58 Notable alumni of University of Missouri – Kansas City
Updated: June 13, 2026 EliteDegrees
University of Missouri – Kansas City is ranked #575 in the world and #178 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 58 notable alumni from University of Missouri – Kansas City sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with University of Missouri – Kansas City won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Mike Racy
Michael Racy is an American College Sports Leader, a Higher Education Attorney, and a former University Executive. Racy currently serves as the commissioner for the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. Prior to being appointed MIAA commissioner, Racy practiced law in the Kansas City metropolitan area, served as a vice president at the University of Central Missouri, and as a vice president...
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2. Kevin Corby
1991-. (aged 35)
association football player
Kevin Corby is an American soccer player. He was born and raised in the St. Louis area and attended St. Louis University High School while playing for various youth and amateur sides of local club powerhouse St. Louis Scott Gallagher. He began his college career with the Kentucky Wildcats before transferring to the University of Missouri-Kansas City for his final...
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3. Cameron S. Brown
1954-. (aged 72)
politician
Cameron S. Brown is an independent consultant and speaker, and a former Republican Party legislator from the U.S. state of Michigan having served two terms in the Michigan Senate.
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4. Avery Kier
1905-1987 (aged 82)
military personnel
Avery Raymond Kier was a United States Marine Corps aviator and general officer. During World War II he served as the commanding officer of VMSB-234 and towards the end of the war was a pioneer in the development of close air support for ground combat operations serving at both Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Following WW II, Kier served as the...
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5. Arnie Portocarrero
1931-1986 (aged 55)
baseball player
Arnold Mario Portocarrero was an American professional baseball player and right-handed pitcher who appeared in 166 games pitched in the major leagues over all or parts of seven seasons for the Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics and Baltimore Orioles. Born in New York City of Puerto Rican descent, he was listed as 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and...
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6. Randy D. Dunn
1982-. (aged 44)
politician
Randy D. Dunn is prominent political figure and community leader in Missouri. He is a former member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 23rd District. Dunn was first elected in 2012 at the age of 29 and was reelected in 2014 and 2016. He formerly worked as a staff member for US Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II and as...
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7. David Schafer
1955-. (aged 71)
installation artist
David Schafer is an American visual and sound artist based in Los Angeles. His practice integrates aural, textual, graphic and sculptural elements to create installations, public art and individual works that critics describe as immersive, spatial experiments. Schafer's approach combines self-consciously formalist aesthetics, a Pop Art sensibility, and postmodern Deconstructionist intent, often appropriating and reframing cultural motifs in order to...
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8. Scott Ferris
1877-1945 (aged 68)
lawyer
politician
Scott Ferris was a U.S. representative from Oklahoma.
9. Nancy B. Firestone
1951-2022 (aged 71)
judge
Nancy Beth Firestone was a judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims, appointed to that court in 1998 by President Bill Clinton.
10. William J. Randall
1909-2000 (aged 91)
lawyer
judge
politician
William Joseph Randall was a member of the United States House of Representatives. He was a member of the Democratic Party from Missouri.
11. Fernando J. Gaitan Jr
1948-. (aged 78)
lawyer
judge
journalist
Fernando Joe Gaitan Jr. is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
12. Steven D. Waldman
1951-. (aged 75)
anesthesiologist
Steven D. Waldman is a pain management specialist, author and a pioneer in the specialty of interventional pain management. He holds an academic appointment as Professor of Anesthesiology at Kansas City University where he currently serves as Senior Vice Provost of Strategic Initiatives.
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13. Edward H. Moore
1871-1950 (aged 79)
lawyer
farmer
husbandry worker
politician
Edward Hall Moore was an American politician who served as a U.S. senator from Oklahoma between 1943 and 1949 as a member of the Republican Party.
14. Allan J. Katz
1947-. (aged 79)
diplomat
Allan Jack Katz is a former City Commissioner of Tallahassee and American Ambassador to Portugal. President Barack Obama nominated Allan to be Ambassador of the United States of America to the Portuguese Republic in November 2009. Ambassador Allan Katz is a distinguished professor with the University of Missouri Kansas City Bloch School's Department of Public Affairs and the College of...
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15. Ross Rizley
1892-1969 (aged 77)
lawyer
judge
politician
Ross Rizley was an American politician and United States representative from Oklahoma and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.
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16. Gary A. Fenner
1947-. (aged 79)
lawyer
judge
Gary August Fenner is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
17. Janet E. Helms
university teacher
psychologist
Janet E. Helms is an American research psychologist known for her study of ethnic minority issues. A scholar, author and educator, she is most known for her racial identity theory that is applied to multiple disciplines, including education and law. She received the 2006 Award for Distinguished Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology from the American Psychological Association.
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18. Ronnie L. White
1953-. (aged 73)
lawyer
judge
Ronnie Lee White is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and a former Missouri Supreme Court judge.
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19. Sunny Sanwar
1989-. (aged 37)
television actor
painter
engineer
environmentalist
Sahibzada Sanwar Azam Sunny is a Bangladeshi-born American artist, environmental activist and entrepreneur. He became fluent in multiple languages and is one of the youngest artists to have a solo exhibition at the National Art Gallery with work in permanent collection at the Liberation War Museum. He finished four years of American high school in eight months with honours and...
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20. Reggie Hamilton
1989-. (aged 37)
basketball player
Reginald Lamont Hamilton Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. In 2011–12, his senior year at Oakland University, Hamilton averaged 26.2 points per game to lead all of NCAA Division I in scoring. He scored 2,188 points between his time spent at UMKC and Oakland.
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21. Martha Keys
1930-2024 (aged 94)
politician
Martha Elizabeth Keys was an American politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas from 1975 to 1979.
22. Karen McCarthy
1947-2010 (aged 63)
teacher
politician
Karen McCarthy was an American educator and politician. She served as the U.S. representative for the fifth district of Missouri from 1995 to 2005.
23. Trey McKinney-Jones
1990-. (aged 36)
basketball player
Trey McKinney-Jones is an American professional basketball player for Gunma Crane Thunders of the B.League. He played college basketball for the UMKC Kangaroos (now known as the Kansas City Roos) and the Miami Hurricanes.
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24. Antoine Rozner
1993-. (aged 33)
golfer
Antoine Rozner is a French professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. He has won three times on the tour, including wins at the Golf in Dubai Championship in December 2020 and the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in March 2021. He has also won twice on the second-tier Challenge Tour.
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25. Juliana Rotich
1977-. (aged 49)
social entrepreneur
Juliana Rotich is a Kenyan information technology professional, who has developed web tools for crowdsourcing crisis information and coverage of topics related to the environment. She is the co-founder of iHub, a collective tech space in Nairobi, Kenya, and of Ushahidi, open-source software for collecting and mapping information. She is a TED Senior Fellow.
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26. Bob Carpenter
1953-. (aged 73)
sports commentator
Bob Carpenter is an American former sportscaster who was the play-by-play announcer for Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals on MASN. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and graduated from McBride High School. Carpenter attended the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and later graduated with honors from the University of Missouri-Kansas City with a bachelor's degree in Radio-TV-Film.
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27. Donald Fehr
1948-. (aged 78)
trade unionist
Donald Martin Fehr is an American former sports executive and union leader. He was the fifth executive director of the NHL Players Association from 2010 to 2023. He became nationally prominent while serving as the executive director of the MLB Players Association from 1983 to 2009.
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28. Sharice Davids
1980-. (aged 46)
lawyer
politician
mixed martial arts fighter
Sharice Lynnette Davids is an American politician, attorney, and former mixed martial artist serving as the U.S. representative from Kansas's 3rd congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents a district that includes most of the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, including Kansas City, Overland Park, Prairie Village, Leawood, Lenexa, and Olathe.
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29. Clarence M. Kelley
1911-1997 (aged 86)
civil servant
special agent
Clarence Marion Kelley was an American law enforcement officer. He served as the Chief of the Kansas City Police Department in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1961 to 1973, and as the second director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1973 to 1978.
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30. Charles Evans Whittaker
1901-1973 (aged 72)
lawyer
judge
Charles Evans Whittaker was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1957 to 1962. After working in private practice in Kansas City, Missouri, he was nominated for the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated Whittaker to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit....
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31. Mary Colleen Daly
1962-. (aged 64)
economist
Mary Colleen Daly is an American economist, who became the 13th President and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on October 1, 2018. She serves on the Federal Reserve's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee on a rotating basis. Previously, Daly was the Executive Vice President and Director of Research of the Federal Reserve Bank of...
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32. Danny Carey
1961-. (aged 65)
drummer
Daniel Edwin Carey is an American drummer who is a member of the rock band Tool. He has also contributed to albums by artists such as Zaum, Green Jellö, Pigface, Skinny Puppy, Adrian Belew, Carole King, Collide, Meat Puppets, Lusk, and the Melvins.
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33. Harry S. Truman
1884-1972 (aged 88)
military officer
diarist
politician
judge
businessperson
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequently, Truman implemented the Marshall Plan in the aftermath of World War II to rebuild the economy of Western Europe, and established both the...
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34. John Carmack
1970-. (aged 56)
video game developer
video game director
television actor
engineer
computer scientist
John D. Carmack II is an American computer programmer and video game developer. He co-founded the video game company id Software and was the lead programmer of its 1990s games Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake, and their sequels. Carmack made innovations in 3D computer graphics, such as his Carmack's Reverse algorithm for shadow volumes.
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35. Stephen R. Bough
1970-. (aged 56)
lawyer
judge
Stephen Rogers Bough is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
36. Jolie Justus
1971-. (aged 55)
lawyer
politician
Jolie L. Justus is an American lawyer and politician from Missouri. A Democrat, she was a member of the Missouri State Senate representing the 10th Senatorial District in Kansas City, serving as the Missouri Senate Minority Leader in her final two years.
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37. Dean Whipple
1938-. (aged 88)
lawyer
judge
Harold Dean Whipple is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
38. Susan Montee
1959-. (aged 67)
politician
Susan Montee is an American lawyer and politician from the U.S. state of Missouri who served as the 35th State Auditor of Missouri. She won the election in 2006 Missouri State Auditor Election and was sworn into her position on January 4, 2007. She was the third woman in succession to serve as State Auditor of Missouri. She succeeded then-U.S....
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39. Art Staed
1949-. (aged 77)
politician
Art Staed is a current Iowa State Senator from the 40th District. A Democrat, he was in the Iowa House of Representatives for one term, from 2007 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2025. Staed holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, a Master's degree in Secondary Education from the University of Missouri at Kansas...
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40. Charles Bruffy
1958-. (aged 68)
conductor
singer
choir director
voice teacher
Charles Bruffy is an American choral conductor. He is artistic director of the Kansas City Chorale in Kansas City, Missouri, and is formerly the Chorus Director of the Kansas City Symphony. He lives in Kansas City.
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41. Esther George
1958-. (aged 68)
banker
Esther L. George is the former president and chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City from 2011 until 2023.
42. Hilary A. Bush
1905-1966 (aged 61)
lawyer
politician
Hilary Ashby Bush was a Democratic Party politician who was Jackson County, Missouri prosecutor in the 1940s and 1950s, and the 37th lieutenant governor from 1961 to 1965, serving under Governor John M. Dalton. Bush played an influential role in the merger of the University of Kansas City with the University of Missouri system to form the University of Missouri-Kansas...
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43. Luann Ridgeway
politician
Luann Ridgeway is an attorney who served in several elected government offices. A Republican, she served as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives elected in 1992 and serving through 2002 and Missouri Senate elected in 2004 and serving through 2012. Ridgeway served as the Eastern District Commissioner of Clay County, Missouri, elected 2012 through 2020. She announced she...
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44. Courtney Frerichs
1993-. (aged 33)
athletics competitor
Courtney Frerichs is an American middle-distance runner and steeplechase specialist from Nixa, Missouri, She is a three-time silver medalist in the 3000 meters steeplechase capturing silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the 2017 World Championships in London and at the 2018 World (Continental) Cup in Ostrava. In 2021, she became the first American woman to run under nine-minutes in...
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45. Edie McClurg
1951-. (aged 75)
singer
stage actor
television actor
voice actor
film actor
Edie McClurg is an American retired actress and comedian. She has played supporting roles in the films Carrie (1976), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), and Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988), and bit parts in Cheech and Chong's Next Movie (1980), Mr. Mom (1983) Back to School (1986), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), A River Runs Through It (1992), Natural...
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46. Benjamin Harrison
1928-2022 (aged 94)
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a great-grandson of Benjamin Harrison V, a Founding Father. A Union army veteran and a Republican, he defeated incumbent Grover Cleveland to win the presidency in...
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47. Alfred Oko Vanderpuije
1955-. (aged 71)
civil servant
educator
politician
Alfred Oko Vanderpuije is a Ghanaian educationist and politician who currently serves as a member of parliament. He is currently the member of parliament for Ablekuma South Constituency in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.
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48. Mark A. Ediger
physician
Mark A. Ediger is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Air Force who was the twenty-second Surgeon General of the United States Air Force. Prior to that he served as the Deputy Surgeon General.
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49. Rick Scott
1952-. (aged 74)
businessperson
lawyer
entrepreneur
politician
Richard Lynn Scott is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and Navy veteran serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served from 2011 to 2019 as the 45th governor of Florida.
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50. Brian Birdwell
1961-. (aged 65)
politician
military officer
Brian Douglas Birdwell is an American politician who has served in the Texas Senate for District 22 since 2010. He is a survivor of the September 11, 2001 attacks against The Pentagon.
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51. James C. King
1946-. (aged 80)
military officer
James C. King is a retired United States Army Lieutenant General. A career Military Intelligence officer, he served on active duty from 1968 to 2001. At the time of his retirement he was serving as the Director of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, one of the intelligence agencies of the United States Intelligence Community.
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52. Connor Trinneer
1969-. (aged 57)
film actor
television actor
stage actor
Connor Wyatt Trinneer is an American film, stage, and television actor. He is best known for his roles as Charles "Trip" Tucker III on Star Trek: Enterprise, Michael on the series Stargate Atlantis, and Professor Moynihan on the web series Guilty Party.
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53. Mark Funkhouser
1949-. (aged 77)
politician
Mark Funkhouser is an American academic, author, and former politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, serving one four-year term from May 1, 2007, until May 2, 2011. Previously, he was Kansas City's city auditor. He was the publisher of Governing magazine. He is the author of the blog Bring on the Funk and the book...
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54. Armando Torres Chibrás
1959-. (aged 67)
writer
conductor
Armando Torres Chibrás is an orchestra conductor at Pershing Middle School, with extended activities as scholar, lecturer, academic jury, author and arts leader born in Mexico City. He is currently Head of the Orchestral Academy Program of El Sistema-Mexico, an agency of the National Council for Culture and the Arts of Mexico.
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55. Narong Prangcharoen
1973-. (aged 53)
university teacher
pianist
composer
Narong Prangcharoen is a Thai composer of contemporary music. His compositions have won him the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Barlow Prize, and the Alexander Zemlinsky International Composition Competition Prize. He is the founder of Thailand International Composition Festival (TICF). Currently, he serves as Dean of the College of Music, Mahidol University in Thailand, as well as composer-in-residence for Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra...
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56. Charles Wheeler
1926-2022 (aged 96)
politician
Sir Charles Thomas Wheeler KCVO CBE PRA was a British sculptor who worked in bronze and stone who became the first sculptor to hold the presidency of the Royal Academy, from 1956 until 1966.
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57. Juris Hartmanis
1928-2022 (aged 94)
computer scientist
editor
university teacher
mathematician
Juris Hartmanis was a Latvian-born American computer scientist and computational theorist who, with Richard E. Stearns, received the 1993 ACM Turing Award "in recognition of their seminal paper which established the foundations for the field of computational complexity theory".
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58. Robert Mayer
1957-. (aged 69)
politician
Julius Robert von Mayer was a German physician, chemist, and physicist and one of the founders of thermodynamics. He is best known for enunciating in 1841 one of the original statements of the conservation of energy or what is now known as one of the first versions of the first law of thermodynamics, namely that "energy can be neither created...
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