72 Notable alumni of Bucknell University
Updated: June 13, 2026 EliteDegrees
Bucknell University is 1095st in the world, 1st in North America, and 286st in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 72 notable alumni from Bucknell 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 Bucknell University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Bob Keegan
1920-2001 (aged 81)
baseball player
Robert Charles Keegan was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox from 1953 to 1958. A native of Rochester, New York, he attended Bucknell University and performed World War II service in the United States Army before being signed by New York Yankees scout Lou Maguolo. His professional career began in 1946 in the...
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2. Adam Martin Wyant
1869-1935 (aged 66)
American football player
lawyer
politician
Adam Martin Wyant was an American politician who served as Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. He served six terms, a total of twelve years, in the House.
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3. William Shadrack Shallenberger
1839-1914 (aged 75)
politician
William Shadrack Shallenberger was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
4. John Howard Harris
1847-1925 (aged 78)
academic
John Howard Harris was president of Bucknell University from 1889 to 1919.
5. Ruth McNamee
1921-2006 (aged 85)
politician
Ruth Braden McNamee was an American politician.
6. Paul G. Smith
1881-1971 (aged 90)
athlete
Paul Garfield Smith was an American college football and college baseball coach from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
7. Brynja McDivitt Booth
1972-. (aged 54)
lawyer
judge
Brynja McDivitt Booth is an American lawyer who has served a justice of the Supreme Court of Maryland since 2019.
8. Ward R. Bliss
1855-1905 (aged 50)
editor
politician
Ward Raymond Bliss was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for Delaware County from 1889 to 1906 and as Majority Leader from 1903 to 1904.
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9. Jacob Thompson Baker
1847-1919 (aged 72)
lawyer
politician
Jacob Thompson Baker was an American attorney, banker, and Democratic Party politician who represented New Jersey's 2nd congressional district for one term from 1913 to 1915. He also served as the first mayor of Wildwood, New Jersey.
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10. Charles E. Bunnell
1878-1956 (aged 78)
judge
Charles Ernest Bunnell was a judge for the Alaska Territory and the University of Alaska's first president, from 1921 to 1949. He ran for Alaska Territorial Delegate to Congress on the Democratic Party ticket in 1914, but was defeated. He was appointed to his judgeship January 15, 1915 by US President Woodrow Wilson, serving as judge on the US Territorial...
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11. Lemuel Amerman
1846-1897 (aged 51)
lawyer
politician
Lemuel Amerman was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from 1891 to 1893.
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12. George K. James
1904-1994 (aged 90)
baseball player
George Kepford "Lefty" James was an American football and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at Cornell University from 1947 to 1960. Four of his teams won unofficial Ivy League titles and he ran Cornell's physical training program during World War II.
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13. Charles I. Carpenter
1906-1994 (aged 88)
military officer
Christian minister
Rev. Charles Irving Carpenter was an American pastor and the first Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force.
14. Ivor David Fenton
1889-1986 (aged 97)
physician
medical intern
politician
Ivor David Fenton was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
15. Edward M. Brawley
1851-1923 (aged 72)
Christian minister
educator
journalist
Edward McKnight Brawley was an American educator and minister in North Carolina and South Carolina. He was the first African American to attend Bucknell University. He was an important figure in the development of the African-American church in South Carolina and the American southeast and helped found numerous churches and schools, including the Benedict Institute and Morris College. He served...
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16. Kevin Eiben
1979-. (aged 47)
Canadian football player
Kevin Eiben is a Canadian former professional football linebacker and coach. He was drafted 26th overall by the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in the 2001 CFL draft and spent the first 11 years of his playing career with the team, followed by one season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He is a four-time Grey Cup champion after...
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17. Charles Miller
1843-1927 (aged 84)
businessperson
Charles Miller was a Pennsylvania businessman, philanthropist and Major General of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. He commanded the organization now known as the 28th Infantry Division and was a founder of the Galena-Signal Oil Company, which later became part of the Standard Oil combine, and then part of the corporations now known as Texaco and Valvoline.
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18. Weldon Wyckoff
1893-1961 (aged 68)
baseball player
John Weldon Wyckoff was a professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of six seasons in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics (1913–16) and Boston Red Sox (1917-18). Wyckoff batted and threw right-handed. In some baseball resources, he is referred as John Wyckoff.
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19. P. George Benson
1946-. (aged 80)
university teacher
academic administrator
academic
Paul George Benson is an American academic, and the former President of the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina.
20. Andrew Copelan
head coach
Andrew "Andy" Copelan is the head coach of the Waterdogs Lacrosse Club. Previously, Copelan was the head coach of Fairfield University from 2008 to 2019. Prior to that, Copelan was an assistant coach and offensive coordinator at the Maryland Terrapins from 2006 to 2008. He was the head coach at Marist College from 2004 to 2005, where he led the...
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21. Bryan Cohen
1989-. (aged 37)
basketball player
Bryan Cohen is an American-Israeli former basketball player. He played the shooting guard position. He won a gold medal with Team USA in the 2009 Maccabiah Games. He played college basketball for the Bucknell Bison and was the Patriot League Defensive Player of Year in 2010, 2011, and 2012—the only player in league history to win the award three times....
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22. Evan Coyne Maloney
1972-. (aged 54)
documentary filmmaker
film director
Evan Coyne Maloney, is an inactive American documentary filmmaker, the editor of the now defunct website Brain Terminal and a video blogger. A New York Sun profile in 2005 said that Maloney "may very well be America's most promising conservative documentary filmmaker." He has been described as the conservative answer to Michael Moore. Since 2013, Maloney has not been active...
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23. Ken Jenkins
1959-. (aged 67)
American football player
Kenneth Walton 'Kenny' Jenkins is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL).
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24. Paul Shearer Althouse
1889-1954 (aged 65)
opera singer
music educator
Paul Shearer Althouse was an American opera singer. He began his career as a lyric tenor with a robust Italianate sound, in roles including Cavaradossi in Tosca, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, and Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana. He later branched out into the dramatic tenor repertoire, finding success in portraying Wagnerian heroes. He sang with the Metropolitan Opera in New York...
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25. Mike Lookingland
1983-. (aged 43)
association football player
association football coach
Mike Lookingland is an American soccer defender who played for the Milwaukee Wave of the Major Arena Soccer League in the 2014–2015 season. He was the 2012 Major Indoor Soccer League Defender of the Year.
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26. Stephen Maranian
military officer
Stephen J. Maranian is a retired major general who served in the United States Army from 1988 to 2023. Commissioned as a Field Artillery officer, Maranian served continuously on active duty, commanding from the platoon to the two-star level. In his final assignment he served as commanding general of the 56th Artillery Command in Mainz-Kastel, Germany from 2021 to 2023....
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27. Christopher A. Walsh
1957-. (aged 69)
neurologist
Christopher A. Walsh is the Bullard Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, Chief of the Division of Genetics at Children's Hospital Boston, Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the former Director of the Harvard–MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology. His research focuses on genetics of human cortical development and somatic mutations contributions to human brain diseases.
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28. Nancy Wood
1936-2013 (aged 77)
poet
writer
photographer
Nancy Wood was an American author, poet, and photographer. Wood published numerous collections of poetry as well as children's novels, fiction, and nonfiction. Major themes and influences in her work were the Native American cultures of the Southwestern United States.
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29. Elizabeth Fiedler
1980-. (aged 46)
politician
Elizabeth A. Fiedler is an American politician who serves as a Democratic representative for the 184th district of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
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30. Christopher McNaughton
1982-. (aged 44)
basketball player
Christopher George McNaughton is a German-American (with an American father and German mother, respectively) professional basketball player who last played for MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). He competed with the German national basketball team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
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31. Matt Daley
1982-. (aged 44)
baseball player
Matthew Thomas Daley is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Colorado Rockies and the New York Yankees. He retired after the 2014 season and is now a professional scout for the Yankees.
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32. Nana Foulland
1995-. (aged 31)
basketball player
Nana F. Foulland is a former American professional basketball player who last played for Boulazac Basket Dordogne of LNB Pro B. He played college basketball for Bucknell University, where he was named Patriot League Player of the Year and Patriot Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.
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33. Cameron Ayers
1991-. (aged 35)
basketball player
Cameron Alexander Ayers is an American basketball coach and former player, who is currently an assistant coach at Lafayette College.
34. Shelly Simonds
1967-. (aged 59)
politician
Shelly Anne Simonds is an American educator and politician serving in the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 70th district. She was first elected in 2019. During the 2013 and 2017 elections, Simonds was Democratic candidate for Virginia's 94th House of Delegates district in Newport News, Virginia.
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35. Charles Francis Potter
1885-1962 (aged 77)
priest
Charles Francis Potter was an American Unitarian minister, theologian, and author.
36. Jean Byrne
1926-2015 (aged 89)
teacher
Jean Byrne was an American educator who was the first lady of New Jersey from 1974 to 1982 during the tenure of her former husband, two-term Governor Brendan Byrne.
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37. Lewis Merrill
1834-1896 (aged 62)
military officer
Lewis Merrill was a career officer in the United States Army noted for his work in resisting the early Ku Klux Klan organization in several Southern states. During the American Civil War, he combated guerrillas in Missouri.
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38. Bruce Lundvall
1935-2015 (aged 80)
music executive
record producer
Bruce Lundvall was an American record company executive, best known for his period as the President and CEO of the Blue Note Label Group, reporting directly to Eric Nicoli, the Chief Executive Officer of EMI Group.
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39. Kristen Henderson
singer-songwriter
Kristen Ellis-Henderson is a founding member of the all-female rock band Antigone Rising. She is also the author of a memoir, Times Two: Two Women in Love and the Happy Family They Made, and a children's book, All Moms. She and her wife, Sarah Kate Ellis, are vocal advocates on LGBT issues, especially marriage and family equality. In 2013, Henderson...
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40. Conor O'Brien
1988-. (aged 38)
association football player
Conor Stephen O'Brien is an American soccer player.
41. Thomas Richards
1943-. (aged 83)
politician
Thomas S. Richards is an American lawyer, business executive and politician who served as the 66th and 68th Mayor of Rochester, New York.
42. David Nasaw
1945-. (aged 81)
historian
biographer
writer
David Nasaw is an American author, biographer and historian who specializes in the cultural, social, and business history of early twentieth-Century America. Nasaw is on the faculty of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where he is the Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Professor of History.
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43. Abdullah Anderson
1996-. (aged 30)
American football player
Abdullah Anderson Jr. is an American professional football defensive end. He played college football for the Bucknell Bison. Anderson signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and spent three seasons with them before playing with several other NFL teams.
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44. Susan J. Crawford
1947-. (aged 79)
judge
Susan Jean Crawford is an American lawyer, who was appointed the Convening Authority for the Guantanamo military commissions, on February 7, 2007. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates appointed Crawford to replace John D. Altenburg.
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45. Zach Thomas
1996-. (aged 30)
basketball player
Zachary Ryan Thomas is an American former professional basketball player for Keravnos of the Cypriot League. He played college basketball for Bucknell University. Thomas was a graduate assistant coach at the University of Kentucky.
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46. Rob Andrews
1957-. (aged 69)
politician
Robert Ernest Andrews is an American politician who served as a U.S. representative for New Jersey's 1st congressional district from 1990 to 2014. The district included most of Camden County and parts of Burlington County and Gloucester County. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
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47. Peter Balakian
1951-. (aged 75)
university teacher
writer
historian
non-fiction writer
poet
Peter Balakian is an American poet, prose writer, and scholar. He is the author of many books including the 2016 Pulitzer prize winning book of poems Ozone Journal, the memoir Black Dog of Fate, winner of the PEN/Albrand award in 1998 and The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response, winner of the 2005 Raphael Lemkin Prize and a...
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48. Diane Allen
1948-. (aged 78)
journalist
politician
Diane B. Allen is an American politician and television journalist. A member of the Republican Party, she represented the 7th legislative district in the New Jersey Assembly from 1996 to 1998 and New Jersey Senate from 1998 to 2018. Allen was the senate majority whip from 1998 to 2001, deputy Republican conference leader from 2002 to 2003, and later deputy...
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49. John S. Kolasheski
1966-. (aged 60)
military personnel
John Stephen Kolasheski is a United States Army officer who was the commanding general of V Corps from 2020 to 2024.
50. Julién Davenport
1995-. (aged 31)
American football player
Julién Raymond Davenport is an American professional football offensive tackle. He played college football at Bucknell and was selected by the Houston Texans in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL draft. Davenport has also played for the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts.
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51. Robert Lowry
1826-1899 (aged 73)
composer
hymnwriter
theologian
writer
Robert Lowry was an American preacher who became a popular writer of gospel music in the mid-to-late 19th century. His best-known hymns include "Shall We Gather at the River", "Christ Arose!", "How Can I Keep from Singing?" and "Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus".
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52. David Kahn
1930-2024 (aged 94)
historian
journalist
cryptographer
writer
David Kahn was an American historian, journalist, and writer. He wrote extensively on the history of cryptography and military intelligence.
53. Janet Woodcock
1948-. (aged 78)
pharmacologist
researcher
Janet Woodcock is an American physician who served as Principal Deputy Commissioner of Food and Drugs from February 2022 until February 2024, having previously served as Acting Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). She joined the FDA in 1986, and has held a number of senior leadership positions there, including terms as the Director of Center for...
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54. Sunil Gulati
1959-. (aged 67)
functionary
economist
Sunil Gulati is an American sports administrator who presided over the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) from 2006 to 2018. On April 19, 2013, he was elected to a four-year term on the FIFA Council. In March 2014, he was unanimously reelected to a record third four-year term as USSF president, having been elected initially in 2006 and reelected again...
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55. Harold Meij
1963-. (aged 63)
businessperson
Harold George Meij is a Dutch businessman. He was the president of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) from May 2018 until October 2020.
56. Nate Sestina
1997-. (aged 29)
basketball player
Nathan Michael Sestina is an American professional basketball player for Olimpia Milano of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Bucknell Bison and Kentucky Wildcats.
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57. Jessica Livingston
1971-. (aged 55)
writer
businessperson
journalist
entrepreneur
Jessica Livingston is an American investor, writer, and podcaster. She is best known for being a founding partner of the seed stage venture firm Y Combinator.
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58. J. G. Hertzler
1950-. (aged 76)
voice actor
television actor
actor
film actor
John Garman Hertzler Jr. is an American actor, author, screenwriter, and activist best known for his role on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the Klingon General (later Chancellor) Martok, whom he portrayed from 1995 until the series' end in 1999.
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59. Theodore Van Kirk
1921-2014 (aged 93)
military personnel
navigator
Theodore Jerome "Dutch" Van Kirk was a navigator in the United States Army Air Forces, best known as the navigator of the Enola Gay when it dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Upon the death of fellow crewman Morris Jeppson on March 30, 2010, Van Kirk became the last surviving member of the Enola Gay crew.
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60. Jessica Jackley
1977-. (aged 49)
manager
Jessica Erin Jackley is an American entrepreneur who co-founded Kiva and later ProFounder, two organizations that promote development through microloans.
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61. Gbenga Akinnagbe
1978-. (aged 48)
actor
television actor
screenwriter
film actor
stage actor
Olugbenga Enitan Temitope Akinnagbe is an American actor and writer, best known for his roles as Chris Partlow on the HBO series The Wire and as Larry Brown on the HBO series The Deuce.
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62. Mike Muscala
1991-. (aged 35)
basketball player
basketball coach
Michael Peter Muscala is an American professional basketball coach and former player who currently serves as an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played eleven seasons in the NBA for the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards, and Detroit Pistons. He played college basketball for...
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63. Marty Makary
medical writer
physician
surgeon
Martin Adel Makary is a British-American surgeon, professor, author, and medical commentator who has served as the 27th commissioner of food and drugs since 2025. He practices surgical oncology and gastrointestinal laparoscopic surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, is Mark Ravitch Chair in Gastrointestinal Surgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and is the chief of Islet Transplant Surgery at Johns...
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64. Ralph Waite
1928-2014 (aged 86)
film actor
comedian
film director
television actor
director
Ralph Waite was an American actor, best known for his lead role as John Walton Sr. on The Waltons (1972–1981), which he occasionally directed. He later had recurring roles as two other heroic fathers; in NCIS as Jackson Gibbs, the father of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and in Bones, as Seeley Booth's grandfather.
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65. Les Moonves
1949-. (aged 77)
entrepreneur
chief executive officer
Leslie Roy Moonves is an American retired media executive who was the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation from 2006 until his resignation in September 2018 following numerous allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and abuse. He has been married to television personality Julie Chen since 2004.
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66. Jay Wright
1961-. (aged 65)
basketball coach
basketball player
Jerold Taylor "Jay" Wright Jr. is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach of Villanova University from 2001 until 2022. Wright led the Villanova Wildcats to six Big East Conference championships and 16 NCAA tournament appearances in 21 seasons as head coach. Under Wright, Villanova reached four Final Fours (2009, 2016, 2018, 2022) and won...
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67. Greg Schiano
1966-. (aged 60)
American football coach
American football player
Gregory Edward Schiano is an American football coach. He is currently the head football coach at Rutgers University, a position he held from 2001 to 2011 and resumed before the 2020 season. Schiano has the most wins in program history as head football coach of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team. He also served as the head coach for the...
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68. Philip Roth
1933-2018 (aged 85)
novelist
science fiction writer
university teacher
poet
essayist
Philip Milton Roth was an American novelist and short-story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophically and formally blurring the distinction between reality and fiction, for its "sensual, ingenious style" and for its provocative explorations of Jewish and American identity. He first gained attention with the 1959 short...
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69. Benjamin K. Focht
1863-1937 (aged 74)
journalist
publisher
editor
politician
Benjamin Kurtz Focht was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
70. Alexander McDonald
1832-1903 (aged 71)
diplomat
banker
politician
Alexander McDonald was a Republican politician who represented Arkansas in the United States Senate during the Reconstruction years from 1868 to 1871.
71. Timothy J. Keller
1950-2023 (aged 73)
university teacher
theologian
writer
non-fiction writer
priest
Timothy James Keller was an American Presbyterian pastor, Reformed theologian, and Christian apologist. He was the chairman and co-founder of Redeemer City to City, which trains pastors for service around the world. Keller was also the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and the author of The New York Times bestselling books The Prodigal God (2008),...
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72. Christy Mathewson
1880-1925 (aged 45)
baseball player
American football player
Christopher Mathewson, nicknamed "Big Six," "the Christian Gentleman," "Matty," and "the Gentleman's Hurler," was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Giants. He stood 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) tall and weighed 195 pounds (88 kg). He was among the most dominant pitchers in baseball history, and ranks in...
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