34 Notable alumni of Emporia State University
Updated: June 14, 2026 EliteDegrees
Emporia State University is ranked #2,376 in the world and #610 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 34 notable alumni from Emporia State 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 Emporia State University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. John Conover Nichols
1896-1945 (aged 49)
lawyer
politician
John Conover Nichols was an American lawyer, World War I veteran, and politician who served four terms as a U.S. Representative from Oklahoma from 1935 to 1943.
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2. Minnie Steckel
1890-1952 (aged 62)
academic administrator
clubwoman
head teacher
school psychologist
women's rights activist
Minnie Steckel was an American teacher, psychologist, clubwoman, and an activist involved in the women's poll tax repeal movement. Steckel began her career as a school teacher and worked her way up to school principal, superintendent and school psychologist, earning her bachelor's, master's and PhD degrees. From 1932 until her death in 1952, she was the dean of women and...
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3. Roy Evans
1874-1915 (aged 41)
baseball player
Robert Roy Evans was an American baseball player, a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He pitched from 1897 to 1903 for six different franchises. He was a graduate of Emporia State University. He was best known for scamming teams out of their money.
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4. Edward Herbert Rees
1886-1969 (aged 83)
lawyer
politician
Edward Herbert Rees was a U.S. representative from Kansas.
5. Gene Johnson
1902-1989 (aged 87)
basketball coach
Eugene Raymond Johnson was an American football and basketball coach. He was born and raised in Hartford, KS and is a graduate of Hartford High School. Some sources list him as the head coach of the 1936 United States Olympic basketball team and other sources give that honor to Jimmy Needles and state that Johnson was the assistant coach. His...
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6. James Dean Pruner
1951-1987 (aged 36)
poet
painter
James Dean Pruner was an American painter, printmaker, draftsman, zinemaker, sculptor, and poet. Born in Lyons, Kansas, he also lived in Hays, Ellinwood, St. John, and in rural Stafford County, Kansas, where he farmed and maintained a studio. His works include a diverse range of subjects and styles, but with several consistent themes, including human relationships, animals and the land,...
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7. Andy Tompkins
1947-. (aged 79)
John Andrew Tompkins is an American educator in Kansas. Prior to his previous post at Wichita State University, he served as interim president at Fort Hays State, as well as the president of the Kansas Board of Regents from 2010 to 2015. Tompkins was a professor and dean at Pittsburg State University two different times, and served as a superintendent...
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8. Dale Emerson Saffels
1921-2002 (aged 81)
lawyer
judge
politician
Dale Emerson Saffels was an American lawyer, legislator, and United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas.
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9. Bill Tidwell
1932-2023 (aged 91)
athletics competitor
track and field coach
Billy Dale Tidwell was an American university sports administrator and former college track and field and cross country coach. Tidwell served as Emporia State University's athletic director from 1971 to 1979, and coached track and field, as well as cross country from 1979 until 1984 after his retirement as athletics director.
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10. Don Dennis
1942-2007 (aged 65)
baseball player
Donald Ray Dennis was an American middle relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played in 1965 and 1966 for the St. Louis Cardinals. Dennis batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Uniontown, Kansas.
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11. L. M. Gensman
1878-1954 (aged 76)
lawyer
politician
Lorraine Michael Gensman was a U.S. representative from Oklahoma.
12. Edward H. Hammond
1944-. (aged 82)
teacher
Edward H. Hammond is an American educator and former president of Fort Hays State University. Prior to his position at Fort Hays State, Hammond served in student affairs at various institutions including Seton Hall University and the University of Louisville. Hammond completed just two months shy of 28 years, making him the longest serving president at Fort Hays State and...
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13. Bob Fornelli
1966-. (aged 60)
Robert William Fornelli is a retired American college baseball coach, who coached at Pittsburg State University from 2019 to 2025. Previously, Fornelli coached at his alma mater, Emporia State University, from 2004 to 2018 where he guided the Hornets to five Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association regular season championships and two conference tournament championships, 13 trips to the NCAA Tournament, two...
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14. Jacqueline Vietti
1948-. (aged 78)
academic administrator
Jacqueline A. Vietti is an American retired educator, most notably serving as Butler Community College's president in El Dorado, Kansas, for nearly two decades. Besides serving as president of Butler, Vietti served as Dean of Instruction at Labette Community College in Kansas, Emporia State University's interim president from June to December 2015, and was Kansas City Kansas Community College's acting...
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15. William S. Hill
1886-1972 (aged 86)
superintendent
politician
William Silas Hill was a U.S. representative from Colorado for nine terms. His career was largely focused on agriculture. He studied at the Colorado State College of Agriculture, was a farmer, secretary of the Colorado State Farm Bureau, and while a congressman worked on agricultural issues.
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16. Homer Woodson Hargiss
1887-1978 (aged 91)
head coach
athletics competitor
baseball player
basketball coach
Homer Woodson "Bill" Hargiss was an American athlete and coach. He played American football and basketball and also competed in track and field events. Additionally, Hargis coached athletics at several colleges in the states of Kansas and Oregon. As an American football coach during the sport's early years, Hargis was an innovator. He was among few coaches in using the...
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17. Jory Collins
1978-. (aged 48)
basketball coach
Jory Michael Collins is an American women's college basketball coach currently serving as the head coach for the North Dakota State program. From 2010 until 2018, Collins was the head coach at Emporia State University. Collins led the Emporia State Lady Hornets to eight consecutive winning seasons. Collins is the second winningest coach in Emporia State history with a record...
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18. Jeff Longbine
1962-. (aged 64)
politician
Jeffrey S. Longbine is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Kansas Senate, representing the 17th district from 2010 to 2025. Longbine served as Vice President of the Senate from 2017 to 2021. He did not seek re-election in 2024.
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19. Karl C. King
1897-1974 (aged 77)
politician
Karl Clarence King was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
20. Kathryn O'Loughlin McCarthy
1894-1952 (aged 58)
lawyer
politician
Kathryn Ellen O'Loughlin was a U.S. representative from Kansas. After her election, she was married to Daniel M. McCarthy, who served in the Kansas State Senate, and thereupon served under the name of Kathryn O'Loughlin McCarthy. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Kansas.
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21. Garin Higgins
1969-. (aged 57)
American football player
Garin Higgins is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for Emporia State University, a position he has held since 2007. Higgins previously served as the head football coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State University from 2000 to 2004. His Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers finished as runners-up in the NAIA Football National Championship in...
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22. Evan Lindquist
1936-2023 (aged 87)
engraver
Evan Lindquist was an American artist and printmaker who was appointed to be the first Artist Laureate for the State of Arkansas. He concentrated on the medium of copperplate engraving for more than 50 years. His compositions are memorable for their emphasis on calligraphic lines.
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23. Gary Sherrer
1940-. (aged 86)
politician
Gary Sherrer is an American former politician. He was the 45th Lieutenant Governor of Kansas from 1996 to 2003. He is an alumnus of Emporia State University.
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24. Walter A. Huxman
1887-1972 (aged 85)
lawyer
judge
Walter Augustus Huxman was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 27th governor of Kansas and a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
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25. Roscoe Cartwright
1919-1974 (aged 55)
military personnel
military officer
Roscoe Conklin "Rock" Cartwright was the United States' second-ever African American U.S. Army brigadier general, third-ever black American U.S. general officer, and the first black field artilleryman promoted to brigadier general.
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26. Sam V. Stewart
1872-1939 (aged 67)
lawyer
judge
politician
Samuel Vernon Stewart was an American attorney and Democratic Party politician, an attorney, former Montana Supreme Court Justice and the sixth Governor of Montana.
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27. John Doll
1957-. (aged 69)
politician
John Doll is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Kansas House of Representatives, representing the 123rd district from 2013 to 2017, and of the Kansas Senate, representing the 39th district from 2017 to 2025. He ran for Congress to represent Kansas's 1st congressional district in 2006 as a Democrat. Sometime between 2006 and 2012 he...
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28. Fred Kipp
1931-. (aged 95)
baseball player
Fred Leo Kipp played professional baseball for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. He is the last living player to play for both the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees.
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29. Panayiotis Zavos
1944-. (aged 82)
biologist
Panayiotis Michael Zavos, or Panos Zavos (Πάνος Ζαβός, pronounced [zaˈvos]), is a physiologist who was born in Cyprus and later emigrated to the United States. Zavos has been the subject of controversy for making unsubstantiated claims that he can clone human beings.
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30. Al Feuerbach
1948-. (aged 78)
athletics competitor
Allan "Al" Dean Feuerbach is a former American track and field athlete. He competed in the shot put at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics and finished in fifth and fourth place, respectively. He missed the 1980 Games due to the boycott by the United States. He did however receive one of 461 Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the athletes.
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31. Henry Roe Cloud
1884-1950 (aged 66)
pedagogue
Presbyterian minister
writer
Henry Roe Cloud was a Ho-Chunk Native American, enrolled in the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, who served as an educator, college administrator, U.S. federal government official (in the Office of Indian Affairs), Presbyterian minister, and reformer.
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32. Ross Bjork
1972-. (aged 54)
sporting director
Ross Bjork is the athletics director for The 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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33. William Coffin Coleman
1870-1957 (aged 87)
businessperson
inventor
politician
William Coffin Coleman was a businessman, the American founder of the Coleman Company, a maker of camping equipment, and a politician. He served as the Mayor of Wichita, Kansas, from 1923 to 1924.
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34. Vicki Myron
1947-. (aged 79)
writer
librarian
Vicki Myron is an American author and librarian. Director of the Spencer Public Library for more than 20 years, she is best known for her book Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, co-written with Bret Witter. It sold more than one million copies internationally and was on bestseller lists for more than six months. The book is...
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