List of University of Virginia people


The University of Virginia is a public university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Following is a partial list of its notable alumni, faculty, board members, and rectors.

Alumni

Col stands for College of Arts and Sciences.

Entertainment

NameClassSchool or degreeNotabilityReferences
Robert AldrichNon-degreedFilm director, writer, and producer of The Dirty Dozen
Will Anderson2008ColLead singer of the pop-rock band Parachute
Krystal Ball2003ColAnchor on MSNBC's The Cycle
David Berman1989ColLead singer of indie-rock band Silver Jews
John Brenkus1993ColHost, ESPN's Sports Science
Margaret Brennan2002ColBloomberg TV anchor, In Business with Margaret Brennan
Edward BrophyColActor
Coran Capshaw1983ColFounder, Red Light Management; manager of the Dave Matthews Band, Faith Hill, and Alicia Keys
Tom CoraColAvant-garde cellist and composer
Katie Couric1979ColAnchor of CBS Evening News; former host of NBC's Today Show
John Dickerson1991ColAnchor of CBS News Prime Time with John Dickerson
Deidre DownsNon-degreedMiss America 2005
Kimberly Dozier1993GraduateReporter for CBS News
Sarah Drew2002ColActress, Grey's Anatomy
Tina Fey1992ColCreator, writer, producer and actress, 30 Rock; former head writer, actress, Saturday Night Live
Schuyler Fisk2004ColSinger/songwriter
Bob Gazzale1987ColPresident, American Film Institute
Jason George1994ColActor
Brennan Gilmore2001ColBluegrass musician
Richard Glatzer1975GraduateFilm director, producer, writer, Still Alice, The Fluffer, and Quinceañera
Ann Hould-Ward1978GraduateBroadway costume designer, Tony Award recipient
Brit Hume1965ColManaging editor, Fox News
Laura Ingraham1991LawConservative talk show host
Mark Johnson1971ColFilm producer, Rain Man, Good Morning, Vietnam, and The Chronicles of Narnia; Academy Award recipient
Jen Lilley2007ColActress, General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, The Artist
Jessica Lynch2000ColMiss New York 2003
Rod MacDonald1970ColSinger/songwriter
Stephen Malkmus1988ColLead singer of indie-rock band Pavement
Tyler Mathisen1976ColCo-anchor, Power Lunch; vice president for Strategic Editorial Initiatives, CNBC
Benjamin McKenzie2001ColActor, Fox's The O.C.
PES1995ColDirector, filmmaker, director of Oscar-nominated short film Fresh Guacamole
Ed RomanoffBA CommunicationSinger-songwriter
Andrew Scheinman1973LawTV producer, Seinfeld; Emmy Award recipient
Teddy Sears1999ColActor, Masters of Sex
Tom Shadyac1981ColDirector, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Patch Adams, Bruce Almighty
Melissa Stark1995ColReporter, ESPN and ABC's Monday Night Football
Skipp Sudduth1983Graduateactor
Sean Patrick Thomas1993ColActor
Boyd TinsleyViolinist, mandolinist, backup vocals for Dave Matthews Band
Dylan Walsh1986ColActor, Nip/Tuck
Whitney Wegman-WoodMFAActress, Kung Fu Ghost; screenwriter, The Last Butterflies
Stan Winston1968ColSpecial effects expert, four-time Academy Award recipient
Paul Junger Witt1963ColEmmy Award recipient; producer, Dead Poets Society; TV producer, The Golden Girls, The Partridge Family, Soap, Benson, and Blossom
Vern Yip1990ColInterior designer, HGTV home improvement personality
Sasheer Zamata2006ColActor, Saturday Night Live

Medicine

NameClassSchool or degreeNotabilityReferences
Rupert Blue1890CoSurgeon General of the United States
S. Ward Casscells1939MedicinePioneering orthopedic surgeon, introduced arthroscopy of the knee joint into practice in the United States
Francis Collins1970ColDirector of the Human Genome Project; past director, National Institute of Health
Hugh S. Cumming1893MedicineSurgeon General of the United States
Lisa L. CunninghamPh.D.National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders scientific director
David John Doukas1975ColClinical bioethics scholar, family physician
J. Hartwell Harrison1932MedicinePioneering kidney transplant surgeon
Charles T. Pepper1855MedicinePhysician who surgeon who was the original "Dr. Pepper" according to the Dr Pepper Company
Vivian Pinn1967MedicineFormer associate director for research on women's health at the National Institutes of Health
Walter Reed1869MedicineMedical researcher; discovered transmission of yellow fever
Beverly R. Wellford1816MedicineSixth president of the American Medical Association
Hugh H. Young1891MedicineInventor, author, pioneering surgeon

Politics

NameClassSchool or degreeNotabilityReferences
Yasushi Akashi1956GraduateChairman, International House of Japan; former undersecretary of the United Nations
George Allen1974, 1977Col, LawGovernor and U.S. senator, Virginia
Hanan Ashrawi1982GraduateOfficial spokesperson of the Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East Peace Process
Nathan L. Bachman1903LawU.S. senator, Tennessee; justice, Tennessee Supreme Court
Alben W. Barkley1900Law35th vice president of the United States; U.S. senator, Kentucky
Evan Bayh1981LawU.S. senator and governor, Indiana
Andy Beshear2005LawGovernor of Kentucky
Kit Bond1963LawU.S. senator, Missouri
Alan Stephenson Boyd1948LawFirst United States Secretary of Transportation
Harry F. Byrd Jr.1936LawU.S. senator, Virginia
Millard F. Caldwell1924LawGovernor, U.S. congressman, and state supreme court justice, Florida
Greg Casar2012ColU.S. congressman, Texas
James Paul Clarke1878LawUnited States senator and the 18th governor of Arkansas
John Cornyn1995LawU.S. senator, Texas
Joseph T. CurryMember of the Louisiana House of Representatives
William H. Daingerfield1829Col2nd mayor of San Antonio; ambassador
Henry Winter Davis1841LawOutspoken Radical Republican; U.S. congressman, Maryland
Mary DeRosa1981ColFormer deputy counsel to the president for National Security Affairs in the Obama Administration
Hasjim Djala1959LawIndonesian ambassador to Germany, Canada, and the United Nations; chairman and president of the International Seabed Authority
Joseph T. Doyle1990GraduatePennsylvania state representative
William A. Eaton1978ColUnited States ambassador to Panama, United States assistant secretary of state
Paul Erickson1988LawPolitical consultant
William Stamps Farish III1962ColU.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom
William Meade Fishback1855Law17th governor of Arkansas and U.S. senator, Arkansas
Luis Fortuño1985LawGovernor of Puerto Rico
Michael E. Guest1981GraduateU.S. ambassador to Romania; first openly gay man to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate and serve as a U.S. ambassador
Barbara HallidayMayor of Hayward, California
Mark Herring1986GraduateAttorney general of Virginia, member of the Senate of Virginia
Yan Huiqing1900ColPremier and prime minister of the Republic of China; Chinese Ambassador to the United States; Chinese ambassador to the Soviet Union; Chinese representative in the League of Nations
Robert M. T. Hunter1829ColSpeaker of the United States House of Representatives and U.S. senator, Virginia
Eppa Hunton1843LawCSA brigadier general; U.S. congressman and U.S. senator, Virginia
Louis A. Johnson1913LawSecond United States Secretary of Defense
Brereton Jones1961CommunicationGovernor of Kentucky
John Kennedy1977LawU.S. senator, Louisiana, state treasurer of Louisiana
Robert F. Kennedy1951LawU.S. senator, New York; 1968 U.S. presidential candidate, U.S. attorney general
Ted Kennedy1959LawU.S. senator, Massachusetts
Angus King1969Law72nd governor of Maine, United States senator from Maine
William Preston Lane Jr.1915LawGovernor, Maryland
J. Hamilton LewisU.S. senator, Illinois and first whip
Sean Patrick Maloney1988, 1992Col, LawU.S. congressman, New York's 18th congressional district and former White House Office of the Staff Secretary
Thurgood Marshall Jr.1978, 1981Col, LawFormer White House Cabinet Secretary
Roy MartinCommerceMayor of Norfolk, Virginia, 31st president of the United States Conference of Mayors
Henry M. Mathews1856GraduateGovernor of West Virginia
Jennifer McClellan1997LawU.S. congresswoman, Virginia's 4th congressional district
Samuel D. McEnery1857ColGovernor and U.S. senator for Louisiana, United States House of Representatives
Ana Montes1979ColConvicted Cuban spy
Janet Napolitano1983LawGovernor of Arizona, secretary of Homeland Security, president of the University of California System
Bill Nelson1968LawU.S. senator, Florida; NASA astronaut
Kirstjen Nielsen1999Law6th secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security
Longin Pastusiak1959GraduateMarshall of the Senate, Poland
Thomas Caute Reynolds1838Law11th lieutenant governor of Missouri; governor of Missouri
Chuck Robb1973LawGovernor of Virginia and U.S. senator
Joseph T. Robinson1895LawGovernor of Arkansas and United States Senate majority leader
Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr.1940LawU.S. congressman, New York
Chip Roy1994CommerceU.S. congressman, Texas's 21st congressional district
Mark Sanford1988DardenGovernor of South Carolina
Eugene Scalia1985Col28th United States Secretary of Labor
George Schley1833ColMaryland State Senate, Maryland House of Delegates, and Maryland Constitutional Convention of 1850
Faryar Shirzad1992LawAdvisor to United States President George W. Bush
Marc Short2004DardenWhite House director of Legislative Affairs
Michael SignerLawMayor of Charlottesville, Virginia
John W. Snow1965GraduateUnited States Secretary of the Treasury
Javier Solana1968GraduateSpanish former secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and previous European Union foreign policy chief
Abigail Spanberger2001ColU.S. congresswoman, Virginia
Richard B. Spencer2001ColNeo-Nazi, White nationalist, founder of AlternativeRight.com, president and director of the National Policy Institute
William B. Spong Jr.1947LawU.S. senator, Virginia
John C. Stennis1928LawU.S. senator, Mississippi
Edward Stettinius Jr.1924ColUnited States Secretary of State
Robert M. SwitzerLawUnited States representative
Charles L. Terry Jr.1922ColGovernor of Delaware
Robert Toombs1830LawU.S. senator, Georgia
John V. Tunney1959LawU.S. congressman and U.S. senator, California
Thomas B. Turley1867LawU.S. senator, Tennessee
John Warner1953LawU.S. senator, Virginia
Mac Warner1991LawSecretary of state of West Virginia
Lowell P. Weicker Jr.1957LawGovernor of Connecticut, U.S. congressman, and U.S. senator
Kevin Whitaker1979ColUnited States ambassador to Colombia
Sheldon Whitehouse1982LawUnited States senator from Rhode Island, attorney general of Rhode Island
John Sharp Williams1876LawMinority leader of the United States House of Representatives
Wayne W. Williams1989LawSecretary of state of Colorado
Woodrow WilsonNon-degreed28th president of the United States

Sports

NameClassSchool or degreeNotabilityReferences
Val Ackerman1981ColFounder and former president of WNBA, and current commissioner of the Big East Conference
Jeff Agoos1990Swiss–born American soccer defender
Cory Alexander1995ColProfessional basketball player with the NBA
Darion Atkins2015Professional basketball player for Hapoel Holon of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Ronde Barber1996CommunicationProfessional football player with Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tiki Barber1997CommunicationProfessional football player with the New York Giants; current sportscaster
Malcolm Brogdon2016Professional basketball player with the Washington Wizards
Heather BurgeProfessional basketball player with the WNBA
Heidi Burge1993ColProfessional basketball player with the WNBA
Chris Canty2004ColProfessional football player
Rick Carlisle1984ColProfessional football player; current head coach, Dallas Mavericks
John Choma1970Professional football player with the San Francisco 49ers
Casey CrawfordProfessional football player
Mike CubbageProfessional baseball player and manager
Virginius DabneyCollege football player and coach
Somdev Devvarman2008ColProfessional tennis player
Mamadi Diakite2020Professional basketball player
Daryl DikeProfessional soccer player and U.S. men's national team player
Bill Dudley1942EducationProfessional football player and NFL Hall of Fame
Jeffrey Eggleston2007Long-distance runner
Carlton ElliottProfessional football layer with the Green Bay Packers
Paul Ereng1993Col1988 Summer Olympics gold medalist in 800 meters
Alecko EskandarianColMajor League Soccer #1 overall draft pick, player with D.C. United and U.S. national team
Mustapha Farrakhan Jr.Professional basketball player
D'Brickashaw Ferguson2006ColProfessional football player with the New York Jets
Tim Finchem1973Commissioner of the PGA Tour
Morgan Gautrat2014Professional soccer player and member of the US Women's National Soccer Team
Jake GelofProfessional baseball player
Zack GelofProfessional baseball player
Conor Gill2002ColMajor League Lacrosse Rookie of the Year Award; 2002
Robert Kent GoochCollege football player
Jim Grobe1975, 1978Head coach of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team
Al Groh1967CommunicationsFormer head coach of New York Jets, former head coach of Virginia football team
Margaret Groos1988 U.S, Olympic Trial marathon winner; former world indoor record holder for 5,000 meters
Kyle GuyProfessional basketball player with the Sacramento Kings
Brandon GuyerProfessional baseball player with the Tampa Bay Rays
Darryl Hammond1988ColProfessional Arena Football League player
John HarkesProfessional soccer player and coach
Joe Harris2014Professional basketball player
Adam HaseleyProfessional baseball player with the Chicago White Sox
DeAndre HunterProfessional basketball player Atlanta Hawks
Ty JeromeProfessional basketball player with the Phoenix Suns
Mike JonesProfessional wrestler under the names Virgil, Vincent, and Curly Moe
Thomas JonesProfessional football player with the Kansas City Chiefs
Henry JordanProfessional football player and Pro Football Hall of Fame member
Braxton KeyProfessional basketball player
Melanie Kok2008 Summer Olympics silver medalist in rowing
Joe KoshanskyProfessional baseball player
Bowie Kuhn1950LawFormer commissioner of Major League Baseball
Noel LaMontagneProfessional football player
Jeff LampProfessional basketball player
Sylven LandesbergProfessional basketball player
Lesley LehaneWinner of the NCAA and TAC National Championships in cross-country in 1982
Chris LongProfessional football player
Javier LópezProfessional baseball player with the San Francisco Giants
John LoydCollege football player and team captain
Wali LundyProfessional football player
Buck MayerCollege football player and College Football All-America Team
Tony Meola1989ColProfessional soccer player and World Cup goalkeeper
Jerome Meyinsse2010Professional basketball player with the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Heath Miller2004ColProfessional football player with the Pittsburgh Steelers
Eugene Monroe2008ColProfessional football player with the Jacksonville Jaguars
Herman Moore1991ColProfessional football player
Shawn MooreFormer NFL and CFL player, All–American at UVA
Ed Moses2004EducationOlympic gold medalist in swimming
Trey Murphy IIIProfessional basketball player
Bret Myers2006MSProfessional soccer player
Ben OlsenNon-degreedProfessional soccer player and coach with the D.C. United
London PerrantesProfessional basketball player with the Israeli Basketball Premier League
John PhillipsProfessional football player
Shamek Pietucha1999ColOlympic swimmer
John Beverly PollardCollege football player and coach
Sonny Randle1958Professional football player
Claudio ReynaNon-degreedProfessional soccer player and captain of U.S. national team
LaRoy ReynoldsProfessional football player with the Atlanta Falcons
Mark ReynoldsProfessional baseball player with the St. Louis Cardinals
Eppa Rixey1912ColProfessional baseball player and National Baseball Hall of Fame member
Chris Rotelli2003Professional lacrosse player
Jake RozhanskyProfessional soccer player
Ralph Sampson1983ColNBA #1 draft pick, professional basketball player, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Becky SauerbrunnProfessional soccer player and member of the US women's national team
Matt Schaub2003ColProfessional football player with the Houston Texans
Michael Schwimer2008Professional baseball player with the Philadelphia Phillies
Mike ScottProfessional basketball player
Marial ShayokBasketball player in the NBA and the Israeli Premier Basketball League
Don ShulaProfessional football head coach of the Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins
Chris Slade1993ColProfessional football player with the New England Patriots
Michael Slive1965LawFormer commissioner of the Southeastern Conference
Devin SmithProfessional basketball player
Emily Sonnett2015ColProfessional soccer player and member of the US women's national team
Dawn Staley1992Col2004 Summer Olympics gold medalist, college basketball coach, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Chris TaylorProfessal baseball player with the Los Angeles Dodgers
Bradley WalkerCollege football coach and referee
DeMya Walker1999ColProfessional basketball player
George WelshCollege football player and coach
Ralph C. Wilson Jr.Founding owner of the Buffalo Bills, namesake of Ralph Wilson Stadium
Monica Wright2010ColProfessional basketball player
Ryan Zimmerman2005ColProfessional baseball player with the Washington Nationals

Notable faculty and staff

NameFieldUVA positionNotabilityReferences
Henry J. AbrahamPolitical ScienceJames Hart Professor of GovernmentScholar on the judiciary and constitutional law
Bruce ArenaSoccerHead men's soccer coachCoached the Virginia Cavaliers to five NCAA championships; head coach of the US national men's soccer team
Silvia BlemkerBiomedical EngineeringProfessorProfessor of biomechanical engineering; co-founder and chief scientific officer of Springbok Analytics
Julian BondHistoryProfessorFounder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; co-founder and first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center
John BonvllianPsychologyAssociate professorPioneer in the field of augmentative and alternative communication
Anna BrickhouseAmerican StudiesDepartment director
James M. BuchananEconomicsAlfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1986
Lester J. CapponHistoryArchivist and professorArchivist for Colonial Williamsburg
Meredith ClarkMedia StudiesAssistant professorExpert on Black Twitter
Ronald CoaseEconomicsAlfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1991
Martha DerthickPublic AdministrationJulia Allen Cooper Professor of Government and Foreign AffairsConsummate authority on the Social Security Administration
Robert E. EmeryPsychologyProfessor and director of the Center for Children, Families, and the Law
William FaulknerEnglishWriter in residenceNobel Prize in Literature in 1949; Pulitzer Prizes for Fiction in 1954 and 1962
Elmer L. GadenBiochemistryWills Johnson Professor of Chemical EngineeringKnown as the "father of biochemical engineering"
Alfred G. GilmanPharmacologyAssistant professor1994 Nobel Prize in Physiology
Larycia HawkinsPolitical ScienceAssociate professor in religious studies and political science
Matthew HoldenPolitical ScienceHenry L. and Grace M. Doherty Professor Emeritus of PoliticsFormer president of the American Political Science Association; former commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
Thomas M. HumphreyEconomyEconomist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
Milton W. HumphreysLatin and GreekProfessor
Patricia JenningsEducationProfessor
David C. JordanPolitical ScienceProfessor of International Relations and Comparative PoliticsUnited States ambassador to Peru
Robert S. KempBusinessRamon W. Breeden Research Professor of Commerce
Charles W. KentEnglishProfessor
W. A. LambethMedicineProfessor and athletic directorFirst athletic director at UVA
Jennifer L. LawlessPolitical ScienceCommonwealth Professor of Politics; faculty affiliate of the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
Angeline Stoll LillardPsychologyDirector of Graduate Recruitment and Admissions, professor
Dumas MaloneHistoryThomas Jefferson Foundation Professor of HistoryPulitzer Prize for history for his six-volume Jefferson and His Time
Barry MarshallMedicine2005 Nobel Prize in Physiology
Ferid MuradBiochemistry, PharmacologyProfessor; director, Clinical Research Center; and director, Division of Clinical Pharmacology Department of Internal Medicine at the School of Medicine1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology
Edward P. NeyPhysicsAssistant ProfessorMade major contributions to cosmic ray research, atmospheric physics, heliophysics, and infrared astronomy
Brian NosekPsychologyProfessor
Ken OnoMathematicsThomas Jefferson Professor of MathematicsExpert on Number Theory and Srinivasa Ramanujan
Charlotte PattersonPsychologyProfessor and director of the Women, Gender & Sexuality ProgramSpecialist in the psychology of sexual orientation
Shayn Peirce-CottlerBiomedical EngineeringProfessor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Enginering
Andrea L. PressMedia Studies and SociologyWilliam R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Media Studies and Sociology
William B. QuandtPolitical ScienceProfessor in the Department of PoliticsMember of the National Security Council involved in the negotiations that led to the Camp David Accords and the Egypt–Israel peace treaty
William Barton RogersPhilosophyDepartment head and facultyFounded MIT and became its first president
Richard RortyPhilosophyKenan Professor of HumanitiesInfluential writer
Larry SabatoPolitical ScienceProfessor of politics; founder and director of the Center for PoliticsNamed the "Most Quoted College Professor in the Land" by the Wall Street Journal
James D. SavagePolitical ScienceProfessor of politics; faculty affiliate of the Batten SchoolAuthor and specialist in comparative budgetary, fiscal, and macroeconomic policy
Antonin ScaliaLawProfessorAssociate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Natasha SheybaniBiomedical EngineeringAssistant professorFirst UVA recipient of NCI Predoctoral-to-Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award
William D. SpotnitzMedicineCardiothoracic surgeon, University of Virginia Health SystemResearcher in the use of fibrin glue
Herbert SteinEconomicsA. Willis Robertson ProfessorChairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford
Peter TaylorEnglishPulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1987; PEN/Malamud Award in 1993
George TuckerPhilosophyProfessor of Moral PhilosophyEarly biographer of Thomas Jefferson and member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Eric TurkheimerPsychologyHugh Scott Hamilton Professor of PsychologySpecialist in how genes and environments shape the development of human behavior
Siva VaidhyanathanMedia StudiesRobertson Professor of Media StudiesPermanent columnist at The Guardian and Slate
Jerry WhiteBusiness AdministrationProfessor of Practice; adjunct faculty of the Politics DepartmentCEO of Global Impact Strategies Inc.; co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
Stephen K. WhitePolitical ScienceJames Hart Professor of Politics
Bruce A. WilliamsMedia StudiesProfessor of Media Studies
Daniel T. WillinghamPsychologyProfessor and director of Graduate StudiesSpecialist in cognition related to K–12 education
Timothy WilsonPsychologySherrell J. Aston Professor of PsychologyAuthor of popular books
Tibor WlassicsItalianKenan Professor of Italian StudiesResearch on the poet Dante Alighieri
Brantly WomackPolitical ScienceCumming Memorial Professor of Foreign Affairs

Rectors and members of the board of visitors