20 Notable alumni of Augustana University
Updated: June 13, 2026 EliteDegrees
Augustana University is 3127st in the world, 1st in North America, and 811st in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 20 notable alumni from Augustana 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 Augustana University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Wayne Sheley
1916-1989 (aged 73)
Canadian football player
American football player
Edward Wayne Sheley was an American professional football player who played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He won the Grey Cup with them in 1939 and 1941. He attended Augustana College in South Dakota, and was inducted into their athletics hall of fame in 1970.
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2. David Lillehaug
1954-. (aged 72)
lawyer
judge
David Lee Lillehaug is a former associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. He served as the United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota from 1994 to 1998.
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3. Oscar Randolph Fladmark, Jr
1922-1955 (aged 33)
aircraft pilot
Oscar Randolph Fladmark Jr. was an American fighter pilot who flew 164 "no-injury" combat missions in World War II and the Korean War. Fladmark received the Distinguished Flying Cross during his military career. Just a few years after the Korean War, Major Fladmark, at 33 years of age, was in an automobile accident near Yuma, Arizona, on July 27, 1955,...
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4. Damien Fair
neuroscientist
Damien Fair is a behavioral neuroscientist, professor at the University of Minnesota, and director of the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain. In 2020, he was selected for the MacArthur Fellows Program. In 2013, he received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.
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5. Jenifer Loon
1963-. (aged 63)
politician
Jenifer W. Loon is an American politician who was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2009 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, she represented District 48B, which was primarily in Eden Prairie, located in southwestern Hennepin County in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Loon is also a legislative policy consultant.
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6. Michael J. O'Connor
1928-2018 (aged 90)
politician
Michael J. O'Connor was an American politician in the state of South Dakota. He was a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives and South Dakota State Senate. He was President Pro Tempore of the Senate from 1975 to 1976.
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7. Jamie Smith
1971-. (aged 55)
teacher
real-estate agent
politician
Jamie R. Smith is an American politician and Senator in the South Dakota Senate. Smith represents District 15, which covers downtown Sioux Falls neighborhoods, including areas around Terrace Park and the Great Plains Zoo. He served as House Minority Leader of the South Dakota House of Representatives from 2019 to 2023.
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8. Kevin Kaesviharn
1976-. (aged 50)
American football player
Kevin Robert Kaesviharn is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Iowa Barnstormers as a street free agent in 1998. He played college football for the Augustana Vikings.
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9. Jeffrey W. Hayzlett
1961-. (aged 65)
television presenter
writer
podcaster
orator
businessperson
Jeffrey Hayzlett is an American businessman. He is the former chief marketing officer of the Eastman Kodak Company from 2006-2010. In 2014 he became the CEO of The Hayzlett Group.
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10. Nancy Erickson
Nancy Erickson is an American political aide who served as the 32nd Secretary of the United States Senate from 2007 to 2015. She began her term as Secretary on January 4, 2007, in the 110th Congress. Erickson was appointed by Democratic and Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
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11. Lars Forssell
1928-2007 (aged 79)
poet
writer
translator
Lars Hans Carl Abraham Forssell was a Swedish writer and member of the Swedish Academy. Forssell was a versatile writer who worked within many genres, including poetry, drama and songwriting. He was awarded the Bellman Prize in both 1968 and 1981
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12. Megan Rohrer
1980-. (aged 46)
pastor
Megan Rohrer is an American activist for homeless and LGBTQ+ rights and former Lutheran bishop. Rohrer is the first openly transgender minister ordained in the Lutheran tradition and a successful author and finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in 2012 for "Letters For My Brothers: Transitional Wisdom in Retrospect." As an historian, Rohrer has written the book San Francisco's Transgender...
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13. John Hamre
1950-. (aged 76)
political scientist
John Julian Hamre is an American international relations scholar and former senior defense official. He is the president and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a position he has held since 2000.
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14. C. J. Ham
1993-. (aged 33)
athletics competitor
American football player
Cortez Thaddeus Ham Jr. is an American former professional football fullback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football for the Augustana Vikings and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Minnesota Vikings after the 2016 NFL draft.
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15. Linda Avey
1960-. (aged 66)
biologist
Linda Avey is an American biologist and entrepreneur. She is known for co-founding 23andMe, a consumer genetic data company.
16. Karl Mecklenburg
1960-. (aged 66)
American football player
Karl Bernard Mecklenburg, nicknamed "the Albino Rhino", is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
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17. David Soul
1943-2024 (aged 81)
stage actor
television director
director
actor
singer-songwriter
David Soul was an American-British actor and singer. With a career spanning five decades, he rose to prominence for portraying Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the American television series Starsky & Hutch from 1975 to 1979. His other notable roles included Joshua Bolt on Here Come the Brides from 1968 to 1970 and as the lead actor in the 1979...
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18. Mary Hart
1950-. (aged 76)
actor
beauty pageant contestant
journalist
Mary Hart is an American television personality. She was the host (1982–2011) of the syndicated gossip and entertainment round-up television program Entertainment Tonight. She was Miss South Dakota 1970.
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19. Joe Foss
1915-2003 (aged 88)
writer
military officer
aircraft pilot
politician
Joseph Jacob Foss was a United States Marine Corps Major and a leading Marine fighter ace in World War II. He received the Medal of Honor in recognition of his role in air combat during the Guadalcanal campaign. In postwar years, he was an Air National Guard Brigadier General, served as the 20th Governor of South Dakota (1955–1959), president of...
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20. Myron Floren
1919-2005 (aged 86)
musician
Myron Floren was an American musician best known as the accordionist on The Lawrence Welk Show between 1950 and 1982. Floren came to prominence primarily from his regular appearances on the weekly television series in which Lawrence Welk dubbed him as "the happy Norwegian," which was also attributed to Peter Friello.
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