22 Notable alumni of Loras College
Updated: June 14, 2026 EliteDegrees
Loras College is 4933st in the world, 1st in North America, and 1305st in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 22 notable alumni from Loras College sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Loras College won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Shawn Hamerlinck
1980-. (aged 46)
politician
Shawn Hamerlinck served one term in the Iowa State Senate, representing the 42nd District. He lost re-election in 2012. Hamerlinck was named in a sexual harassment lawsuit, which claimed that Hamerlinck often commented about women's breasts
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2. Mike Connolly
1945-. (aged 81)
politician
Michael W. Connolly was the Iowa State Senator from the 14th District. He served in the Iowa Senate 1989 – 2008 and was an assistant majority leader.
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3. Patti Ruff
1972-. (aged 54)
politician
Patti Ruff is a former Democratic member of the Iowa House of Representatives, representing the 56th district. Before serving in the legislature, Ruff worked for Bunge North American, helping farmers sell and transport grain down the Mississippi River. She lost her seat in the 2016 general election.
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4. Michael Breitbach
1956-. (aged 70)
politician
Michael Breitbach is an American politician who served as a member of the Iowa Senate for the 28th district from 2013 to 2021. Breitbach was born in Manchester, Iowa and he resides in Strawberry Point, Iowa.
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5. Mike Blouin
1945-. (aged 81)
teacher
politician
Michael Thomas Blouin is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1979, representing Iowa's 2nd congressional district. He was a candidate in the 2006 race for Governor of Iowa but lost in the primary to Chet Culver.
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6. Robert W. Aschenbrener
1920-2009 (aged 89)
aircraft pilot
Robert Wayne Aschenbrener was an American fighter pilot and flying ace of World War II.
7. Tom Tauke
1950-. (aged 76)
lawyer
politician
Thomas Joseph Tauke is an American politician, lawyer, and corporate executive from Iowa. He is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, serving six terms from 1979 to 1991.
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8. Pam Jochum
1954-. (aged 72)
politician
Mary Pamela Jochum is an American politician who previously served as the Iowa State Senator from the 36th District until 2025 and former President of the Iowa Senate. A Democrat, she was a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from 1993 to 2009, when she became a member of the Iowa Senate.
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9. John Baxter
1963-. (aged 63)
American football coach
John Baxter is an American football coach. He is currently the special teams coordinator at Fresno State University. He previously served as special teams coordinator at the University of Southern California. He is also the founder of the education company Academic Gameplan, and author of the 2013 book I Hate School: How a College Football Coach Has Inspired Students to...
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10. Michael Joseph Melloy
1948-. (aged 78)
lawyer
judge
Michael Joseph Melloy is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
11. Kenneth M. Quinn
1942-. (aged 84)
diplomat
Kenneth M. Quinn is the former President of the World Food Prize Foundation and a former career U.S. Foreign Service Officer. He was the president of the foundation for 20 years from January 1st, 2000 to January 3rd, 2020. Before assuming that role, Quinn spent 32 years working for the U.S. State Department. He has served as the United States...
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12. Pat Murphy
1959-. (aged 67)
politician
Patrick Joseph Murphy is an American politician who served as Iowa State Representative from the 99th District and Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives; Murphy was also the Democratic nominee for Iowa's 1st congressional district in 2014. He also previously served as Minority Leader from 2003 to 2007. Murphy is a Democrat and served in the Iowa House after...
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13. Dennis Marion Schnurr
1948-. (aged 78)
Catholic priest
Catholic bishop
Dennis Marion Schnurr is an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Cincinnati in Ohio from 2009 to 2025. He served as Bishop of Duluth in Minnesota from 2001 to 2009.
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14. John Joseph Myers
1941-2020 (aged 79)
Catholic priest
Catholic bishop
John Joseph Myers was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Peoria in Illinois between 1990 and 2001, ecclesiastical superior of Turks and Caicos from 2001 to 2016 and as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark in New Jersey during the same period.
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15. Aloysius Schmitt
1909-1941 (aged 32)
Latin Catholic priest
military officer
Father Aloysius H. Schmitt was a Roman Catholic priest at the Archdiocese of Dubuque, who served as a chaplain in the United States Navy at the beginning of World War II.
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16. Rod Blum
1955-. (aged 71)
politician
business executive
Rodney Leland Blum is an American businessman and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Iowa's 1st congressional district from 2015 to 2019.
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17. Tom Miller
1944-. (aged 82)
lawyer
politician
Thomas John Miller is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 33rd Attorney General of Iowa from 1995 until his defeat in 2023. After the defeat of West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw in 2012 when running for reelection, Miller became the longest serving State Attorney General in the United States.
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18. Bill Lipinski
1937-. (aged 89)
politician
William Oliver Lipinski is an American politician and lobbyist who was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2005, representing a district in Chicago.
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19. Darin LaHood
1968-. (aged 58)
lawyer
politician
adjunct professor
Darin McKay LaHood is an American attorney and politician who has served as a U.S. representative from Illinois since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, LaHood has represented the 16th district since 2023, and previously represented the 18th district from 2015 to 2023, a district which was once represented by House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel. The son of...
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20. Chris Jans
1969-. (aged 57)
basketball player
head coach
basketball coach
Christopher Paul Jans is and American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team. Jans previously coached at New Mexico State, where he led the Aggies from 2017 to 2022. Jans is a graduate of Loras College, and hails from Fairbank, Iowa.
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21. Greg Gumbel
1946-2024 (aged 78)
journalist
sports commentator
Gregory Girard Gumbel was an American television sportscaster. He was best known for his various assignments for CBS Sports (most notably, the National Football League and NCAA basketball). Gumbel became the first African-American announcer to call play-by-play of a major sports championship in the United States when he announced Super Bowl XXXV for the CBS network in 2001. From 1998...
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22. Frank Quilici
1939-2018 (aged 79)
baseball player
Francis Ralph Quilici was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager who spent his entire Major League Baseball career with the Minnesota Twins. Quilici served the team for all or part of five years as an infielder, 1 1⁄2 years as a coach, and 3 1⁄2 years as manager, then spent six more years as a broadcaster for them....
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