21 Notable alumni of Alabama A&M University
Updated: June 15, 2026 EliteDegrees
Alabama A&M University is ranked #2,051 in the world and #513 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 21 notable alumni from Alabama A&M University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Alabama A&M University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Shelia Nash-Stevenson
engineer
Shelia Nash-Stevenson is an American physicist and engineer. Nash-Stevenson was the first Black woman in Alabama to earn a PhD in physics.
2. Johnson O. Akinleye
Johnson O. Akinleye was the twelfth chancellor of North Carolina Central University. He was installed as chancellor of the university on June 26, 2017. He retired on June 30, 2024.
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3. Matthew Mendy
1983-. (aged 43)
association football player
Matthew Mendy is a football defender from Gambia, he currently plays for FC Jazz in the Finnish second tier Ykkönen. Mendy was signed by Jazz in August 2014.
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4. Lisa S. Jones
1974-. (aged 52)
businessperson
chief executive officer
thought leader
digital marketing expert
Lisa S. Jones is an American businesswoman and entrepreneur, best known for being the founder of Atlanta-based video email company EyeMail Inc. As both a black and woman-owned business, EyeMail Inc. is classified as a Minority Women Business Enterprise (MWBE). Her company began as a start-up, eventually growing exponentially through partnerships with Microsoft, Delta Air Lines, Time Warner, Porsche North...
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5. Jeanette Scissum
1939-. (aged 87)
academic
Jeanette Alexander Scissum is an American mathematician, space scientist, and diversity advocate who put forward techniques for improved forecasting of the sunspot cycle.
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6. Clyde Foster
1931-2017 (aged 86)
mathematician
Clyde Foster was an American scientist and mathematician. He worked for the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and then for NASA, and from 1975 to 1986 was the head of Equal Employment Opportunity at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He is credited with setting up training programs that allowed hundreds of African Americans to get the training necessary for...
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7. Anthony Lanier
1993-. (aged 33)
basketball player
American football player
Anthony Lanier II is an American professional football defensive end. He most recently played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Alabama A&M and was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2016.
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8. Laura Hall
1943-. (aged 83)
politician
Laura Vandiver Hall is an American politician who currently serves in the Alabama House of Representatives representing House District 19 as a Democrat. Hall was first elected to the Alabama House of Representatives by special election in August 1993. She was re-elected in 1994 until now. She is a retired educator whose tenure in the education field extended for over...
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9. Mickell Gladness
1986-. (aged 40)
basketball player
Mickell Jawaun Gladness is an American former professional basketball player. Gladness grew up in Alabama, played college basketball for Lawson State Community College and Alabama A&M University, and he began his professional career in the Netherlands after going undrafted in the 2008 NBA draft. In 2011, Gladness debuted in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Miami Heat.
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10. Don Calloway
1979-. (aged 47)
lawyer
politician
Donald Calloway is an American attorney and politician from St. Louis, Missouri. He was a Democratic member of the Missouri House of Representatives for the 71st District in St. Louis County.
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11. John Stallworth
1952-. (aged 74)
businessperson
American football player
Johnny Lee Stallworth is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football for the Alabama A&M Bulldogs, and was the Steelers' fourth-round draft pick in 1974. Stallworth played in six AFC championships, and went to four Super Bowls, winning all...
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12. Cleon Jones
1942-. (aged 84)
baseball player
Cleon Joseph Jones is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder. Jones played most of his career for the New York Mets and in 1969 caught the final out of the "Miracle Mets" World Series Championship over the Baltimore Orioles.
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13. Mandela Barnes
1986-. (aged 40)
politician
J. Mandela Barnes is an American politician who served as the 45th lieutenant governor of Wisconsin from 2019 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the state representative for the 11th district from 2013 to 2017. Barnes is the first African American to serve as Wisconsin's lieutenant governor.
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14. Robert Mathis
1981-. (aged 45)
American football player
Robert Nathan Mathis is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 14-year career as a defensive end and linebacker with the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama A&M Bulldogs and was selected by the Colts in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL draft. A one-time All-Pro and...
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15. Sun Ra
1914-1993 (aged 79)
instrumentalist
poet
conductor
keyboardist
philosopher
Le Sony'r Ra, better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific output, and theatrical performances. For much of his career, Ra led The Arkestra, an ensemble with an ever-changing name and flexible line-up.
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16. Ruben Studdard
1978-. (aged 48)
singer
Christopher Theodore Ruben Studdard is an American singer and actor. He rose to fame as the winner of the second season of American Idol and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recording of "Superstar". In the years following Idol, Studdard has released seven studio albums, including his platinum-selling debut, Soulful, and...
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17. Joseph Lowery
1921-2020 (aged 99)
religious leader
human rights defender
Christian minister
civil rights advocate
Joseph Echols Lowery was an American minister in the United Methodist Church and leader in the civil rights movement. He founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King Jr. and others, serving as its vice president, later chairman of the board, and its third president from 1977 to 1997. Lowery participated in most of the major activities of...
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18. Robert D. Bullard
1946-. (aged 80)
university teacher
ecologist
sociologist
Robert Doyle Bullard is an American academic who is the former Dean of the Barbara Jordan - Mickey Leland School Of Public Affairs (October 2011 – August 2016) and is currently a Distinguished Professor at Texas Southern University. Previously Ware Professor of Sociology and Director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University, Bullard is known as the...
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19. William Henry Steward
1847-1935 (aged 88)
journalist
civil rights advocate
William Henry Steward was a civil rights activist from Louisville, Kentucky. In February 1876, he was appointed the first black letter carrier in Kentucky. He was the leading layman of the General Association of Negro Baptists in Kentucky and played a key role in the founding of Simmons College of Kentucky by the group in 1879. He continued to play...
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20. George Edmund Haynes
1880-1960 (aged 80)
social worker
George Edmund Haynes was an American sociology scholar and federal civil servant, a co-founder and first executive director of the National Urban League, serving 1911 to 1918. A graduate of Fisk University, he earned a master's degree at Yale University, and was the first African American to earn a doctorate degree from Columbia University, where he completed one in sociology.
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21. Anthony Daniels
1982-. (aged 44)
politician
Anthony Daniels is an English actor and mime artist, best known for playing C-3PO in 11 Star Wars films, from Star Wars (1977) to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He wore the costume and voiced his character in the films and several animated television series. Initially, Daniels did not want to play a robotic character however, Ralph McQuarrie's...
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