11 Notable alumni of Rust College
Updated: June 13, 2026 EliteDegrees
Rust College is ranked #5,772 in the world and #1,506 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 11 notable alumni from Rust 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 Rust College won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. F.C. Richardson
1937-. (aged 89)
F.C. Richardson served as a president of Buffalo State College, a higher education institution that is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, from July 1, 1989, to January 1, 1996; and, following that, as chancellor of Indiana University Southeast from 1996 to 2002. Richardson was the first college president of African American heritage at Buffalo State.
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2. Susie Revels Cayton
1870-1945 (aged 75)
writer
Susie Revels Cayton was an American writer, editor, activist, and leader in the African-American community in Seattle at the start of the 20th century.
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3. Irvine Garland Penn
1867-1930 (aged 63)
journalist
writer
Irvine Garland Penn was an American educator, journalist, and lay leader in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was the author of The Afro-American Press and Its Editors, published in 1891, and a coauthor with Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, and Ferdinand Lee Barnett of The Reason Why the Colored American Is Not in the World's Columbia Exposition in 1893. In...
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4. Dembo M. Badjie
1952-. (aged 74)
diplomat
politician
Dembo M. Badjie is a retired Gambian civil servant and diplomat. He entered the Gambian Government in 1970, taking a break to study Political Science and Economics at Rust College, followed by postgraduate studies at Glasgow Caledonian University. He re-entered the civil service in 1978, serving in several ministries, including local government and education. In 1983, he had a daughter,...
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5. Godwin Maduka
1959-. (aged 67)
businessperson
Godwin Maduka //, is a Nigerian-American doctor, businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of Las Vegas Pain Institute and Medical Center. In 2008, he played a major role in the renaming of his hometown, from Nkerehi to Umuchukwu.
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6. Leslie B. McLemore
1940-. (aged 86)
politician
Leslie-Burl McLemore is an American civil rights activist and political leader from Walls, Mississippi. He served as interim mayor of Jackson following the death of Frank Melton on May 7, 2009 until the inauguration of re-elected mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr. on July 3, 2009.
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7. Ruby Elzy
1908-1943 (aged 35)
opera singer
actor
Ruby Pearl Elzy was an American operatic soprano. She appeared on stage and in films. She recorded on albums before her death in her 30s from surgery to remove a benign tumor.
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8. Anita Ward
1956-. (aged 70)
singer
Anita Ward is an American singer and musician from Memphis, Tennessee. Beginning her professional music career in the late 1970s, Ward is best known for her 1979 million-selling chart-topper R&B/Disco hit "Ring My Bell": it was no. 1 on the United States Hot 100, R&B, and Dance charts, and in the United Kingdom.
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9. Alvin Childress
1907-1986 (aged 79)
television actor
stage actor
actor
film actor
Alvin Childress was an American actor, who is best known for playing the cabdriver Amos Jones in the 1950s television comedy series Amos 'n' Andy.
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10. Willie Mitchell
1928-2010 (aged 82)
conductor
trumpeter
songwriter
bandleader
record producer
William Mitchell is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He is known primarily as a physical defensive defenceman. Mitchell played Junior A in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) and Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) before joining the college ranks with the Clarkson Knights of ECAC Hockey in 1997. He won an ECAC championship with Clarkson in 1999, while...
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11. Ida B. Wells
1862-1931 (aged 69)
human rights defender
writer
sociologist
suffragist
newspaperperson
Ida Bell Wells-Barnett was an American investigative journalist, sociologist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement. She was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Wells dedicated her career to combating prejudice and violence, and advocating for African-American equality—especially for women.
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