List of Wichita State University people

University presidents

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

• Harold Foght, 1927–1934
• William M. Jardine, 1934–1949, previously was Professor/Dean and President of Kansas State University, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and U.S. Minister to Egypt
• Harry F. Corbin, 1949–1963, previously was Associate Professor of Political Science at WU

• 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

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), 2004–2006
• 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 Wichita, Kansas">Wichita, Kansas">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 U.S. 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
• Matt Wilson (jazz drummer) – jazz drummer

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

Sports

Sportscasting

• Gary Bender – sportscaster

Baseball

• Casey Blake – Major League Baseball player
• Alec Bohm – 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 – 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 – 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
• Cleo Littleton – First-team All-MVC and AP Honorable mention All-American
• Xavier McDaniel – NBA played
• Gal Mekel – 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 – American-Liberian basketball player for Hapoel Holon of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Landry Shamet – NBA player with the Phoenix Suns
• Grant Sherfield – 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, USBC spokesperson
• Clara Guerrero – PWBA bowler
• Francois Lavoie – PBA bowler
• Jake Peters – 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
• Jim Bausch – running back, All-American and member of College Football Hall of Fame 1927 then transferred to University of Kansas
• 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
• 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

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