschool superintendentassistantpolitician
- Biography
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James Gould Polk was a prominent U.S. politician of the Democratic Party during the middle of the 20th century.
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David Ward King
- Occupations
- inventor
- Biography
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David Ward King was an American farmer and inventor of the King road drag. His invention, which was the horse-drawn forerunner of the modern road grader, had a great influence on American life because his invention improved the widespread dirt roads of his day to the extent that they could accommodate the advent of the automobile, rural mail delivery and mail order catalogues.
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Bob Bescher
- Occupations
- baseball player
- Biography
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Robert Henry Bescher was a baseball outfielder who played 11 seasons in the major leagues. Born in London, Ohio, he played his best seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, and was one of the National League's best base stealers during his time.
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George P. Larrick
- Biography
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George P. Larrick was Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 1954–1965.
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Gregory L. Frost
- Occupations
- judgelawyer
- Biography
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Gregory Lynn Frost is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
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Robert J. Cindrich
- Occupations
- judgelawyer
- Biography
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Robert James Cindrich is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and a former federal judicial nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
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Francis Seiberling
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Francis Seiberling was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1929 to 1933. He was a cousin of John F. Seiberling.
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Benjamin Kurtz
- Occupations
- pastoreditor
- Biography
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Benjamin Kurtz was a German-American Lutheran pastor and theologian. He was part of the revivalist movement of the Lutheran Church in the 19th century, ran the Lutheran faith-based newspaper Lutheran Observer, founded the Lutheran faith-based Missionary Institute (Susquehanna University) in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, and assisted in the founding of the Gettysburg Seminary.
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George W. Cromer
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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George Washington Cromer was an American lawyer and politician who had four terms as a U.S. representative from Indiana from 1899 to 1907.
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ZeBarney Thorne Phillips
- Years
- 1875-1942 (aged 67)
- Occupations
- priest
- Biography
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ZeBarney Thorne Phillips was an Episcopal clergyman who served as Chaplain of the Senate (1927–1942).
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Walter L. Weaver
- Enrolled in Wittenberg University
- Studied in 1870
- Occupations
- politicianjudgelawyer
- Biography
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Walter Lowrie Weaver was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1897 to 1901.
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Martin L. Smyser
- Occupations
- politicianjudgelawyer
- Biography
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Martin Luther Smyser was an American lawyer and politician who served two non consecutive terms as a U.S. Representative from Ohio.
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Jacob D. Leighty
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Jacob D. Leighty was a U.S. Representative from Indiana. He had previously served with the Union Army during the American Civil War.
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Peter Stenger Grosscup
- Occupations
- judgelawyer
- Biography
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Peter Stenger Grosscup was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the United States Circuit Courts for the Seventh Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Grosscup is best remembered for having made use of the judicial injunction against strikers in labor disputes, including most notably the leadership of the American Railway Union in the 1894 Pullman Strike.
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Fernando C. Layton
- Occupations
- politicianjudgelawyer
- Biography
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Fernando Coello Layton was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. representative from Ohio for three terms from 1891 to 1897.
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Jay Alan Liotta
- Years
- 1959-.. (age 65)
- Enrolled in Wittenberg University
- Graduated with Bachelor of Arts in political science and East Asian studies
- Occupations
- civil servant
- Biography
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Jay Alan Liotta is an American senior official in the Department of Defense, in its Office of Detainee Policy.
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Turner M. Marquett
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Turner Mastin Marquett was a Nebraska Republican politician best known for being the first House representative for the state.
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James Granville Johnson
- Enrolled in Wittenberg University
- Studied in 1876
- Occupations
- judgelawyer
- Biography
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James Granville Johnson Jr. was a Democratic lawyer who was Mayor of Springfield, Ohio, and a justice of the Ohio Supreme Court.
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Augustus N. Summers
- Occupations
- judgelawyer
- Biography
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Augustus Neander Summers was a Republican politician in the U.S. State of Ohio who was on the Ohio Supreme Court 1904–1911.
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Minnie Willis Baines
- Occupations
- suffragistwriter
- Biography
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Minnie Willis Baines was an American author. She favored temperance, morality, religion, and women's suffrage, writing innumerable short stories and poems in magazines and papers from the age of fourteen. Her most notable works were The Silent Land; His Cousin, The Doctor; The Pilgrim's Vision; and Mrs. Cherry's Sister. Baines-Miller died in 1923.
