43 Notable alumni of Western Illinois University
Updated: June 14, 2026 EliteDegrees
Western Illinois University is ranked #1,625 in the world and #397 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 43 notable alumni from Western Illinois 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 Western Illinois University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Oskar Gasecki
1990-. (aged 36)
association football player
Oskar Gasecki is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a defender.
2. Harlan Watson
diplomat
Harlan L. Watson is an American congressional staffer on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.
3. Rob Lazeo
1973-. (aged 53)
Canadian football player
American football player
Robert Lazeo is a Canadian former professional football offensive lineman who played 14 seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He spent the last four years of his career with the Calgary Stampeders where he won the 96th Grey Cup in the Stampeders' 2008 season. He also played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
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4. Russell R. Dohner
1925-2015 (aged 90)
surgeon
physician
Russell R. Dohner, MD was a general surgeon and private medical practitioner affiliated with the Sarah D. Culbertson Memorial Hospital in Rushville, Illinois. His selflessness as a hometown doctor gained him national attention as he was featured in People Magazine, NBC Nightly News, the Today Show, and other publications and media.
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5. Norine Hammond
politician
Norine K. Hammond is a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives. She has served since her appointment in December 2010 to replace the late Rich Myers. Hammond represents the 94th district, located in western Illinois, which contains all or parts of Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, McDonough, Mercer, and Warren counties.
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6. William M. Ulrich
1956-. (aged 70)
computer scientist
William M. Ulrich is an American business architecture consultant, consultant at Cutter Consortium, director and lecturer, known for development of 'The Systems Redevelopment Methodology' (TSRM) in the 1990s, on legacy systems in the 2000s and more recently on his work on business architecture.
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7. Daniel Cheever
1963-. (aged 63)
military personnel
Daniel Lyle Cheever is a United States Navy vice admiral who has served as Commander, Naval Air Forces since 31 January 2024. He most recently served as chief of staff of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command from 2022 to 2023. He previously served as the Director of Plans, Policy, and Strategy of the North...
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8. Tuğba Palazoğlu
1980-. (aged 46)
basketball player
Emine Tuğba Palazoğlu is a Turkish former professional basketball player.
9. Jaelon Acklin
1995-. (aged 31)
Canadian football player
American football player
Jaelon Acklin is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for five seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Western Illinois. Acklin has been a member of the Baltimore Ravens, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and Ottawa Redblacks.
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10. Stephen B. King
1941-. (aged 85)
politician
Stephen B. King is an American businessman and political activist who served as the United States Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he is the founder of King Capital LLC, an equity investment and real estate company. He previously worked at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as an agent and...
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11. David H. Moore
1966-. (aged 60)
politician
David H. Moore is an American politician and member of the Chicago City Council serving as alderman for the 17th ward since May 18, 2015. The 17th ward includes portions of Auburn Gresham, Englewood, Chicago Lawn, Marquette Park and West Englewood.
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12. William James
1979-. (aged 47)
American football player
William James is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the New York Giants in the third round of the 2001 NFL draft. He played college football for the Western Illinois Leathernecks.
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13. Robert Nardelli
1948-. (aged 78)
entrepreneur
Robert Louis "Bob" Nardelli is an American businessman who was the CEO of Freedom Group from September 2010 to March 2012. Prior to that role, Nardelli served as chairman and CEO of Chrysler from August 2007 to April 2009 and CEO of The Home Depot from December 2000 to January 2007. Before joining The Home Depot, Nardelli spent most of...
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14. Tom Soehn
1966-. (aged 60)
association football player
association football coach
Tom Soehn is an American soccer coach who was the head coach of USL Championship club Birmingham Legion. A former player, his career as a defender spanned seven clubs across 12 seasons, both indoors and outdoors.
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15. Kirk W. Dillard
1955-. (aged 71)
politician
Kirk W. Dillard is an American politician and the current Chairman of the Regional Transportation Authority Board of Directors. Previously, he served as a Republican member of the Illinois State Senate, representing the 24th District from 1993 until his resignation in August 2014.
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16. Jeremy Schoemaker
1974-. (aged 52)
businessperson
Jeremy "ShoeMoney" Schoemaker is a web entrepreneur, founder of ShoeMoney Media and PAR Program, and co-founder of the AuctionAds service. He is a frequent speaker at search engine marketing and affiliate conferences. He also co-founded the Elite Retreat, an annual industry expert conference, with Lee Dodd.
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17. Vincent R. Stewart
1958-2023 (aged 65)
military leader
Vincent Raymond Stewart was a Jamaican-born American lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps who served as Deputy Commander at United States Cyber Command. He previously served as the 20th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). LtGen Stewart, who held that post from January 23, 2015 through October 3, 2017, was the first African American, first Jamaican American...
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18. Frank Winters
1964-. (aged 62)
American football player
Frank Mitchell Winters is an American former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, and Green Bay Packers. He played college football for the Western Illinois Leathernecks.
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19. Camilo Osías
1889-1976 (aged 87)
translator
lawyer
politician
writer
Camilo Osías y Olaviano, was a Filipino politician, twice for a short time President of the Senate of the Philippines. Along with American Mary A. Lane, Osías translated into English the poem Filipinas that was set to the Marcha Nacional Filipina, producing the Philippine Hymn, now the national anthem Lupang Hinirang.
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20. Kosuke Kimura
1984-. (aged 42)
association football player
Kosuke Kimura is a Japanese former professional footballer and coach. He is currently the head coach for Lexington SC of the USL Super League.
21. Gene Lamont
1946-. (aged 80)
baseball player
Gene William Lamont is an American former catcher and manager who is a special assistant to the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played professionally in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers and managed the Chicago White Sox (1992–1995) and Pirates (1997–2000). He later served as a coach for the Tigers (2006–2017). He...
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22. Brandon Gilbeck
1996-. (aged 30)
basketball player
Brandon Gilbeck is an American-Taiwanese professional basketball player for the Formosa Dreamers of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL). He played college basketball for Western Illinois.
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23. Loes Geurts
1986-. (aged 40)
association football player
Loes Geurts is a Dutch former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Since making her international debut in 2005, Geurts has collected over 100 caps for the Netherlands national team. She kept goal for the Netherlands at the 2009 and 2013 editions of the UEFA Women's Championship.
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24. John Rosemond
1947-. (aged 79)
writer
John Rosemond is an American columnist, public speaker and author on parenting, with 15 books on the subject. His ideas revolve around authority for parents and discipline for children. He sometimes collaborates with PragerU as researcher and spokesperson.
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25. Rick Reuschel
1949-. (aged 77)
baseball player
Rickey Eugene Reuschel is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1972 to 1991, winning 214 games with a career 3.37 ERA. His nickname was "Big Daddy" because his speed belied his portly physique. He was known for his deceptive style of pitching, which kept hitters off balance by constantly...
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26. Christopher Hall
1965-. (aged 61)
singer
Robert Christopher Hall is an American musician best known as a founding member and vocalist for the industrial rock band Stabbing Westward. Hall met keyboardist Walter Flakus in 1984 and formed the band in Macomb, Illinois. Hall founded a new band, The Dreaming in 2001 shortly before the breakup of Stabbing Westward in 2002. After reuniting in 2016, Hall has...
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27. Dan K. Webb
1945-. (aged 81)
lawyer
Daniel K. Webb is an American lawyer and public official. He is the co-executive chairman of the international law firm of Winston & Strawn. He is a former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and previously served as the Special Counsel in the Iran-Contra affair. As the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, he...
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28. Paul Vallas
1953-. (aged 73)
school superintendent
politician
Paul Gust Vallas Sr. is a former education superintendent. He served as the superintendent of the Bridgeport Public Schools in Connecticut and the Recovery School District of Louisiana, the CEO of both the School District of Philadelphia and the Chicago Public Schools, and a budget director for the city of Chicago.
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29. Larry Kenney
1947-. (aged 79)
actor
radio personality
voice actor
Larry Kenney is an American voice actor and radio personality. He is best known for voicing Lion-O in ThunderCats and being the second voice of Count Chocula after Bob McFadden and the original voice of Sonny the Cuckoo Bird.
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30. Rodney Harrison
1972-. (aged 54)
basketball player
American football player
Rodney Scott Harrison is an American former professional football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons with the San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots. He was selected in the fifth round of the 1994 NFL draft by the Chargers, where he spent his first nine seasons, and was a member of the Patriots in...
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31. Michael Boatman
1964-. (aged 62)
stage actor
television actor
writer
actor
film actor
Michael Patrick Boatman is an American actor and writer. He is known for his roles as New York City mayoral aide Carter Heywood in the ABC sitcom Spin City, as U.S. Army Specialist Samuel Beckett in the ABC drama series China Beach, as 101st Airborne soldier Motown in the Vietnam War movie Hamburger Hill, and as sports agent Stanley Babson...
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32. Frank Wood
1951-. (aged 75)
politician
Frank B. Wood is an American politician and educator from Eldridge, Iowa, who served as a state legislator in the Iowa Senate from 2005 to 2009, and the Iowa House of Representatives from 2014 to 2015.
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33. Tim Walberg
1951-. (aged 75)
priest
politician
Timothy Lee Walberg is an American politician serving as a U.S. representative from Michigan since 2011, representing the state's 5th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he previously represented the 7th district from 2007 to 2009 and from 2011 to 2023 as the longest tenured member from Michigan.
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34. Tod Bowman
1965-. (aged 61)
politician
Tod R. Bowman, is a Democratic politician and legislator from the state of Iowa. He was elected to the Iowa Senate in 2010. He represents District 29, which holds Clinton, Dubuque, and Jackson counties.
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35. Michael Shonrock
1957-. (aged 69)
educational psychologist
Michael D. Shonrock is an American academic and former administrator. He was the president of Lindenwood University, located in St. Charles, Missouri, June 2015 to February 2019. Shonrock previously served as Emporia State University's 16th president from January 3, 2012 to May 28, 2015, and before that as Texas Tech University's vice president for student affairs and enrollment management in...
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36. 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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37. Judith Ford
1949-. (aged 77)
trampoline gymnast
beauty pageant contestant
model
Judith Anne Ford Nash is a retired teacher who was Miss America 1969. Judith Anne Ford moved to Belvidere, Illinois, at age three with her parents and brother. In 1968 she won the title of Miss Boone County, held at the Boone County Fairgrounds. She also worked as a lifeguard at the city's public pool and was a swimming instructor...
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38. Gale Schisler
1933-2020 (aged 87)
politician
Darwin Gale Schisler was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois's 19th congressional district and a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 46th district and later the 48th district.
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39. Mary Matalin
1953-. (aged 73)
author
pundit
television producer
teacher
political adviser
Mary Joe Matalin is an American political consultant well known for her work with the Republican Party. She served under President Ronald Reagan, was campaign director for George H. W. Bush, an assistant to President George W. Bush, and until 2003 counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney. Matalin has been chief editor of Threshold Editions, a conservative publishing imprint at...
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40. Dot Richardson
1961-. (aged 65)
softball coach
softball player
Dorothy Gay Richardson is an American physician and former two-time gold medal-winning Olympian softball player at shortstop. Richardson is currently the head coach at Liberty. Richardson played college softball at UCLA and won the inaugural NCAA Division I softball tournament in 1982. She is a USA Softball Hall of Fame honoree.
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41. Caryl M. Stern
1957-. (aged 69)
writer
Caryl M. Stern is an American author, child advocate, civil and human rights activist, and non-profit executive.
42. LaVerne H. Council
LaVerne H. Council, MBA, DBA was the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and Chief Information Officer for the Office of Information and Technology within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Council assumed this role in July 2015. President Obama nominated Council to the role in March 2015. Council was confirmed by the 114th Congress on June 23, 2015, making...
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43. Ahmet Kenan Tanrıkulu
1958-. (aged 68)
politician
Ahmet Kenan Tanrıkulu is a Turkish politician and economist from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who has served as the Member of Parliament for İzmir's second electoral district since 2007, having previously served between 1999 and 2002. From 1999 to 2002, he served as the Minister of Industry and Commerce in the coalition government of Bülent Ecevit, before losing his...
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