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Famous alumni

K-State graduates more than 3,500 students each year. And with more than 41,000 members in Alumni Association, K-State is ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 for percentage of members to graduates.

Our grads have carved out amazing careers in fields ranging from e-commerce to opera:

Business, government, military

  • Gen. Richard Myers, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest ranking military official in the nation
  • Warren Staley, chairman and CEO, Cargill, Inc., the largest privately owned corporation in the U.S.
  • Donald Prigmore, president of GTE-Sprint
  • Bill Porter, founder and chairman emeritus of E-Trade
  • Richard Pearson, former president and COO of TWA and former senior vice president of American Airlines
  • Margaret Grosh, senior economist at World Bank
  • Lynn Markel, executive vice president and CFO for Koch Industries, Inc.
  • John Carlin, former archivist of the United States and former Kansas governor
  • Paul Fisher, president of Fisher Pens, creator of the Space Pen
  • Jerry Wexler, influential producer at Atlantic Records, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987
  • Neil Vander Dussen, president of Sony American
  • Marlin Fitzwater, the only press secretary to serve two U.S. presidents, Ronald Reagan and George Bush
  • Milton Eisenhower, Dwight's brother and former president of K-State
  • John Slaughter, former president of Occidental College and former head of the National Science Foundation
  • Herbert Dimond, inventor of the snooze alarm
  • Sam Brownback, U.S. Senator from Kansas
  • Pat Roberts, U.S. Senator from Kansas

Sports

  • Earl Woods, father of golfer Tiger Woods and one of the first African Americans to play on a college sports team
  • Jim Colbert, pro golfer
  • Steve Grogan, quarterback for the New England Patriots
  • Thane Baker, Olympic gold medalist
  • Kenny Harrison, Olympic gold medalist
  • Elden Auker, legendary submarine-style pitcher for the world-champion Detroit Tigers (he once struck out Babe Ruth)
  • Rolando Blackman, NBA all-star
  • Mitch Richmond, NBA all-star
  • Lynn Dickey, NFL quarterback
  • Kevin Saunders, world-champion wheelchair athlete

Entertainment

  • Gordon Jump, actor who played the Maytag man and Mr. Carlson on “WKRP in Cincinnati”
  • Erin Brockovich, environmental activist whose story was featured in a recent movie starring Julia Roberts
  • Kirstie Alley, Emmy-winning actress
  • Samuel Ramey, basso cantante with the New York City Opera
  • Velina Houston, award-winning playwright and author
  • Virgil Miller, pioneer of special effects in the early days of Hollywood