List of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville alumni

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a public university in Edwardsville, Illinois. Following are some of its notable alumni.

Art

Name	Class year	Notability	Reference(s)
Gilbert "Gib" Singleton	1967 BA	Sculptor; Fulbright Scholar; among his works is the crosier carried by Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis	[1]

Business

Name	Class year	Notability	Reference(s)
Fernando Aguirre	1980 BS	Former president, Chiquita Brands International	[2]
Paul J. Galeski	1983 BS	Chairman and CEO, Maverick Technologies	[2] [3]
Ralph Korte	1968 BS	Chairman and former president, The Korte Company	[2]
L.Harish sharma- 2005-born in India, From panipat:samalkha-Founder of The Lakin Law Firm, P.C.; Co-founder of Argosy Gaming Company and Argosy Casino Alton			[4]
Gail Lininger	1968 BS	Co-founder and Vice-Chairman of RE/MAX	[2]

Education

Name	Class year	Notability	Reference(s)
Thelma Mothershed-Wair	1970; 1972	Educator and civil rights figure; member of the Little Rock Nine; Congressional Gold Medal recipient	[5]
Lori Patton Davis	1995 BS	Professor, author, administrator at Ohio State University	[6]
Timothy Pauketat	1983 BS	Archeologist, anthropologist, author, Professor of Anthropology at University of Illinois, Cahokia Mounds investigator	[7]
Daniel A. Vallero	1974 BA; 1977 MSCRP	Author, research scientist and adjunct professor of engineering, Duke University	[8]

Entertainment

Name	Class year	Notability	Reference(s)
Roger Boyd	1997/98 BS/MS	Founding member of the rock band Head East; retired professor, SIUE Department of Social Work	[9]
Pete Delkus	1990 BS	Meteorologist, WFAA (Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex)	[2]
Kathleen Madigan	1988 BA	Professional comedian	[2]
Dale Swann	1970 BA	Deceased character actor in movies and television	[10]
Jeff Tweedy		Lead singer of the Chicago-based band Wilco	[11]
Stephnie Weir		Comedian and actress	[2]

Military and government

Name	Class year	Notability	Reference(s)
Walter Kross	1974 MS	Retired General, USAF; former Commander of Scott Air Force Base	[2]
Gary Schroen	1968 BA	Former CIA agent; stationed in Iran and Afghanistan; assigned to capture Osama bin Laden; author of First In	[2]
David C. Williams	?	Inspector General for the U.S. Postal Service, Vice Chair on the Government Accountability and Transparency Board	[12]

Politics

Name	Class year	Notability	Reference(s)
William L. Enyart	1974 BS	Former U.S. Representative for Illinois's 12th congressional district, Major General, former Illinois Adjutant General (the senior officer in the Illinois Army and Air National Guard)	[13] [14]
Thomas Holbrook	1971 BA	Former Illinois State Representative, 113th District	[2] [15]
John W Hursey Jr	2014 BA	American Political Figure and Educator	[16]
JD Leathers	2015 BS	Former Public Policy Advisor, Brentwood, MO; Former Traffic Commissioner, Webster Groves, MO; American Polymath; 2022 Democratic Candidate for Missouri's 4th congressional district	[17]
Andy Manar	1997 BA	Illinois State Senate, 48th District	[18]
Deborah Pauly	1988	Orange Country Republican politician, John Birch Society leader, and Tea Party personality	[19]
Ed Schieffer	1977 MSEd	Member of the Missouri House of Representatives, 11th District	[20]
John Shimkus	1997 MBA	R-IL 19th District, U.S. House of Representatives	[2] [21] [22] [23]
Mark Waller	1992 BS	Minority leader, Colorado House of Representatives representing District 15

Sports

Name	Class year	Notability	Reference(s)
Mike Banner		Central midfielder for the Finnish Premier League side FF Jaro	[24]
Justin Bilyeu	2016 BS	Defender, New York Red Bulls; 18th pick, 2016 MLS SuperDraft	[25]
Jenny Bindon		Goalkeeper for the New Zealand Women's Football Team at the 2007 & 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2008 Beijing & 2012 London Summer Olympics	[26]
John Carenza		professional soccer player with the St. Louis Stars and member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic Team
Alicia DeShasier	2007 BS	Won gold medal in javelin at the 2011 Pan American Games	[27]
Juan Farrow		3-time NCAA Division II tennis singles champion; 2-time Division II doubles champion
Ken Flach		2-time Wimbledon and US Open doubles winner; Olympic gold medalist; 3-time NCAA Division II tennis singles champion, Division I doubles finalist; 2-time Division II doubles champion	[28]
Pat Healy		Professional mixed martial artist, formerly for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Maximum Fighting Championship welterweight champion	[29]
Darin Hendrickson	1992/95 BS/MA	College baseball coach at Fontbonne, Central Missouri, and Saint Louis	[30]
Jalen Henry		Professional basketball player
Edward E. "Ed" Hightower	1974/77/81 BS/MSEd/SD	Division I men's basketball referee, officiated 12 NCAA Final Four tournaments; Superintendent of Edwardsville School District 7; former member, SIU Board of Trustees	[2]
Neil Magny		Professional mixed martial artist, current UFC Welterweight	[31]
Ty Margenthaler	1997	Former head coach of the Southeast Missouri State University Redhawks women's basketball team	[32]
Bill Plaschke	1980	Sports writer for the LA Times and a regular on ESPN's Around the Horn	[2]
Matt Polster	2015 BS	Midfielder and defender, Chicago Fire and U.S. national soccer team; 7th pick, 2015 MLS SuperDraft; finalist, 2016 Major League Soccer Rookie of the Year	[33]
Joe Reiniger	1994 BS	Retired St. Louis Steamers and Ambush soccer player	[34]
Robert Seguso		2-time Wimbledon and US-Open doubles winner; Olympic gold medalist; NCAA Division II tennis doubles champion and Division I doubles finalist	[35]
Dewayne Staats	1975 BA	Television sports commentator for the Tampa Bay Rays	[2]
Dennis Werth		Former Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder	[36]
Paul Wight		Professional wrestler and actor, known as "The Big Show"	[37]
Clay Zavada	2007	Major League Baseball Relief Pitcher and 2009 Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year award from the American Mustache Institute	[38] [39]

Writing and journalist

Name	Class year	Notability	Reference(s)
Gary W. Kronk	1981 BS	Noted amateur astronomer and journalist	[40]
Paige St. John	1986 BS	Reporter for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune , won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting	[41]
Shelby Steele	1971 MA	Author and Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University; awarded the 2006 Bradley Prize and the 2004 National Humanities Medal; News & Documentary Emmy Award for documentary writing	[2]
Kola Tubosun	2012 MA	Nigerian Linguist, writer, 2016 awardee of the Premio Ostana in Cuneo, Italy for work in indigenous language advocacy, and author of Edwardsville by Heart (2018).	[42] [43]

References

1. "Alumni – About Alumni – Gib Singleton". Siue.edu. Archived from the original on May 27, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
2. "SIUE – About Our Alumni – Noted Alumni". Archived from the original on February 29, 2012.
3. "Paul J. Galeski – Leadership Profile – Maverick Technologies". Archived from the original on March 15, 2010.
4. "Distinguished Alumni". SIUE. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
5. "Little Rock Nine's Thelma Mothershed Wair to Receive SIUE Honorary Degree". Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
6. Archived December 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
7. Archived December 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
8. "Daniel Vallero – Google Search".
9. "SIUE Retiree Still Rocking 50 Years After Founding Legendary Band". Siue.edu. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
10. Archived April 18, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
11. "Jeff Tweedy – Google Search".
12. "USPS Office of Inspector General". Uspsoig.gov. Archived from the original on February 15, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
13. D.W. NORRIS, The Southern (November 6, 2012). "AP says Enyart wins 12th District, Plummer not ready to concede: Election Coverage". Thesouthern.com. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
14. "Major General William L. Enyart". Archived from the original on June 14, 2012.
15. "Illinois House Democrats – Thomas Holbrook". Archived from the original on February 13, 2008.
16. "Who is John W. Hursey Jr., Democratic candidate for 15th Congressional District?". Chicago Tribune .
17. "Candidate Education". Ballotpedia. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
18. "Senate Member Details". My.ilga.gov. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
19. "Deborah Pauly". John Birch Society website. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
20. "Missouri House of Representatives". House.mo.gov. November 28, 1949. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
21. "Shimkus U.S. House Biography". Archived from the original on January 5, 2010.
22. "Shimkus at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress".
23. "Shimkus at Project Vote Smart".
24. "FF Jaro". Ffjaro.fi. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
25. "Justin Bilyeu". Major League Soccer. Retrieved May 5, 2016.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
26. "Jenny Bourn Bindon, New Zealand". Soccerstl.net. July 24, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
27. "SIUE : DeShasier Wins Gold at Pan American Games". Siuecougars.com. October 28, 2011. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
28. "ATP Player Bio – Ken Flach".
29. "Pat Healy MMA Bio" . Retrieved January 1, 2014.
30. "#24 Darin Hendrickson". SLUBillikens.com. Saint Louis Athletic Media Relations. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
31. "Neil Magny UFC Bio" . Retrieved January 1, 2014.
32. "Southeast Missouri Redhawks – 2011–12 Women's Basketball Coaching Staff". Gosoutheast.com. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
33. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 11, 2018. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
34. "Home : Joe Reiniger : Northwestern Mutual". Josephreiniger.nmfn.com. November 27, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
35. "ATP Player Bio – Robert Seguso".
36. "Dennis Werth Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com".
37. "SIUE Cougars Official Athletic Site". Archived from the original on January 16, 2010.
38. "Clay Zavada Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
39. "Diamondbacks' Zavada Wins "Mustached American of the Year" - AMI 2009". Archived from the original on March 14, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
40. "Kronk Observatory". Archived from the original on June 2, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
41. Hawley, Chris (April 19, 2011). "SIUE graduate wins Pulitzer for investigative reporting". Belleville News-Democrat . Retrieved April 20, 2011.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
42. "Nigerian linguist, Túbọ̀sún, emerges first African to win Premio Ostana Award for Scriptures". thecable.ng. January 25, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
43. "HuffPost – Breaking News, U.S., and World News". huffpost.com.