List of University of Northern Iowa people

This list includes notable alumni, faculty, and staff of what is now the University of Northern Iowa.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Alumni

• Bess Streeter Aldrich, novelist
• Terry Allen, former Missouri State head football coach
• Eddie Berlin, former NFL player
• Bruce Charlesworth, filmmaker and photographer
• Jordan Schmelzer, Drummer for Machine Gun Kelly (2023-present)
• John R. Dinger, former U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia (2000–2003)
• Paul Emerick, professional rugby player and three-time Rugby World Cup veteran
• Ali Farokhmanesh, former professional basketball player, made famous shot to beat Kansas
• LJ Fort, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker
• Joe Fuller, former NFL player
• Mike Furrey, former NFL player
• Charles Grassley, current U.S. Senator
• Gil Gutknecht, former U.S. Congressman
• Mike Hawker, Alaska State Representative, 2002–present
• Robert John Hibbs, Medal of Honor recipient, 1966, Vietnam War
• Ryan Hannam, former NFL player
• Roger Jepsen, former U.S. Senator
• David Johnson, NFL Running Back for the Arizona Cardinals
• Chris Klieman, head coach of Kansas State University football
• Bonnie Koloc, vocalist, recording artist
• Pamela Levy, American-Israeli artist
• Jason Lewis, nationally syndicated talk host
• Greg McDermott, current Creighton University head men's basketball coach
• C. Edward McVaney, co-founder and former CEO of the JD Edwards Corporation, an enterprise resource planning company purchased by PeopleSoft in 2002
• Brad Meester, former NFL player
• Brian Meyer, member of the Iowa House of Representatives ^[1]
• Abinadi Meza, performance artist
• Brian Mitchell, arena football drop kick record holder
• Nick Nurse, basketball coach
• Bryce Paup, 1995 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, 4-time Pro Bowler
• Tom Pettit, television news correspondent for NBC
• Chris Pirillo, former host of TechTV's "Call for Help" show, founder of Lockergnome
• Nancy Jo Powell, current United States Ambassador to India. Former U.S. Ambassador to Nepal, Pakistan, Ghana and Uganda
• Steve Proffitt, senior producer, National Public Radio
• Dorothy Jean Ray, anthropologist
• William P. Robinson, president of Whitworth University
• Dean Schwarz, ceramic artist
• Warren Allen Smith, writer
• Mary Ellen Solt, poet
• Jane Elliot, social activist
• Phyllis Somerville film, theatre and television actress
• Mark Steines, co-host of Entertainment Tonight
• Bill Stewart, jazz musician
• Tyree Talton, former NFL player
• Ed Thomas, high school football coach ^[2]
• Krista Voda, NASCAR on Fox announcer
• Kurt Warner, two-time NFL MVP, MVP of Super Bowl XXXIV
• Will Wilkinson, political writer and policy analyst
• Joey Woody, national champion U.S. hurdler

Notable faculty

• Donna Alvermann, former professor of education, now distinguished professor and researcher in education at the University of Georgia
• Jeremy Beck, composer, Associate Professor of Composition & Theory (1992–1998)
• Herb Hake, television personality
• James Hearst, poet and former professor
• Miguel Franz Pinto, vocal coach, conductor, and pianist
• Loree Rackstraw, literary critic and memoirist
• Leland Sage, former professor
• Norm Stewart, former men's basketball coach who went on to become a coach at the University of Missouri
• Robert James Waller, alumnus, former professor and Dean of College of Businesses Administration, author of The Bridges of Madison County

References

1. "Newly elected state Rep. Brian Meyer, D-Des Moines, takes oath of office today | des Moines Register Staff Blogs". Archived from the original on 2013-11-08. Retrieved 2013-11-08.
2. "Edward Arthur Thomas, 58, Parkersburg". The Daily Freeman Journal. 25 June 2006. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2014.