List of University of Connecticut people

This is a list of notable alumni and faculty from the University of Connecticut.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Alumni

Arts & entertainment

• Pam Arciero – puppeteer
• Jennifer Barnhart – actor and puppeteer
• Michael Bergin – supermodel
• Beau Billingslea – voice actor and former UConn football player
• Tanisha Brito – former Miss Connecticut and Miss Georgia USA
• Mary Cadorette – actor
• Judy Collins – musician
• Lui Collins – folk singer-songwriter
• Tristan Couvares - star of Control TV
• Justin Foley – drummer for Killswitch Engage
• Patrick Earl Hammie – Contemporary Figurative Artist
• Ned Kahn – Environmental Artist and MacArthur Fellowship recipient
• Jeremy Leven – author, director, producer, and screenwriter
• Forrest McClendon - actor
• Moby – musician
• Bobby Moynihan – actor and comedian
• Julius R. Nasso – film producer
• Peter Niedmann – composer
• Ron Palillo – actor
• Toni Press-Coffman – playwright
• Meg Ryan – actress
• Skip Schoolnik – film director and producer
• Brian Schulz - Emmy-winning producer and cinematographer
• Rick Sternbach – Emmy-winning illustrator and visual effects artist
• Tony Todd – actor
• Paige Turco – actress
• Robert Wendel – composer and conductor
• Dana Wilson – composer and jazz pianist
• Kim Zolciak - participant in The Real Housewives of Atlanta

Athletics

Men's Basketball

• A. J. Price – NBA Point Guard on the Indiana Pacers
• Ater Majok - 58th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers
• Ben Gordon – NBA 3rd pick in 2004 NBA Draft, (Detroit Pistons) Guard
• Bob Staak – former Wake Forest University and NBA coach
• Bruce Kuczenski – Former NBA Forward/Center
• Caron Butler – NBA 10th pick in 2002 NBA Draft, (Washington Wizards) Guard
• Charlie Villanueva – NBA 7th pick in 2005 NBA Draft, (Detroit Pistons) Forward
• Chris Smith – former Minnesota Timberwolves Guard
• Chuck Aleksinas – former center for the Golden State Warriors
• Clifford R. Robinson – basketball player for the New Jersey Nets
• Corny Thompson – Former NBA forward for the Dallas Mavericks
• Denham Brown – 40th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft (Seattle Supersonics)
• Donyell Marshall – 4th pick in 1994 NBA Draft
• Emeka Okafor – 2nd pick in 2004 NBA Draft, Center
• Hasheem Thabeet – 2nd pick in the 2009 NBA draft to the Memphis Grizzlies.
• Hilton Armstrong – NBA 12th pick in 2006 NBA Draft, (New Orleans Hornets) Forward/Center
• Jake Voskuhl – NBA center currently playing for the(Charlotte Bobcats)
• Jeff Adrien – NBA Power Forward on the Golden State Warriors
• Josh Boone – 23rd pick in the 2006 NBA Draft (New Jersey Nets)
• Kemba Walker - 9th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Bobcats
• Kevin Ollie – Former NBA guard, current UConn basketball assistant coach
• Khalid El-Amin – former Chicago Bulls Guard
• Marcus Williams – NBA 22nd pick in 2006 NBA Draft, (New Jersey Nets) Guard
• Ray Allen – 5th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, currently starting shooting guard for the Boston Celtics
• Richard Hamilton – 7th pick in 1999 NBA Draft, (Detroit Pistons) Guard
• Rudy Gay – NBA 8th overall pick in 2006 NBA Draft, (Memphis Grizzlies) Guard
• Samy Ameziane - Former Algeria national basketball team player,now he is a famous French stand-up comedian
• Scott Burrell – first American draft pick for MLB and NBA...Played in the NBA from 1995–2001
• Stanley Robinson - 59th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic
• Tate George – former basketball player for the New Jersey Nets & Milwaukee Bucks
• Toby Kimball – Former NBA forward. Played for 6 teams, spent most of his career with the San Diego Rockets.
• Tom Penders – head men's basketball coach at the University of Houston
• Travis Knight – Former NBA player, 29th pick in 1996 NBA Draft, Center

Women's Basketball

• Svetlana Abrosimova – formerly forward for the Minnesota Lynx, the Connecticut Sun and the Seattle Storm.
• Ashley Battle – 25th overall pick in the 2005 WNBA Draft, currently plays for the New York Liberty
• Sue Bird – point guard for the Seattle Storm, 1st overall pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft, 2x Olympic champion, 4x All-Star^[1]
• Swin Cash – forward for the Seattle Storm, 2nd overall pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft.
• Tina Charles – 1st overall pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft, center for the Connecticut Sun.
• Kalana Greene -forward/guard for the New York Liberty.
• Charde Houston – Current WNBA player for the Minnesota Lynx
• Asjha Jones – center/power forward for the Connecticut Sun.^[2]
• Rebecca Lobo – former WNBA player and current ESPN analyst
• Renee Montgomery – point guard for the Connecticut Sun.
• Jessica Moore – Current WNBA for the Los Angeles Sparks
• Ann Strother – 15th overall pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft. Formerly played for the Atlanta Dream.
• Ketia Swanier – 12th overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury
• Diana Taurasi – 1st overall pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft, guard for the Phoenix Mercury
• Jennifer Rizzotti – former pro basketball player and current University of Hartford women's head coach
• Shea Ralph – drafted in the third round (40th pick) of the 2001 WNBA Draft by the Utah Starzz, currently assistant coach for the University of Connecticut.
• Tamika Raymond – 6th overall pick in the 2002 WNBA Draft. Formerly played for the Connecticut Sun, currently head coach of the Indian National Team and an analyst for ESPN.
• Nykesha Sales – former WNBA player for the Connecticut Sun.
• Kelly Schumacher – Former WNBA player for the Indiana Fever. 14th overall pick in the 2001 WNBA Draft
• Barbara Turner – 11th overall pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft. Currently plays for Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi S.K. Women's Basketball
• Tamika Williams – see Tamika Raymond.
• Kara Wolters – Former WNBA center for the Houston Comets, currently broadcaster and analyst for Connecticut radio network.

Football

• Deon Anderson – fullback for the Dallas Cowboys
• Donald Brown – Running back for the Indianapolis Colts.
• Darius Butler – Carolina Panthers cornerback
• Kirk Ferentz – former UConn linebacker and current University of Iowa football head coach. Also former University of Maine football head coach and former Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens offensive line coach
• Alfred Fincher – New Orleans Saints linebacker
• Nick Giaquinto – Former NFL tailback, member of the Super Bowl XVII champion Washington Redskins
• Brian Kozlowski – Former NFL fullback/tight end
• Dan Orlovsky – Indianapolis Colts quarterback
• Sam Rutigliano – former Cleveland Browns head coach
• Shane Stafford – Arena Football League quarterback

Baseball

• Jesse Carlson – MLB Pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays
• Rajai Davis – MLB Outfielder for the Oakland Athletics
• Walt Dropo – former all-star Major League Baseball first baseman, 1950 MLB Rookie of the Year Award winner (American League)
• Jeff Fulchino – MLB pitcher for the Houston Astros
• Jason Grabowski – Former Major League Baseball Player
• Dan Iassogna – current Major League Baseball umpire
• Charles Nagy – former all-star Major League Baseball pitcher
• Bob Schaefer – bench coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers and former manager for the Kansas City Royals
• Rollie Sheldon – Former MLB pitcher. Member of the 1961 & 1962 World Series Champion New York Yankees
• Pete Walker – Former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher
• Gary Waslewski – MLB pitcher

Men's Hockey

• Todd Krygier – Former NHL left-winger for the Hartford Whalers, Washington Capitals & Mighty Ducks of Anaheim

Men's Soccer

• Bobby Rhine – former player for FC Dallas
• Damani Ralph – former Chicago Fire player and current FC Rubin Kazan striker
• Chris Gbandi – former player for FC Dallas
• Shavar Thomas – soccer player for the Philadelphia Union
• O'Brian White – striker for Seattle Sounders FC
• Josh Ford – goalkeeper for Seattle Sounders FC
• Kevin Burns – Midfielder for the Columbus Crew
• Kwame Watson-Siriboe – defender for the Chicago Fire
• Julius James – defender for the Columbus Crew
• Chukwudi Chijindu – striker for Chivas USA
• Toni Stahl – midfielder for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers

Women's Soccer

• Sara Whalen – Olympic silver medalist

Authors and journalists

• Elizabeth Bear (Sarah Bear Elizabeth Wishnevsky) – author
• Richard Bernstein – journalist and author
• Robert D. Kaplan – journalist and Atlantic Monthly editor
• Bobbie Ann Mason – novelist and literary critic
• Leigh Montville – sports journalist
• Michael North – author and UCLA Professor
• Tim Page, Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic and biographer of Dawn Powell
• Ann Lane Petry – author
• Joel Rosenberg – author
• Elaine Scarry – author and Harvard University professor
• Lewis Turco – poet and writing teacher

Business & industry

• Doug Bernstein - co-founder of Melissa & Doug toy company
• Robert Diamond – president & CEO of Barclays Bank
• Clifford Grodd (1924–2010) – president and chief executive of Paul Stuart^[3]
• George Harrison – senior vice president at Nintendo
• Bob Kaufman – president and co-founder of Bob's Discount Furniture
• Timothy Shriver – Chairman and CEO of Special Olympics and member of Kennedy Family
• William S. Simon - president and CEO of U.S Operations for Walmart

Diplomacy, government & politics

• Bona Arsenault – former Canadian Member of Parliament
• Richard Calder – prominent CIA official
• Her Excellency Prof. Dr.Tansu Çiller – first female Prime Minister of Turkey
• Joe Courtney- Democratic U.S. Congressman
• Charles A. Duelfer – head of the Iraq Survey Group
• Samih Farsoun – academic and Arab-American activist
• Sam Gejdenson – former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives
• Robert Giaimo – former U.S. Representative who helped create the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Washington Metro
• Hajim al-Hassani – speaker of the Iraqi National Assembly
• Eliot A. Jardines – Assistant Deputy Director of U.S. National Intelligence for Open Source Intelligence
• Thomas Joseph Meskill – former Republican U.S. Representative and Governor for Connecticut
• Mark J. Marcus - Former Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families and politician.
• Shaun McNally – Democratic politician
• Chris Murphy – Democratic U.S. Congressman
• Pedro Segarra, Mayor of Hartford, Connecticut
• David Valesky – Democratic member of the New York State Senate
• Sam Webb – chairman of the Communist Party USA

Education

• Scott S. Cowen – president of Tulane University
• Thomas C. Duffy – deputy dean of the Yale School of Music
• Martha Piper – immediate past president and vice chancellor of the University of British Columbia
• Joseph W. Polisi – president of The Juilliard School
• Florence Roisman – Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law professor and social activist
• Timothy Perry Shriver – teacher and philanthropist
• Kevin Swick – early childhood education theorist

Law

• Joette Katz – Associate Justice, Connecticut Supreme Court
• Edward Kennedy, Jr. – lawyer and son of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy
• Rosemary S. Pooler – Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• Kevin O'Connor – former U.S. Attorney for the State of Connecticut and Chief of Staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

Military

• Kenneth North – former United States Air Force Brigadier General
• Paul A. Yost, Jr. – former United States Coast Guard Commandant

Science

• Franklin Chang-Diaz – astronaut and physicist
• David Lee – Nobel Prize-winning physicist
• Kevin B. MacDonald – evolutionary psychology theorist
• Richard Mastracchio – astronaut and engineer
• Massimo Pigliucci – outspoken evolutionary theorist and philosopher
• Philip Rubin – CEO and senior scientist at Haskins Laboratories
• Yuwen Zhang – Professor of Mechanical Engineering at University of Missouri

Faculty

Current

• Robert L. Birmingham – Professor of Law
• Ann Charters – Beat scholar who worked with Jack Kerouac to write his biography (Professor of English)
• Kenneth Fuchs – Grammy-nominated composer and former head of the Department of Music (School of Fine Arts)
• Johann Peter Gogarten - Evolutionary Biologist working on horizontal gene transfer
• Robert A. Gross – historian, author The Minutemen and their World
• Wally Lamb – best-selling author (Associate Professor of Creative Writing; also a UConn graduate)
• Gina Barreca – humor author, contributor to The Hartford Courant, blogger for The Chronicle of Higher Education and Psychology Today, and professor of English Literature and feminist theory
• Richard Normand Langlois – economist (Professor of Economics)
• Earl MacDonald - Director of Jazz Studies, jazz composer, arranger & pianist, former musical director for Maynard Ferguson
• Ronald Mallett – researcher in time travel (Professor of Physics)
• Ross Miller – Literary critic and biographer for Philip Roth and nephew of playwright Arthur Miller.
• Ruth Millikan – philosopher of language (Emeritus Professor of Philosophy)
• Olu Oguibe – Professor of Painting and author of The Culture Game
• Sam Pickering – teacher portrayed by Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society (Professor of English)
• Joseph Renzulli gifted education theorist
• Charles Schlueter – trumpeter
• Wayne Worcester – author and journalist (Professor of Journalism)
• Julian Rotter - Psychologist who developed social learning theory and locus of control. (Emeritus Professor of Psychology)

Former

Note: Years and official titles are given when possible.

• Ann Beattie, author
• Albert Francis Blakeslee, botanist (when it was still Connecticut Agricultural College)
• Taylor L. Booth, (Professor of Computer Science and Engineering)
• Francelia Butler, author and renowned expert on children's literature (Professor of English, 1968–1992)
• Lien Chan, former vice president of the Republic of China (Assistant Professor of Political Science, 1967–1968)
• Roy D'Andrade, developer of cognitive anthropology
• Victor Denenberg, notable developmental psychobiologist
• Richard Eberhart, poet
• James C. Faris, anthropologist (Professor of Anthropology and Near Eastern Studies)
• Brison D. Gooch, historian of 19th century Europe, taught at UC prior to 1973
• J. A. Scott Kelso, neuroscientist (Professor of Psychology and Biobehavioral Sciences)
• Susan Kinsolving, poet
• Myron W. Krueger, computer scientist (Professor of Computer Science, 1974–85)
• Glenn J. Lesniak, U.S. Army Major General
• Alvin Liberman, Famous Speech Scientist (Professor of Psychology)
• Richard Popkin, philosophy historian
• Gideon Rodan, biochemist and osteopath (School of Dental Medicine, 1970 to 1985)
• Harold Seidman, legendary political scientist and public administration expert (Professor of Political Science, 1971–1984)
• Paul N. Siegel, noted Marxist (Professor of English Literature)
• Edmund Ware Sinnott, botanist and prolific author (Professor of Botany and Genetics, 1915–1928)
• Ian Stewart, mathematician (Visiting Professor of Mathematics, 1977–1978)
• Rex Warner, author and translator (Professor of Classics, 1962–1973)
• Fujia Yang, physicist (Visiting Professor of Physics)
• Xiangzhong "Jerry" Yang – world animal cloning leader and director of the Center for Regenerative Biology (Professor of Animal Science)

References