List of Vanderbilt University people

This is a list of notable current and former faculty members, alumni, and non-graduating attendees of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Unless otherwise noted, attendees listed graduated with baccalaureate degrees. Names with an asterisk (*) graduated from Peabody College prior to its merger with Vanderbilt.

Notable alumni

Academia

* Hazo William Carter, Jr., 9th President, West Virginia State University
* Antonio Gotto - dean of Cornell University Weill Medical College
* Sheldon Hackney, President, University of Pennsylvania; President, Tulane University; Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities
* Thomas K. Hearn, Jr., 12th President, Wake Forest University
* J. Bernard Machen, 11th President, University of Florida
* The Rev. Edward A. Malloy, 16th President, University of Notre Dame
* Thomas W. Ogletree, Dean, Yale University Divinity School (1990-1996)
* Walter "Jack" Pratt, Dean, University of South Carolina Law School (2006-Current)
* John James Tigert, U.S. Commissioner of Education; President, University of Florida, Kentucky Wesleyan College

Art and humanities

* Cleanth Brooks, literary critic
* Donald Davidson, poet
* James Dickey, author and poet, winner of the National Book Award for Poetry, author of the novel "Deliverance"
* Ellen Gilchrist, National Book Award-winning author
* Kelsie B. Harder, Leading onomastician
* Ross Hassig (M.A. 1974), anthropologist, author and Mesoamerica scholar
* Randall Jarrell, United States Poet Laureate
* Delbert Mann, Academy Award-winning director
* Merrill Moore, poet
* James Patterson, bestselling contemporary writer of thrillers
* John Crowe Ransom, poet, essayist, and social commentator
* Tom Schulman, Academy Award-winning screenwriter of the film "Dead Poets Society"
* Allen Tate, United States Poet Laureate
* Robert Penn Warren, Pulitzer Prize winner, United States Poet Laureate

Athletics

* Chantelle Anderson, women's basketball player (1999-2003), three-time All-American (2001-03); WNBA San Antonio Silver Stars (2005-current), Sacramento Monarchs (2003-04)
* Lynn Bomar, linebacker/receiver (1921-24), College Football Hall of Fame (1956); later became warden of Tennessee State Prison and executed several men
* Mack Brown, head football coach at University of Texas. Transferred to Florida State University
* Watson Brown, quarterback (1969-72); head football coach at Austin Peay (1979-1980), Cincinnati (1983), Rice (1984-1985), Vanderbilt (1986-1990), UAB (1995-2006), Tennessee Tech (2007- )
* Derrick Byars, men's basketball player (attended 2004-07, played 2005-07); SEC Player of the Year (2007)
* Corey Chavous, safety (1994-98); St. Louis Rams (2006-present), Minnesota Vikings (2002-05), Arizona Cardinals (1998-2001)
* Josh Cody, tackle (1914-1916, 1919), College Football Hall of Fame (1970)
* Joey Cora, second baseman, Cleveland Indians (1998), Seattle Mariners (1995-1998/ All-Star in 1997), Chicago White Sox (1991-1994), first-round draft pick (1985, 23rd overall) by the San Diego Padres (1987, 1989-1990), third base coach for the White Sox (2004-current)
* Jay Cutler, quarterback (2002-2005); first-round draft pick (11th overall) by the Denver Broncos (2006-current)
* Jamie Duncan, linebacker (1995-97), All-American (1997); Atlanta Falcons (2004), St. Louis Rams (2002-03), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1998-2001)
* Lewie Hardage, football player; Head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners football team.
* Corey Harris, safety/kick returner (1988-91); Detroit Lions (2002-03), Baltimore Ravens (1998-2001), Miami Dolphins (1997), Seattle Seahawks (1995-96), Green Bay Packers (1992-94)
* Jeff Fosnes, men's basketball player (1972-1976), First Academic All-American, and only two-time Academic All-American, in Vanderbilt basketball history. Fourth-round draft pick of the Golden State Warriors (1976)
* Matt Freije, men's basketball player (2000-04), Wooden Award finalist (2003-04); Atlanta Hawks (2006), New Orleans Hornets (2004-05), originally a second-round draft pick of the Miami Heat (2004)
* Arthur Guepe, quarterback, football coach at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt. First commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference.
* Hunter Hillenmeyer, linebacker (1999-02); Chicago Bears (2003-current)
* Carl Hinkle, center (1935-1937), Southeastern Conference MVP (1937), College Football Hall of Fame (1959)
* Roy Kramer, athletics director (1978-1990); Southeastern Conference commissioner (1990-2002), credited with being instrumental in creating the BCS (Division I-A's national championship game); as SEC commissioner, presided over expanision which brought in Arkansas and South Carolina, creating the first collegiate mega-conference
* Dan Langhi, men's basketball player (1996-2000); Houston Rockets (2000-02), Phoenix Suns (2002-03), Golden State Warriors (2003), Milwaukee Bucks (2003)
* Clyde Lee, men's basketball player (1963-66); SEC Player of the Year (1965-66), All-American (1966); third overall pick of the San Francisco/Golden State Warriors (1966-74); also played for the Atlanta Hawks (1975) and Philadelphia 76ers (1975-76)
* Charles Martin "C. M." Newton, men's basketball coach (1982-89); chairman of the NCAA Rules Committee (1979-1985) during which time the 45-second shot clock, three-point shot and coaches box were implemented; Basketball Hall of Fame (2000), President of USA Basketball (1992-1996) credited with putting together the first Olympic "Dream Team"; chair of first National Invitation Tournament (NIT) Selection Committee (2006)
* Josh Paul, catcher; Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2006-current) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2004-2005), Chicago White Sox (1999-2003)
* Will Perdue, four-time NBA champion; Portland Trail Blazers (2000-01), San Antonio Spurs (1995-99), first-round draft pick (1988, 11th overall) of the Chicago Bulls (1988-95)
* David Price, first overall draft pick in 2007 Major League Baseball draft by Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
* Mark Prior, pitcher (1999; transferred to USC after freshman year); Chicago Cubs (2002-current)
* Shelton Quarles, middle linebacker (1990-93); Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1997-current)
* Bobby Reynolds, tennis player; ranked No. 1 in NCAA and led Vanderbilt to NCAA team finals (2003), won 2006 RCA Championships (doubles) with Andy Roddick
* Sheri Sam, women's basketball player (1992-96); WNBA Charlotte Sting (2005-06), Seattle Storm (2004), Minnesota Lynx (2003), Miami Sol (2000-02), Orlando Miracle (1999)
* Henry Russell Sanders, football and baseball player. Football coach at Vanderbilt and UCLA, where he won a national championship.
* Jeremy Sowers, pitcher (2002-04), college All-American (2004); first-round pick (sixth overall) in 2004 draft of the Cleveland Indians (2006-current)
* Bill Spears, quarterback (1925-27), College Football Hall of Fame (1925-1927)
* Matt Stewart, linebacker (1997-2000); Cleveland Browns (2005-current), Atlanta Falcons (2001-2004)
* Bill Wade, quarterback (1949-51), Southeastern Conference MVP (1951); first-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Rams (1954-60), Chicago Bears (1961-66)
* Sir Henry Worth Thornton, the highest-ranking American born officer in the British Army during World War I and President of the Canadian National Railways, was Vanderbilt's football coach during the 1894 season (7-1). He is the only American football coach to receive a knighthood.
* Pat Toomay, NFL defensive end and author.
* Perry Wallace, first African American basketball player in the Southeastern Conference; law professor at American University
* Jimmy Williams, defensive back (1997-2000); Seattle Seahawks (2005-current), San Francisco 49ers (2001-2004)
* Jamie Winborn, linebacker (1998-2000); Denver Broncos (2007-Current), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2006-2007), Jacksonville Jaguars (2005-2006), San Francisco 49ers (2001-2005)
* Todd Yoder, tight end (1996-99); Washington Redskins (2006-current), Jacksonville Jaguars (2004-2005), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2000-2003)
* Brandt Snedeker. professional golfer, made notable appearance in 2008 Masters Tournament

Business and economics

* John D. Arnold, founder of Centaurus Energy
* Monroe J. Carell, Jr., former Chairman and CEO of Central Parking Corporation
* David N. Farr, Chairman and CEO of Emerson Electric
* Thomas Frist, Jr., Co-founder and former CEO of Hospital Corporation of America
* Matthew J. Hart, President and COO of Hilton Hotels
* Allan Hubbard, Director of the National Economic Council
* R. Brad Martin, Chairman and CEO of Saks Incorporated
* Mark P. Mays, President and CEO of Clear Channel Communications
* W. Douglas Parker, Jr., Chairman, President, and CEO of US Airways
* H. Ross Perot, Jr., Chairman of Perot Systems, real estate investor
* Charles Plosser, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
* Charlie Soong, missionary, businessman, father of the Soong sisters
* Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, pioneer of microcredit, 2006 winner of Nobel Prize in peace

Entertainment and fashion

* Dierks Bentley, country musician
* Joe Bob Briggs, B-movie critic
* Paula Cale, actress, transferred to DePaul
* Rosanne Cash, singer and songwriter
* George Ducas, country music artist
* Cliff Ennico, Vanderbilt Law School, host of PBS' business and finance show "Money Hunt"
* M.J. Garrett, cast member, ["played football from 1999-2002"]
* Amy Grant, Contemporary Christian music artist ["dropped out to pursue music career"]
* Jill King, country music artist
* Richard Kyanka, creator of humor website Something Awful
* Bettie Page*, model
* Amy Ray, singer/songwriter/member of the Indigo Girls ["attended Vanderbilt before transferring to Emory University, where she graduated]
* Dinah Shore, singer, actress, and television host
* Scott Siman, artist manager Tim McGraw, former Chairman Academy of Country Music
* Molly Sims, model, actress ["dropped out to pursue modeling"]
* Brooklyn Sudano, model, actress, and singer
* Robert Louis Takacs, singer/songwriter/member of Congress

Government, politics, and activism

* Greg Abbott, Attorney General of Texas
* Bill Alexander, United States Representative from Arkansas (1969-1993)
* Lamar Alexander, Governor of Tennessee (1979-1987), United States Secretary of Education (1991-1993), United States Senator from Tennessee (2003- )
* Jim Bacchus, former U.S. Representative from the 11th and 15th districts of Florida, former Chairman of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization
* Theodore Bilbo, U.S. Senator and Governor, Mississippi. Attended Peabody College and Law School but did not graduate from either.
* David Boaz, Executive Vice-President, Cato Institute, leading libertarian thinker.
* Bill Boner, former Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee
* Beverly Briley, former Mayor of Nashville
* Bill Campbell, former Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia
* Brian Carlson, Ambassador to Latvia (2001-2004)
* Frank G. Clement, former Governor of Tennessee
* William Prentice Cooper, former Governor of Tennessee and Ambassador to Peru
* Terry Dornbush, former Ambassador to the Netherlands
* James Oliver Eastland, former U.S. Senator
* Vince Foster, former Deputy White House Chief of Staff
* John Nance Garner, former Vice President and Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
* Al Gore, 45th Vice President of the United States, former U.S. Senator, former U.S. Representative, environmental activist, ["did not complete graduate degrees"]
* Tipper Gore*, activist, former Second Lady of the United States
* John Jay Hooker, political figure
* Bill Lacy, political operative, business executive, and Director of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics
* James Lawson, Civil Rights pioneer
* Mickey Kantor, United States Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce in the Clinton Administration
* Ric Keller, U.S. Representative
* John N. Kennedy, Louisiana State Treasurer
* Marshall Fletcher McCallie, former Ambassador to Namibia
* Harlan Mathews, former U.S. Senator
* Roy Neel, Campaign Manager for Howard Dean, Deputy Chief of Staff for former President Bill Clinton and Chief of Staff for Al Gore
* Bill Purcell, Mayor of Nashville
* Woodall Rodgers, Mayor of Dallas, Texas
* James Sasser, former U.S. Senator and Ambassador to China
* John R. Steelman, White House Chief of Staff under President Harry Truman
* Fred Dalton Thompson, former U.S. Senator, actor
* Jack Watson, Chief of Staff under President Jimmy Carter
* Don West, Civil Rights activist, labor organizer, poet, educator
* James Clark McReynolds, Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1914-1941)
* Hans von Spakovsky, FEC Commissioner, appointed by recess, withdrew own nomination after controversy
* Justin P. Wilson, former deputy governor of Tennessee.

Journalism and media

* Skip Bayless, ESPN personality and nationally syndicated columnist
* Roy Blount Jr., humorist, sportswriter, and author
* David Brinkley, broadcast journalist
* Chris Crain, former editor of the Washington Blade
* Terry Eastland, publisher of The Weekly Standard
* Eric Etheridge, first managing editor of "George" magazine
* Samuel Feist, CNN senior executive producer for political programming
* Willie Geist, humorist and MSNBC commentator
* Alex Heard (journalist), editorial director of "Outside" magazine and an author
* Molly Henneberg, correspondent, Fox News
* Tyler Kepner, "New York Times" baseball beat writer
* Ralph McGill, former "Atlanta Constitution" editor and publisher [did not graduate due to suspension related to an article he wrote]
* Buster Olney, ESPN baseball writer, former sportswriter for the "New York Times"
* Richard Quest, Reporter for CNN International
* Grantland Rice, celebrated sportswriter
* Wendell Rawls, Jr., journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner.
* Fred Russell, celebrated sportswriter
* Christine Sadler, Peabody (VU) graduate and pioneer female newspaper journalist
* Jim Squires, former editor of the Chicago Tribune and Orlando Sentinel, author, horse breeder
* E. Thomas Wood, author and Nashville journalist

Law

* Cornelia Clark, Justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court (2005-current)
* James Clark McReynolds, Supreme Court Justice (1914-1941), Assistant Attorney General (1903-1907)
* Walter "Jack" Pratt, Dean, University of South Carolina law school, (2006-Current)
* Eugene Siler, Federal Circuit Court Judge, 6th Circuit
* Fred Dalton Thompson, Vanderbilt Law School, former U.S. Senator, actor on NBC's "Law & Order" (2002-Current)
* Jack Thompson, Vanderbilt Law School, attorney and activist against obscenity and violence in media and entertainment

Ministry and religion

* William S. Hatcher was a mathematician, philosopher, and educator. He went on to serve on several National Spiritual Assemblies and wrote several books on the Bahá'í Faith after his 1957 conversion while at Vanderbilt University.
* Walter Russell Lambuth, M.D., recipient of Theology and Medical degrees from Vanderbilt. Methodist missionary to China, Japan and Africa; later Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
* James Lawson, civil rights pioneer and student at the Divinity School. Kicked out of Vanderbilt for his involvement in organizing civil rights protests in Nashville; later returned to Vanderbilt and is currently a faculty member.
*Mark A. Noll, progressive evangelical scholar, historian at the University of Notre Dame.

Science and medicine

* Walter Russell Lambuth, M.D.
* Stanford Moore, Winner of the 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
* Michael L. Gernhardt, NASA Astronaut

Notable faculty

* Camilla Benbow, Dean of Peabody College at Vanderbilt University, noted scholar on education of gifted youth
* Kenneth C. Catania, neurobiologist,MacArthur Fellows Program award winner
* Rick Chappell, astronaut
* Bill Christie, Research lead to sweeping reform of NASDAQ trading practices
* Stanley Cohen, biochemist, discoverer of cellular growth factors, Nobel prize winner (1986)
* Alain Connes, mathematician, Fields Medal Winner (1982)
* Dewey Daane, Federal Reserve Board member, Professor Daane was a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, the principal policymaking body in the Federal Reserve System, from 1963 to 1974.
* Max Delbruck, pioneering molecular biologist, Nobel Prize winner
* Arthur Demarest, Ingram Professor of Anthropology, Mesoamerican scholar
* Tony Earley, Noted American novelist
* Charlotte Froese Fischer, prominent chemist and mathematician responsible for the development of the multi-configurational self-consistent field of computational chemistry
* Jim Foglesong, Member of the Country Music Hall of Fame
* Harold Ford, Jr., Former U.S. Congressman, candidate for Senate
* Bill Frist, Majority Leader (2002-2007), U.S. Senate (1995-2007), former transplant surgeon
* Luke Froeb, Director of the Bureau of Economics at the Federal Trade Commission (2003-2005); Professor of Management (1993-Current)
* Sam Girgus, noted film scholar
* Ellen Goldring, education scholar
* Ernest William Goodpasture, pioneering virologist
* F. Peter Guengerich, Director of the [http://www.toxicology.mc.vanderbilt.edu Center in Molecular Toxicology]
* Elijah Embree Hoss, Chair of Ecclesiastical History, Church Polity and Pastoral Theology (1885-90), later a Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
* Bill Ivey, Director of the National Endowment for the Arts during the Clinton Administration, director of the [http://www.vanderbilt.edu/curbcenter Curb Center] at Vanderbilt
* John Lachs, noted philosopher and pragmatist
* Richard C. McCarty, professor of psychology and dean of the College of Arts and Science
* Roy Neel, Campaign Manager for Howard Dean, Deputy Chief of Staff for Bill Clinton and Chief of Staff for Al Gore
* Julia Sears, mathematician, pioneering feminist
* Margaret Rhea Seddon, astronaut
* Ronald Spores, archaeologist, ethnohistorian and Mesoamerican scholar
* Hans Stoll, Research revolutionized the field of financial derivatives and market microstructures.
* Earl Sutherland, physiologist, discoverer of hormonal second messengers, Nobel Prize winner
* W. Kip Viscusi, leading scholar in Law and Economics
* John Vrooman, Notable Sports Economist
* Susan F. Wiltshire, Clinton Administration National Endowment for the Humanities appointee