44 Notable alumni of North Carolina Central University
Updated: June 16, 2026 EliteDegrees
North Carolina Central University is ranked #1,784 in the world and #445 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 44 notable alumni from North Carolina Central 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 North Carolina Central University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Patrick Cole
1993-. (aged 33)
basketball player
Patrick Cole is an American former professional basketball player. He competed in college for Coppin State, Siena, and North Carolina Central.
2. Vivian Wilson Henderson
1923-1976 (aged 53)
university president
economist
Vivian Wilson Henderson was an American educator and human rights activist, and the eighth president of Clark Atlanta University. Vivian Wilson Henderson became President of Clark College in 1963, at the age of 40, where he would serve as president for 10 consecutive years.
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3. Terry Garrison
1949-. (aged 77)
politician
Terrence Edward Garrison is an American politician. He was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2016. A Democrat, he represented the 32nd district (including all of Vance and Warren counties, as well as part of Granville County from 2017 to 2023.
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4. Nathan Baskerville
1981-. (aged 45)
politician
Nathan Angus Baskerville is a former Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, who represented the 32nd district from 2013 to 2017. Baskerville also has his own law practice.
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5. Beverly McIver
1963-. (aged 63)
painter
professor
university teacher
visual artist
teacher
Beverly McIver is a contemporary artist, mostly known for her self-portraits, who was born and raised in Greensboro, NC. She is currently the Esbenshade Professor of the Practice of Art, Art History and Visual Studies at Duke University.
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6. Ida Stephens Owens
1939-2020 (aged 81)
physiologist
biochemist
Ida Stephens Owens was an American scientist known for her work with drug-detoxifying enzymes. She received her Ph.D from Duke University in 1967, making her one of the first two African Americans to receive a doctorate from the school. She spent her career at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she worked from 1968 to 2017 and pioneered the...
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7. Karamo Jawara
1991-. (aged 35)
basketball player
Karamo Jawara is a Gambian-Norwegian professional basketball player for Club Ourense Baloncesto of the LEB Oro.
8. Bobbie Richardson
1949-. (aged 77)
politician
Bobbie J. Richardson is an American politician. She is the former Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, former First Vice Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party and a former Democratic member of the North Carolina House of Representatives. She was appointed to represent the 7th District (which includes portions of Franklin and Nash counties) in January 2013 after...
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9. Toby Fitch
1946-. (aged 80)
politician
Milton Frederick "Toby" Fitch Jr. is a Democratic former member of the North Carolina State Senate. He is a retired North Carolina Superior Court Judge, serving from 2002 to 2018. Fitch also served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1985 to 2001 (70th district), prior to serving as a judge.
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10. Eleanor Kinnaird
1931-. (aged 95)
politician
Eleanor Gates 'Ellie' Kinnaird is a North Carolina politician who served as a Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's 23rd Senate district from January 1997 until her resignation in 2013. Her district included constituents in Orange and Chatham counties.
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11. Larry Black
1951-2006 (aged 55)
athletics competitor
sprinter
Larry Jeffery "Mutt" Black was an American sprinter, winner of the gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay and silver medal in the 200 m at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
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12. Leonardo Williams
restaurateur
politician
Leonardo Williams is an American politician, restaurateur, and former educator. He has served as the mayor of Durham, North Carolina since December 4, 2023. Prior to his term as mayor, Williams was a member of the Durham City Council. He and his wife, Zwelibanzi Moyo Williams, own multiple restaurants in Durham including the first full-service Zimbabwean restaurant in the United...
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13. Mickey Michaux
1930-. (aged 96)
lawyer
politician
Henry McKinley "Mickey" Michaux Jr. is an American civil rights activist and Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly. He represented the state's thirty-first House district from 1983 to 2019 and previously served from 1973 through 1977. The district included constituents in Durham County. Upon his retirement, Michaux was the longest-serving member of the North Carolina General Assembly. In...
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14. Julius L. Chambers
1936-2013 (aged 77)
lawyer
chancellor
Julius LeVonne Chambers was an American lawyer, civil rights leader and educator.
15. Daniel Terry Blue Jr
1949-. (aged 77)
lawyer
politician
Daniel Terry Blue Jr. is an American politician and attorney serving as a member of the North Carolina Senate, representing the state's 14th Senate district, and was the Senate minority leader.
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16. Jay Chaudhuri
1969-. (aged 57)
politician
Jay Chaudhuri is an American attorney, professor, politician and a Democratic member of the North Carolina Senate. First appointed to fill a vacancy in April 2016 caused by the resignation of Josh Stein (to run for North Carolina Attorney General), Chaudhuri was later elected and re-elected, becoming North Carolina's first Indian-American state legislator. In January 2019, he was elected by...
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17. Frank Ballance
1942-2019 (aged 77)
librarian
lawyer
teacher
politician
Frank Winston Ballance Jr. was an American politician and attorney who was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 2003 to 2004, representing North Carolina's 1st congressional district before resigning from his seat due to health issues.
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18. Michael R. Morgan
1955-. (aged 71)
judge
Michael Rivers Morgan is a judge from the state of North Carolina. Morgan served for more than six years as an associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Previously, he served as a judge on the 3rd division of North Carolina Superior Court for Judicial Circuit 10B, which covers Wake County.
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19. Dawson Odums
head coach
American football coach
Dawson Tayrone Odums is an American football coach. He was most recently the head coach at Norfolk State University, a position he held from 2021 to 2024. Odums served as the interim head football coach at Clark Atlanta University for one season, in 2004, and head football coach at Southern University and A&M College from 2013 to 2020.
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20. Stanton Kidd
1992-. (aged 34)
basketball player
Stanton Kidd is an American professional basketball player for the Taipei Taishin Mars of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL). He played college basketball for South Plains College, North Carolina Central University and Colorado State before playing professionally in Belgium, Germany, Turkey and for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
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21. Jean Farmer-Butterfield
1947-. (aged 79)
politician
Jean Farmer-Butterfield is an American politician who served as a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives for the 24th district from January 2003 to July 2020.
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22. J. A. Preston
1932-. (aged 94)
film actor
television actor
stage actor
James Allen Preston is a retired American actor. Preston is best known for portraying judge Colonel Randolph in the movie A Few Good Men and for his role as Ozzie Cleveland on the NBC prime-time television series Hill Street Blues. He played Conn MacCleary in the movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.
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23. Mike Easley
1950-. (aged 76)
lawyer
politician
Michael Francis Easley is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 72nd governor of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009. He is the first governor of North Carolina to have been convicted of a felony. The conviction was later expunged by the Chief Judge of the Superior Court of Wake County. A member of the Democratic Party, Easley...
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24. Tressie McMillan Cottom
university teacher
sociologist
Tressie McMillan Cottom is an American writer, sociologist, and professor. She is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science (SILS) and an affiliate of the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life (CITAP) at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is also an opinion columnist at The New York Times.
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25. Morris Davis
1958-. (aged 68)
administrative law judge
university teacher
politician
air force officer
Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces
Morris Durham "Moe" Davis is an American retired U.S. Air Force colonel, attorney, educator, politician, and former administrative law judge.
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26. Ernie Barnes
1938-2009 (aged 71)
painter
American football player
Ernest Eugene Barnes Jr. was an American artist, well known for his unique style of elongated characters and movement. He was also a professional football player, actor and author.
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27. Maynard Jackson
1938-2003 (aged 65)
politician
Maynard Holbrook Jackson Jr. was an American attorney and politician who served as the 54th mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, from 1974 to 1982, and again as the city's 56th mayor from 1990 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African-American mayor of Atlanta and of any major city in the South; Jackson's three terms made...
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28. G. K. Butterfield
1947-. (aged 79)
lawyer
judge
politician
George Kenneth Butterfield Jr. is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 1st congressional district from 2004 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected in a special election after the resignation of Frank Ballance.
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29. April Parker Jones
film actor
actor
television actor
April Parker Jones is an American television actress, best known for her roles as Darcy Hawkins in the CBS post-apocalyptic drama series Jericho from 2006 to 2008, and as Natalie Henning in the Oprah Winfrey Network prime time soap opera, If Loving You Is Wrong (2014–2020). In 2018, she starred in the CW superhero series, Supergirl as Colonel Lauren Haley.
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30. Kim Coles
1962-. (aged 64)
television producer
television actor
actor
film actor
Kimberly Coles is an American actress and comedian. She is known for her roles as an original cast member on the variety show In Living Color (1990–1991) and as Synclaire James-Jones on the sitcom Living Single (1993–1998), which both aired on Fox. She was the host of BET's game show Pay It Off in 2009. With Erika Alexander, Kim currently...
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31. 9th Wonder
1975-. (aged 51)
disc jockey
rapper
record producer
music executive
Patrick Denard Douthit, better known as 9th Wonder, is an American record producer, record executive, and DJ from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who is also teaching faculty at North Carolina Central University and Duke University, where he collaborates with Professor Mark Anthony Neal.
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32. Vernon Jones
1960-. (aged 66)
politician
Vernon Angus Jones is an American politician who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1993 to 2001 and from 2017 to 2021. In 2021 he switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. He is a candidate to be Georgia Secretary of State.
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33. William Barber II
1963-. (aged 63)
priest
politician
William J. Barber II is an American Protestant minister, social activist, professor in the Practice of Public Theology and Public Policy and founding director of the Center for Public Theology & Public Policy at Yale Divinity School. He is the president and senior lecturer at Repairers of the Breach and co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for...
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34. Ivan Dixon
1931-2008 (aged 77)
stage actor
film director
television actor
film producer
film actor
Ivan Nathaniel Dixon III was an American actor, director, and producer best known for his series role in the 1960s sitcom Hogan's Heroes, and for his starring roles in the 1964 independent drama Nothing But a Man and the 1967 television film The Final War of Olly Winter. In addition, he directed many episodes of television series.
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35. Herman Boone
1935-2019 (aged 84)
American football coach
coach
Herman Ike Boone was an American high school football coach who coached the 1971 T. C. Williams High School football team to a 13–0 season, state championship, and national runner-up. That season later served as the basis for the film Remember the Titans in 2000, in which Boone was portrayed by actor Denzel Washington.
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36. Marvin W. Lucas
1941-. (aged 85)
politician
Marvin Willis Lucas Jr. is a Democratic former member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, who represented the 17th and later 42nd districts from 2001 until 2025. His district includes constituents in Cumberland County. He serves as the House Democratic Conference Co-Chair. Lucas is a retired school principal from Spring Lake, North Carolina. Lucas is African-American.
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37. Larry Hall
1955-. (aged 71)
politician
Larry Dwight Hall is an American politician. A longtime member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, he served as Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs under Governor Roy Cooper from 2017 through January 2021.
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38. Eva M. Clayton
1934-. (aged 92)
politician
director
Eva Clayton is an American politician from North Carolina. On taking her seat in the United States House of Representatives following a special election in 1992, Clayton became the first African American to represent North Carolina in the House since George Henry White was elected to his second and last term in 1898. She was re-elected and served for five...
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39. Millie Dunn Veasey
1918-2018 (aged 100)
military personnel
Millie Dunn Veasey was an American veteran, who served from 1942 to 1945 in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) and the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC).
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40. Arenda L. Wright Allen
1960-. (aged 66)
military officer
lawyer
judge
Arenda Lauretta Wright Allen is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. She formerly worked as an Assistant United States Attorney and a Federal Public Defender in Norfolk, Virginia.
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41. André Leon Talley
1948-2022 (aged 74)
journalist
autobiographer
André Leon Talley was an American fashion journalist, stylist, creative director, author, and editor-at-large of Vogue magazine. He was the magazine's fashion news director from 1983 to 1987, its first African-American male creative director from 1988 to 1995, and then its editor-at-large from 1998 to 2013. Often regarded as a fashion icon, he was known for supporting emerging designers and...
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42. Barry Black
1948-. (aged 78)
chaplain
military officer
Seventh-day Adventist minister
Barry Clayton Black is the 62nd chaplain of the United States Senate. He began serving as Senate chaplain on June 27, 2003, becoming the first African American and first Seventh-day Adventist to hold the office.
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43. Elwood Robinson
1955-. (aged 71)
academic administrator
psychologist
Elwood L. Robinson is an American academic, university administrator and clinical psychologist currently serving as the 13th Chancellor of Winston-Salem State University. He previously served as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Cambridge College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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44. Rossie D. Alston, Jr
1957-. (aged 69)
judge
Rossie David Alston Jr. is an American attorney and judge who is a district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2019.
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