91 Notable alumni of Wichita State University

Mortimer Michael "Mike" Miller was an American writer and politician.

Mary Chance VanScyoc was an air traffic controller in the United States. She was one of the first women, and often considered the very first civilian woman, to become an air traffic controller when she started in June 1942.

Harry R. Clements was an American engineer and businessman who was Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing from 1979 to 1982.

Karen Irene Countryman-Roswurm is a Native American (Blackfoot) social worker, professor, and academic administrator who specializes in the field of human trafficking and other forms of exploitation. She is an associate professor in the school of social work at Wichita State University and the founder and executive director of the Wichita State University Center for Combating Human Trafficking (CCHT).

John Mills Houston was a member of the United States House of Representatives from the 5th congressional district of Kansas from 1935 to 1943. He was also a member of the National Labor Relations Board from 1943 to 1953, originally appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Elizabeth Bender Roe Cloud was an Ojibwe activist and educator. She graduated in 1907 with teaching credentials from the Hampton Institute, a government native American boarding school in Virginia, and part of the U.S. government's attempt to civilize American Indians. After graduating from Hampton, Elizabeth continued in the teacher training program there and became a teacher for the Indian Service...

Kevin Kastning is an American guitarist, composer and musical instrument inventor. He plays the 36-string Double Contraguitar, 30-string Double Contraguitar, 30-string Contra-Alto guitar, 24-string Double Subcontraguitar, 18-string Contraguitar, 17-string Hybrid Extended Classical guitar, 15-string Extended Classical guitar, twelve-string guitar, six-string guitar, fretless guitar, 12-string extended baritone guitar, 6-string bass-baritone guitar, alto guitar, the 14-string contraguitar, the 16-string contraguitar, the 17-string...

Valerie Lynn Baldwin is an American lawyer, and was United States Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller) from 2004 to 2007.

Victor Clough Rambo was an American medical missionary and ophthalmologist who worked in India from 1924 to 1974 for the United Christian Missionary Society, of which the former Foreign Christian Missionary Society became part in 1920. In India, Rambo served as the medical director of the Christian Hospital Mungeli and initiated the development of eye camps, groups of medical surgeons...

Rafael da Silveira Becker is a Brazilian professional golfer who is currently a member of Korn Ferry Tour.

Claude Raymond Hendrix was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in the National League for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1911–13) and Chicago Cubs (1916–20) and in the Federal League with the Chicago Whales (1914–15). He pitched a no-hitter in 1915 and was the first pitcher to record a victory at Wrigley Field, then named Weeghman Park. In 1921, he was...

Kelly Arnold is an American politician serving as the Sedgwick County Clerk. He is in his third term, having first been elected in 2008. From January 2013 to February 2019, Kelly served as the chairman of the Kansas Republican Party.

Russ Shields is an American entrepreneur who is known for investing in and leading Navteq to profitability and selling it in 2007 to Nokia. He was Chair of Ygomi LLC and President and CEO of RoadDB.

Donald Elliott Heinkel is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played during two seasons at the Major League level for the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals. Heinkel notched his lone major league save on April 29, 1988. He went 2 scoreless innings to preserve a 9–6 victory over the Mariners. He was drafted by the Tigers in...

Robert E. Wilson is an American former professional basketball player. He played four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers.

James A. Knight is the former United States Ambassador to Chad, having been confirmed on May 23, 2013. He previously served as ambassador to Benin from 2009 to 2012. In addition to English he speaks French and Portuguese.

Garner Edward Shriver was a U.S. representative from Kansas.

Erna Prather Harris was an American journalist, businesswoman, and activist, known for her pacifism. Born in Oklahoma, she grew up in the segregated South and attended Black schools. After graduating from Douglass High School in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, she worked as a maid to earn enough money to attend an integrated university. Graduating from Wichita State University in 1936, and unable...

Rauno Nurger is an Estonian basketball player for Tartu Ülikool of the Korvpalli Meistriliiga. He is a 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) tall power forward and center. Nurger played college basketball for the Wichita State Shockers.

Ruth A. David is an American engineer. While at the CIA, David was responsible for encouraging the agency to pursue partnerships with the private sector and designed a proposal to procure technology at the stage of development from the private sector. She has been awarded the CIA Director's Award, the Defense Intelligence Agency Director's Award, the CIA Distinguished Intelligence Medal,...

Dennis McKinney is a former Kansas State Treasurer. He was a member of the Kansas House of Representatives where he represented the 116th House District for ten terms, the last six as the Democratic Party's leader (Minority Leader) in the Kansas House. In January 2017, he was a Democratic candidate for the party's nomination as the 4th District of Kansas...

Don Wilson Lock was an American professional baseball player and outfielder in the Major Leagues from 1962 to 1969 for the Washington Senators (1962–66), Philadelphia Phillies (1967–69), and Boston Red Sox (1969). A native of Wichita, Kansas, Lock attended Kingman, Kansas, High School, then what is now Wichita State University. He stood 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) (1.88 m)...

Paul Miller is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'10" center/forward from Jefferson City, Missouri, Miller was an honorable mention All-American player at Wichita State University.

Arnold H. Beyeler is an American professional baseball coach and a former player and manager.

Garrett Matthew Stutz is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Wichita State.

Markis Derek McDuffie is an American professional basketball player who last played for JDA Dijon of the LNB Pro A. He played college basketball for the Wichita State Shockers.

Alterique Lamont Gilbert is an American professional basketball player who last played for Górnik Wałbrzych of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). He played college basketball for the UConn Huskies and the Wichita State Shockers.

Rashard DaeQuan Kelly is an American professional basketball player for Aomori Wat's of the B.League. He played college basketball for the Wichita State Shockers.

Jamie Arnold is an American-Israeli former professional basketball player. Playing as a power forward, he represented the Israeli national team. In 1998–99, he was the top rebounder in the Israeli Basketball Premier League.

Tekele Cotton is an American professional basketball player for GGMT Vienna of the Austrian Basketball Superliga.

Anthony Andrew Jones is an American football coach and former player. He was most recently the head football coach at Elizabeth City State University, a position he has held from 2018 to 2021. He served as head coach at Morehouse College from 1999 to 2001, and Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University from 2002 to 2013,. Jones played eight seasons as...

Tom Sawyer is an American politician who served as the minority leader of the Kansas House of Representatives. A Democrat, Sawyer has represented the 95th district, covering southwest Wichita, since 2013. Sawyer previously represented the same district from 1987 to 1999 and from 2003 to 2009, serving as both Majority Leader and Minority Leader during his first stint in the...

Shaquille Morris is an American professional basketball and football player. and played college basketball for the Wichita State University. He played basketball professionally for the San-en NeoPhoenix, Kyoto Hannaryz, and Tokyo Hachioji Bee Trains.

Kellyn Taylor is an American long distance runner.

William Paul Thayer was an American test pilot, flying ace, aviation executive, and United States Deputy Secretary of Defense during the Reagan Administration.

Gregory Alan Dreiling is an American former professional basketball player. Dreiling played center. He attended high school at Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School in Wichita, Kansas. He initially attended Wichita State University and later transferred to the University of Kansas after his freshman year. He was selected by the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the 1986 NBA...

Jean Kurtis Schodorf is an American politician who was a three-term Republican Kansas state senator and was the Democratic Party nominee for Kansas Secretary of State in 2014. She was defeated on November 4, 2014 by incumbent Kris Kobach by a margin of 59%-41%.

Jeff Longwell is an American politician and businessman who served as the 101st mayor of Wichita, Kansas from 2015 to 2020. Prior to his election as mayor, Longwell served eight years on the Wichita city council and twelve years on the Maize school board.

M. Lee Pelton is the President and CEO of the Boston Foundation, the community foundation serving the Greater Boston area since 1915. A native of Wichita, Kansas, Pelton studied English literature at Wichita State University and Harvard University. He then held various deanship positions at Colgate University and Dartmouth College before becoming president of Willamette University (1998-2011) and Emerson College...

Aliphine Chepkerker Tuliamuk is a Kenyan-born American long-distance runner. She placed first at the 2020 United States Olympic Trials in Atlanta and represented the United States at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. Tuliamuk has been a world class athlete since placing 9th in 21:09 at 2005 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Junior women's race. Tuliamuk ran 33:43...

Warren Jabali was an American basketball player. He played professionally in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1968 to 1975.

Riley Leroy Pitts was a United States Army captain and the first African-American officer to receive the Medal of Honor. The medal was presented posthumously by President Lyndon B. Johnson on December 10, 1968 for actions in Ap Dong, Republic of Vietnam.

Casey Harold Gillaspie is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played college baseball at Wichita State. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the first round of the 2014 MLB draft, and traded to the Chicago White Sox in 2017. Despite his draft status, and spending time on Chicago's 40-man roster, he never played in Major...

Mona Nemer, CM CQ FRSC is a Lebanese-Canadian scientist specializing in molecular genetics and cardiac regeneration. She was formerly a professor of pharmacology at the University of Montreal and the Director of the Cardiac Development Research Unit at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM) where she held a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Cardiovascular Cell Differentiation. She...

Susan Wagle is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Kansas Senate, representing the 30th district from 2001 to 2021. She was elected Kansas Senate President in 2013 and was reelected in 2017. She is the first woman to hold this position.

Tyson Etienne is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Wichita State Shockers.

Leanne Caret is an American businesswoman, former president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS), former executive vice president of Boeing, and serves on the United Service Organizations (USO) board of governors.

Verne C. Harnish is an American business writer, who founded the Entrepreneurs' Organization. He also founded Scaling Up, the Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs, and Growth Institute.

Braden LaVerne Looper is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for several teams between 1998 and 2009.

Clevin Finley Hannah is an American-Senegalese professional basketball player who last played for Scafati Basket of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A.

James R. Bede was an American aircraft designer and developer, particularly noted for his development of influential, fast, efficient, light aircraft, including his BD-1 (forerunner of the Grumman-American line), and the BD-4, BD-5 and BD-10 kitplanes. He designed well over a dozen aircraft starting in the 1960s, but a string of business failures, and legal, technical and safety problems kept...

David A. Stallworth was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight seasons and was a member of the New York Knicks' 1969–70 championship-winning team.

Stephanie Dawkins Davis is an American lawyer who is serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She previously served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and a former United States magistrate judge of the same court.

Mark Vincent Parkinson is an American businessman and former politician serving as head of the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL). He served as the 47th lieutenant governor of Kansas from 2007 to 2009 and the 45th governor of Kansas from 2009 until 2011. He was also a state legislator.

Toure' Ahmad Khalid-Murry is an American former professional basketball player who is a player development coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Wichita State.

Brandon Whipple is an American politician and academic who formerly served as mayor of Wichita, Kansas. He previously served as a Democratic Party member of the Kansas House of Representatives representing the 96th district, which included part of south Wichita and was the Ranking Minority member on the Higher Education Budget committee.

Anne Boyer is an American poet and essayist. She is the author of The Romance of Happy Workers (2008), The 2000s (2009), My Common Heart (2011), Garments Against Women (2015), The Handbook of Disappointed Fate (2018), and The Undying: Pain, Vulnerability, Mortality, Medicine, Art, Time, Dreams, Data, Exhaustion, Cancer, and Care (2019).

William Casey Blake is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He had alternated between playing at third base and first base before becoming a full-time third baseman with the Indians. In 2005, Blake moved to right field...

Maurice Eugene Evans is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has served as a vice president of the NBA Players Association.

Jaime Jesús Echenique Salinas is a Colombian professional basketball player for Pallacanestro Reggiana of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals and the Wichita State Shockers.

Lily Wu is an American politician and former television news anchor, serving as the 103rd mayor of Wichita, Kansas, since 2024. A member of the Libertarian Party, she is the first Asian American mayor in Kansas and the only Libertarian mayor of one of the 100 largest cities in the United States.

Craig Porter Jr. is an American basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Vincennes Trailblazers and the Wichita State Shockers.

Michael Alan Pelfrey is an American college baseball coach and former professional baseball pitcher. He was the pitching coach at Wichita State University from 2019 to 2023, where he played from 2003 to 2005 for head coach Gene Stephenson. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, and Chicago White Sox.

Ricky Nickardo Council IV is an American professional basketball player for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Wichita State Shockers and the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Manly Wade Wellman was an American writer. While his science fiction and fantasy stories appeared in such pulps as Astounding Stories, Startling Stories, Unknown and Strange Stories, Wellman is best remembered as one of the most popular contributors to the legendary Weird Tales and for his fantasy and horror stories set in the Appalachian Mountains, which draw on the native...

Joseph Alexander Ragland is an American-Liberian professional basketball player for Maccabi Ra'anana. He played college basketball for North Platte Community College and Wichita State.

Hadi al-Bahra is a Syrian politician and businessman who served as President of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, a coalition of Syrian opposition groups established during the Syrian civil war, from 2014 to 2015, and again from 2023 until the coalition’s dissolution in 2025.

Michael McClure was an American poet, playwright, songwriter, and novelist. After moving to San Francisco as a young man, he found fame as one of the five poets (including Allen Ginsberg) who read at the famous San Francisco Six Gallery reading in 1955, which was barely fictionalized in Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums. He soon became a key member of...

Scot G. McCloughan is an American professional football executive. He was formerly the general manager of the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins, as well as a senior personnel executive for the Seattle Seahawks. McCloughan played a key role in assembling rosters that both led the 49ers and Seahawks to the Super Bowl in the 2010s.

Gal Mekel is an Israeli former professional basketball player. He played for the Dallas Mavericks and spent time in Europe and Israel.

Alec Daniel Bohm is an American professional baseball player who is a third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Joyce DiDonato is an American opera singer and recitalist. A coloratura mezzo-soprano, she has performed operas and concert works spanning from the 19th-century Romantic era to those by Handel and Mozart.

Cleanthony Early is an American professional basketball player for the Al Arabi SC of the Qatari Basketball League. He was an All-American college player at Wichita State University after a stint at Sullivan County Community College.

Joseph Chris Carter is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, and San Francisco Giants.

Kristofer Michael Johnson is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins and for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Landry Michael Shamet is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Wichita State Shockers and was selected 26th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2018 NBA draft. He has also played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns, and Washington Wizards.

Matthew Aaron Schlapp is an American political activist and lobbyist who is chairman of the American Conservative Union. He leads the lobbying firm Cove Strategies, which had strong ties to the Donald Trump administration. He is a former Fox News political contributor.

Ronald Delaine Baker is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Wichita State Shockers. Going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, he spent 3 seasons in the NBA, playing for the New York Knicks and Washington Wizards.

Fredderick Edmund VanVleet Sr. is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also the current president of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA).

Shirley Knight Hopkins was an American actress who appeared in more than 50 feature films, television films, television series, and Broadway and Off-Broadway productions in her career, playing leading and character roles. She was a member of the Actors Studio.

Michelle De La Isla is an American politician who served as the mayor of Topeka, Kansas from 2018 to 2022. She previously served on the Topeka City Council from 2013 to 2018. De La Isla was the city's first Latina and single mother to serve as mayor. She was the Democratic nominee for Kansas's 2nd congressional district in the 2020...

Allen Kent Berry is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1962 through 1975, most notably as a member of the Chicago White Sox. The two-time Gold Glove winner was an American League All-Star player in 1967. He also played for the California Angels, Milwaukee Brewers and the Cleveland Indians....

Alfonso E. Lenhardt is a retired United States Army major general who represented the United States as ambassador to Tanzania from 2009 to 2013. He was also accredited as the U.S. representative to the East African Community (EAC) in 2010. He left his post in October 2013. From 2001 to 2003, he served as Sergeant at Arms of the United...

Robin Rex Meyers is an American Christian minister, peace activist, philosopher and author of seven books on Liberal and Progressive Christian theology in Western society and the Christian left. He has been a syndicated columnist and a commentator for National Public Radio and was the Senior Minister of the Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ in Oklahoma City from 1985...

Austin Tyler Reaves, is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Wichita State Shockers and the Oklahoma Sooners. Reaves joined the Lakers as an undrafted free agent.

Paul Donald Wight II is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1995 to 1999 as (the) Giant and his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation/WWE from 1999 to 2021 under the ring name (the) Big...

Harold G. "Sonny" White is a mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, and applied physicist who is known for proposing new Alcubierre drive concepts and promoting advanced propulsion projects.

Scott Wallace Stucky is a Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. His term as a judge began on December 20, 2006, and expired on July 31, 2021.

Delia Garcia is an American official who formerly served as the Kansas Secretary of Labor. Garcia previously served as a Democratic member of the Kansas House of Representatives, representing the 103rd district. She served from 2005 to 2011, and was a member of the Kansas Democratic Hispanic Caucus.

Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno is an Indonesian businessman, investor and politician who served as Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy from 2020 to 2024. He previously served as the 14th Deputy Governor of Jakarta, elected along with Anies Baswedan in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election after defeating incumbent pair Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (widely known as "Ahok") and Djarot Saiful Hidayat. He...