List of Wichita State University people

The following is a list of notable people associated with Wichita State University, located in the American city of Wichita, Kansas.

University presidents

 * Fairmount College
 * Nathan J. Morrison, 1895–1907
 * Henry Thayer, 1907–1914
 * Walter Rollins, 1914–1922
 * John D. Finlayson, 1922–1927


 * Municipal University of Wichita (WU)
 * Harold Foght, 1927–1934
 * William M. Jardine, 1934–1949, previously was Professor/Dean (1910-1918) and President (1918-1925) of Kansas State University, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1925-1929), and U.S. Minister to Egypt (1930-1933)
 * Harry F. Corbin, 1949–1963, previously was Associate Professor of Political Science at WU


 * Wichita State University (WSU)
 * Emory K. Lindquist, 1963–1968, Rhodes Scholar, historian, President of Bethany College
 * Clark D. Ahlberg, 1968–1983
 * Warren B. Armstrong, 1983–1993
 * Eugene M. Hughes, 1993–1998
 * Donald L. Beggs, 1999–2012, President/Chancellor of Southern Illinois University
 * John W. Bardo, 2012–2019, Chancellor of Western Carolina University, responsible for major building expansion at WSU
 * Jay S. Golden, 2020–2020, Vice Chancellor of Research, East Carolina University
 * Richard Muma, 2021–present, served as interim president from September 2020 until he became president on May 6, 2021

Faculty and staff

 * Karen Countryman-Roswurm – professor in the School of Social Work and director of the Center for Combating Human Trafficking
 * H. Edward Flentje – professor and former director of Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs; interim president of Emporia State University in 2011
 * Albert Goldbarth – only poet to win the National Book Critics Circle award two times (1991 and 2001)
 * Hyuck Kwon – professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
 * Bienvenido Santos – fiction, poetry, and nonfiction writer

Academia

 * Dale Allison – biblical scholar, professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
 * M. Lee Pelton – current president of Emerson College
 * Earl G. Yarbrough – former president of Savannah State University

Business

 * Jim Bede – founder of Bede Aviation
 * Gary Burrell – founder and CEO of Garmin
 * Dan and Frank Carney – co-founders of Pizza Hut
 * Vivek Lall – CEO of Reliance Industries
 * Phil Ruffin – billionaire businessman, owns Treasure Island Hotel and Casino and Circus Circus Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, attended WSU
 * T. Russell Shields – technology entrepreneur, former CEO of Navteq
 * Dwane Wallace – former CEO and chairman of Cessna

Government

 * Valerie Baldwin – Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller), 2004–06
 * Robert Blackwill – diplomat, senior fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations, lobbyist, author
 * Stanley Thomas Counts – United States Navy rear admiral
 * Rebecca Ediger – US Secret Service agent
 * Jeff Longwell - 102nd Mayor of Wichita, Kansas
 * Walter Orebaugh – Foreign Service Officer
 * Femi Pedro – Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria
 * Riley Pitts – US Army soldier, first African-American commissioned officer to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor
 * Tom Sawyer – member of the Kansas House of Representatives, former House Majority Leader, 1998 Kansas Democratic Party nominee for Governor
 * Matt Schlapp — political activist, lobbyist, and chairman of American Conservative Union
 * Garner Shriver – eight-term US Representative from Kansas
 * Sandiaga Uno – Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia, previously Deputy Governor of Jakarta, businessman
 * Brandon Whipple - 103rd Mayor of Wichita, Kansas
 * Lily Wu - 104th Mayor of Wichita, Kansas
 * David Younger - member of the Kansas House of Representatives

Literature

 * Craig Blais – poet
 * Paul Dickey – poet
 * Omar Khalidi – author, Muslim scholar
 * Michael McClure – poet, playwright, songwriter, and novelist
 * Janet Peery – short story author and novelist
 * Charles Plymell – poet, novelist, and small press publisher

Media

 * James Pringle Cook – Western landscape painter
 * Erin Dagon-Mitchell – actress, director, playwright
 * Shirley Knight – Oscar-nominated actress
 * Lance LeGault – actor
 * Bob Peak – painter dubbed the "father of the modern movie poster"
 * Rosé – drag queen
 * Kate Snodgrass – theatre director and playwright

Music

 * Chris Arpad – solo steel pannist
 * James Billings – operatic baritone, opera librettist, and opera director
 * Karla Burns – Drama Desk Award and Laurence Olivier Award-winning actress and operatic mezzo-soprano
 * Joyce DiDonato – opera star
 * Kevin Kastning – modern classical composer and guitarist
 * Samuel Ramey – opera star
 * Michael Sylvester – opera star

Science and technology

 * Lincoln LaPaz – astronomer at University of New Mexico, pioneer in the study of meteors
 * Adisak Mekkittikul – computer engineer
 * Harold G. White – mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, and applied physicist; Advanced Propulsion Team Lead for the NASA Engineering Directorate

Sportscasting

 * Gary Bender – sportscaster

Baseball

 * Casey Blake – Major League Baseball player
 * Alec Bohm (born 1996) – baseball player in the Philadelphia Phillies
 * Joe Carter – Major League Baseball player
 * Andy Dirks – Major League Baseball player
 * Darren Dreifort – Major League Baseball player with the Los Angeles Dodgers
 * Conor Gillaspie – Major League Baseball player for the Chicago White Sox
 * Koyie Hill – Major League Baseball player
 * Mike Lansing – Major League Baseball player
 * Don Lock – Major League Baseball player with the Washington Senators
 * Braden Looper – Major League Baseball player for the Milwaukee Brewers and Saint Louis Cardinals
 * Pat Meares – Major League Baseball player
 * Doug Mirabelli – Major League Baseball player with the Boston Red Sox
 * Charlie O'Brien – Major League Baseball player
 * Michael Pelfrey – Major League Baseball player for the New York Mets
 * Nate Robertson – Major League Baseball player for the Florida Marlins
 * Phil Stephenson – former Major League Baseball first baseman, head baseball coach for Dodge City Community College
 * Eric Wedge – managed Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners, head baseball coach at WSU

Basketball

 * Jamie Arnold (born 1975) – American-Israeli professional basketball player
 * Ron Baker – NBA player with the New York Knicks
 * Nate Bowman – known as "The Snake"; National Basketball Association player
 * Cal Bruton – American-Australian basketball player, NBL Hall of Famer
 * Antoine Carr (born 1961) – NBA player
 * John Cooper – head coach at Tennessee State University, assistant coach at Auburn University, University of Oregon, and University of South Carolina
 * Cleanthony Early – NBA player most recently with the New York Knicks
 * Warren Jabali – American Basketball Association player
 * Cliff Levingston – NBA player
 * Xavier McDaniel – NBA player
 * Gal Mekel (born 1988) – Israeli basketball player formerly in the NBA and now with Maccabi Tel Aviv
 * Toure' Murry – NBA player most recently with the Utah Jazz
 * Joe Ragland (born 1989) –- American-Liberian basketball player for Hapoel Holon of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Landry Shamet – NBA player with the Phoenix Suns
 * Grant Sherfield (born 1999) – basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Dave Stallworth – NBA player
 * Fred VanVleet – NBA player with the Houston Rockets
 * Gene Wiley – NBA player

Bowling

 * Chris Barnes – PBA bowler (2007–08 PBA Player of the Year), USBC spokesperson
 * Clara Guerrero – PWBA bowler
 * Francois Lavoie – PBA bowler
 * Kris Prather – PBA bowler
 * Sean Rash – PBA bowler
 * Rocio Restrepo – PWBA bowler

Football

 * Margene Adkins – NFL player for Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets
 * Sam Adkins – NFL player for Seattle Seahawks, 1977–81; television personality for Seahawks broadcasts
 * Jumpy Geathers – defensive tackle, played for the New Orleans Saints, Washington Redskins, Atlanta Falcons, and Denver Broncos, won two Super Bowls
 * Randy Jackson – NFL player, 1972–74; survivor of the 1970 WSU football team plane crash; coached at Robinson Middle School in Wichita
 * Bob Long – receiver for Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins and Los Angeles Rams; three-time NFL champion (1965, 1966, 1967)
 * Scot McCloughan – General Manager of the Washington Redskins
 * Bill Parcells – Pro Football Hall of Fame coach, played linebacker at WSU
 * Henry Schichtle – NFL and CFL player
 * Nelson Toburen – linebacker for the Green Bay Packers; two-time NFL champion (1961, 1962)

Wrestling

 * Paul Wight – professional wrestler known as "The Big Show", played basketball at WSU

Crime

 * Eyad Ismoil – a perpetrator of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
 * Dennis Rader – BTK serial killer