List of Virginia Commonwealth University alumni

This article lists notable alumni and students of the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.

Art

Trudy Benson, abstract painter

Moses Jacob Ezekiel, sculptor

Mark Sloan, curator, author and painter

Charles Vess, fantasy and comic book artist

• Diana al-Hadid – sculptor and installation artist (MFA 2005)
• Hannah Altman – photographer (MFA 2020)
• Chino Amobi – contemporary artist, musician and painter
• Fahmida Azim – Pulitzer Prize-winning illustrator
• Sam Bass – motorsports artist
• Trudy Benson – abstract artist (BFA 2007)
• Nell Blaine – landscape painter
• Noah Bradley – fantasy artist known for Dungeons & Dragons
• Loryn Brazier – painter, known for her portraits of Virginia politicians
• James Bumgardner – painter, multimedia artist, RPI, VCU art faculty (BFA 1955)
• Lauren Clay – sculptor known for her large fantasy inspired installations
• Daryl Cobb – children's book illustrator
• Tony Cokes – visual artist and educator (MFA 1985)
• Bonnie Collura – artist known for figurative multi-media sculptures, textiles and installations
• Rose Datoc Dall – painter (BFA 1990)
• Assil Diab – Sudanese graphic designer
• Paul DiPasquale – sculptor known for designing several public sculptures in Virginia, including the Arthur Ashe Monument on Richmond's Monument Avenue and King Neptune on Virginia Beach's boardwalk
• Tara Donovan – sculptor (MFA 1999)
• Rama Duwaji – animator, illustrator and ceramist, First Lady of New York City (BFA 2019) ^[1]
• Torkwase Dyson – painter (BFA 1999)
• Joseph Craig English – printmaker (BFA 1970)
• Moses Jacob Ezekiel – sculptor (1866–68)
• Tarfia Faizullah – poet
• Colette Fu – photographer, book artist and paper engineer, known for her pop-up books
• Judith Godwin – abstract painter
• Emmet Gowin – photographer and portraitist
• Donwan Harrell – fashion designer, founder of Prps and Akademiks (BFA 1989)
• Sylvia Harris – graphic designer known for designing the U.S. Census and as a pioneer in social impact design
• Sally Heller – artist known for her large installations
• Lisa Hoke – sculptor and installation artist (BFA 1978)
• Brian Hubble – illustrator
• Katie Hudnall – artist known for woodworking
• Sterling Hundley – illustrator and painter (BFA 1998)
• Anna Journey – poet
• Michael Kaluta – comic book artist
• Abby Kasonik – painter (BFA 1998)
• Dawn Kasper – interdisciplinary artist
• Matt Kenyon – new media artist
• Ana Ines Barragan King – founder of the Latin Ballet of Virginia
• Mia LaBerge – oil painter
• Abigail Larson – fantasy artist
• Nate Lewis – cut paper sculptor (BS 2009)
• Whitney Lynn – sculptor and performance artist (BFA 2004)
• Philip B. Meggs – graphic designer and historian of design (BFA 1964, MFA 1971)
• Wiley Miller – cartoonist
• Eric Millikin – conceptual, internet, video and performance artist (MFA 2021)
• Ayanah Moor – conceptual artist
• Lois Morrison – book artist
• Charlotte Moss – interior designer, author and philanthropist
• Mel Odom – book cover artist
• G. Byron Peck – mural artist
• Jon Pineda – poet
• Kevin Powers – poet
• Alston Purvis – graphic designer and author
• Beatrice Riese – artist and art collector
• Rob G. – comic book artist
• Anne Savedge – photographic artist
• Steve Segal – Pixar animator
• Mark Sloan – museum curator
• Janice Smith – furniture maker (BFA 1976)
• Ron Smith – poet
• Carol Sutton – painter and sculptor (BFA 1967)
• Alice Tangerini – botanical illustrator
• Kevin Tinsley – comic book illustrator
• Allison Titus – poet
• Alessandra Torres – performance and installation artist (MFA 2006)
• Phil Trumbo – art director and graphic designer
• Betony Vernon – jewelry designer
• Charles Vess – fantasy and comics illustrator (BFA 1974)

Business

4chan founder Christopher Poole

• Richard M. Bracken – chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Hospital Corporation of America
• Jeff Ray Clark – economist specializing in public choice theory
• Edward N. Coffman – accounting scholar who specialized in its history
• Jerry Dipoto – Seattle Mariners baseball executive
• Catherine C. Eckel – behavioral economist
• Robert Graboyes – economist and musician
• John Graham – economist and professor at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business
• Donwan Harrell – creator of luxury denim line PRPS and designer at Nike
• Jenny Hollowell – music industry executive
• Mildred Callahan Jones – known as the "Flag Lady," she pioneered the decorative flag industry
• Carole Ann Klonarides – art consultant
• Angela Patton – CEO of Girls for a Change
• Christopher Poole – founder of 4chan
• Norman Sisisky – founder of Petersburg Bottling Company, which became Pepsi (BBA)
• Kenneth Sullivan – CEO of Smithfield Foods

Government

Danny Avula, mayor of Richmond, Virginia and leader of Virginia's vaccine efforts during COVID-19

Rama Duwaji, First Lady of New York City

Yasonna Laoly, Minister of Law and Human Rights for Indonesia

U.S. Representative Rob Wittman

• Watkins Abbitt, Jr. – member of the Virginia House of Delegates ^[2]
• Lashrecse Aird – member of the Virginia State Senate ^[3]
• Clay Athey – politician and jurist
• Danny Avula – mayor of Richmond, Virginia
• Lamont Bagby – member of the Virginia State Senate ^[4]
• Carl E. Bain – pharmacist and politician who served in the Virginia House of Delegates
• Cynthia Ball – state politician from North Carolina
• Peter A. Blake – Virginia secretary of Education
• John Fulmer Bright – mayor of Richmond, Virginia
• Walter C. Caudill – member of the Virginia General Assembly
• Michael Chapman – director of Homeland Security for Missouri
• Keyanna Conner – Virginia secretary of Administration
• Virgil J. Cox – member of the Virginia House of Delegates
• Rosalyn Dance – former member of the Virginia State Senate ^[5]
• Bob Deuell – member of the Texas Senate
• Rama Duwaji – First Lady of New York
• Natalie Edwards – former senior official at the United States Department of the Treasury
• Debra Gardner – member of the Virginia House of Delegates
• Conley E. Greear – politician and dentist
• Alan Gross – U.S. government contractor arrested in Cuba
• Todd Haymore – Virginia Secretary of Commerce (MBA)
• Megan Healy – Virginia secretary of Labor
• Cynthia Eppes Hudson – deputy attorney general for Virginia
• Anita Josey-Herring – chief judge of the Superior Court of Washington D.C.
• Chris LaCivita – senior advisor to Donald Trump's 2024 campaign
• Yasonna Laoly – Minister of Law and Human Rights of Indonesia (2014–present)
• John W. Marshall – secretary of Public Safety for Virginia
• Adele McClure – member of the Virginia House of Delegates
• Nancy McFarlane – former mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina (2011–2019)
• Delores McQuinn – member of the Virginia House of Delegates
• Jackson Miller – director of the Department of Criminal Justice Services of Virginia
• Kim E. Petersen – security and counter-terrorism expert
• Todd Pillion – member of the Virginia State Senate ^[6]
• Will Sessoms – mayor of Virginia Beach, Virginia (2008–2018)
• Javaid Siddiqi – Virginia secretary of Education
• Marilyn Tavenner – administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services
• Kim Taylor – member of Virginia House of Delegates ^[7]
• Ronald L. Tillett – Virginia secretary of Finance
• Dietra Trent – Virginia secretary of Education
• Schuyler VanValkenburg – member of Virginia House of Delegates ^[8]
• Nikuyah Walker – mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia
• Justin Wilson – mayor of Alexandria, Virginia
• Rob Wittman – Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Virginia's 1st congressional district ^[9]

Media

Author David Baldacci

Actor Jason Butler Harner

Actor Boris Kodjoe

• Mamé Adjei – runner-up of America's Next Top Model cycle 22
• David Baldacci – author, best known for his novel Absolute Power (1996)
• Greg Barrett – journalist and public speaker
• Macon Blair – actor and Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning filmmaker, known for his collaborations with Jeremy Saulnier
• Cocoa Brown – actress
• Reilly Brown – comic book illustrator and writer, known for his work on Cable & Deadpool
• Caressa Cameron – 2010 Miss America
• Paris Campbell Grace – TikToker, singer, and comedian
• Daryl Cobb – author, ^[10] national children's educational presenter ^[11]
• Chad L. Coleman – actor
• Andrea Detwiler – 2006 Daytime Emmy winner
• Stephen Furst – actor and director, known as "Flounder" in the National Lampoon classic Animal House (1978) as well as TV series St. Elsewhere and Babylon 5
• Jason Butler Harner – Broadway, television, and film actor; performed in original production of Coast of Utopia ; was in Clint Eastwood's Oscar-nominated film Changeling
• Jennifer A. Johnson – chief editor of the journal Sexualization, Media, and Society
• Bilal Khan – Pakistani singer and actor
• Zachary Knighton – actor, ABC series Happy Endings
• Boris Kodjoe – actor, model
• Robert Lanham – author, best known for his book The Hipster Handbook (2003)
• Valerie LaPointe – director and storyboard artist for Pixar Animation Studios
• Debbie Matenopoulos – TV host, known for co-hosting ABC's The View , The Daily 10, and TV Guide Channel's The Screening Room
• Rebekah McKendry – film director
• Wiley Miller – cartoonist and author of the comic strip Non Sequitur
• Caelynn Miller-Keyes – runner-up Miss USA 2018, Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise contestant
• Trevor Moore – comedian and founding member of The Whitest Kids U' Know
• Howard Owen – journalist, author of crime fiction and the novel Littlejohn
• Jay Pharoah – comedian and Saturday Night Live cast member
• Jon Pineda – award-winning poet and novelist
• Christopher Poole, aka moot – founder of 4chan ^[12]
• Kevin Powers – novelist and poet, known for The Yellow Birds (2013), a finalist for the National Book Award ^[13]
• Tom Robbins – author, best known for his novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1976)
• Steve Segal – comic artist, animation director
• Ronnie Sidney, II – graphic novelist ^[14]
• Robb Spewak – producer and radio personality for The Don and Mike Show and The Mike O'Meara Show
• Steve Rasnic Tem – horror fiction writer, winner of the World Fantasy, British Fantasy and Bram Stoker Awards
• Phil Trumbo – film animator, artist
• Brandon Wardell – comedian and Twitter personality
• Mike Wieringo – comic book artist for Marvel and DC comics; co-creator of Image Comics series Tellos

Music

Several founding members of Gwar attended VCU; pictured is Dave Brockie.

Lamb of God

• Chris Adler – drummer for Lamb of God
• Chino Amobi – experimental electronic musician
• Anthony Anderson – operatic baritone singer
• Anhayla – singer-songwriter, guitarist
• Sam Beam – singer/songwriter known as Iron & Wine ^[15]
• Bruce Bouton – country music guitarist
• Lucy Dacus – singer-songwriter
• McKinley Dixon – rapper and singer
• Nickelus F – rapper, producer, videographer
• Gwar – several founding members of the band, including Dave Brockie ^[16]
• Gordy Haab – composer of the Star Wars video games music and multiple award winner in that genre
• Loston Harris – jazz pianist
• Darius Jones – saxophonist
• Emre Kartari – Turkish jazz percussionist
• Lamb of God – several founding members of the band
• Stefan Lessard – bassist for Dave Matthews Band
• Matthew Ramsey – songwriter, lead singer for Old Dominion
• Nate Smith – drummer, songwriter, producer, and three-time Grammy nominee
• Eric Stanley – violinist, composer
• Robbin Thompson – singer-songwriter
• Steve West – drummer of the indie rock band Pavement and front man for Marble Valley

Science

Physician, actor, activist, author and clown Patch Adams

Nobel Prize winner Baruj Benacerraf

Francis L. Delmonico, health expert in the field of transplantation and professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School

• Hunter "Patch" Adams – founder of the Gesundheit! Institute and subject of the movie Patch Adams
• Arpana Agrawal – psychiatric geneticist and professor of psychiatry, 2018 Theodore Reich Young Investigator Award
• Beatriz Amendola – Urugayan-American radiation oncologist
• Meike Bartels – behavioral geneticist, known for research on the genetics of happiness
• Mary Baughman – physician, medical school professor, and clubwoman
• Baruj Benacerraf – winner of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Medicine, class of 1945
• Frederick Bieber – Canadian-American geneticist currently serving as senior medical geneticist at Brigham and Women's Hospital, member of the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard University
• William Chivous Bostic Sr., class of 1905
• Kathleen T. Brady – psychiatrist
• Lorna Breen – physician
• Caroline Orr Bueno (PhD) – social and behavioral sciences researcher specializing in disinformation networks
• Georgia Chenevix-Trench – cancer researcher who investigates genetic predispositions to cancer
• Anne L. Coleman – chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Director of the Stein Eye Institute at University of California, Los Angeles
• Joseph DeJarnette – director of Western State Hospital, physician and eugenicist
• Francis L. Delmonico – surgeon, clinical professor and health expert in the field of transplantation
• Brian D'Onofrio – psychologist who researches the causes of psychopathology in children and adolescents
• Dorothy Espelage – psychologist and expert in teen violence
• Mary Cynthia Farach-Carson – biochemist, known for her work in extracellular matrix, perlecan, tissue engineering and bone metastasis
• Ann S. Fulcher – abdominal radiologist and chair of the department of radiology at Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Medicine
• Isabel Garcia – dentist and academic administrator
• Nassir Ghaemi – psychiatrist, author, and professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine
• Philip C. Kendall – psychologist who produced the Coping Cat program
• Saul Krugman – medical researcher who discovered a vaccine against hepatitis B
• Feng Liu – material physicist
• Michael L. Madigan – biomedical engineer
• Benjamin Neale – statistical geneticist with a specialty in psychiatric genetics
• Eduardo D. Rodriguez – Cuban-American plastic and reconstructive surgeon, and reconstructive transplant surgeon, who is known for his contribution to the field of facial transplantation and vascularized composite allotransplantation
• Gladys Smithwick – physician and Presbyterian medical missionary in China and the Belgian Congo
• Sudhir Srivastava – chief of the Cancer Biomarkers Research Group of the Division of Cancer Prevention at the United States NCI
• Jeffery Taubenberger, M.D. – virologist
• Arpad Vass – research scientist, forensic anthropologist and professor

Sports

Basketball and football player Mo Alie-Cox

Dave Van Horne, broadcaster honored at the Baseball Hall of Fame

• Mo Alie-Cox – current tight end for the Indianapolis Colts
• Yann Bonato – former European professional basketball player; former France National Team member; member of France's silver medal-winning men's basketball team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics; played one season (1990–91) at VCU ^{[17] [18]}
• Troy Daniels – current shooting guard for Olimpia Milano
• Andrew Dykstra – MLS goalkeeper for D.C. United; also played with the Chicago Fire in MLS ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Treveon Graham – current forward in the G League
• Lanto Griffin – current professional golfer on the PGA Tour
• Sherman Hamilton – former member of Canadian National Men's Basketball Team; participated in 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia ^{[19] [ citation needed ]}
• Gerald Henderson – played for the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Seattle SuperSonics, and San Antonio Spurs, winning four NBA championships^{[ citation needed ]}
• Quanitra Hollingsworth – center for the Washington Mystics of the WNBA; ^[20] member of Turkey's 2012 Olympic women's basketball team ^[21]
• Brandon Inge – MLB infielder, formerly with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics and Detroit Tigers ^[22]
• Sean Marshall – relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds ^[23]
• Eric Maynor – played for the Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers ^[24]
• Cla Meredith – former MLB relief pitcher; played for the Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres and Baltimore Orioles ^[25]
• Hayley Moorwood – member of New Zealand women's Olympic Soccer Team in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012 ^[26]
• Dominic Oduro – current forward for the Columbus Crew in MLS^{[ citation needed ]}
• Juvonte Reddic (born 1992) – basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• John Rollins – professional golfer and PGA pro ^[27]
• Larry Sanders – drafted #15 overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2010 NBA Draft ^[28]
• Gonzalo Segares – former defender for Apollon Limassol in Cyprus; former defender for the Chicago Fire in MLS ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Scott Sizemore – infielder for the Oakland Athletics ^[29]
• Justin Tillman (born 1996) – basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Dave Van Horne – broadcaster honored at the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Brianté Weber (born 1992) – basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League

Other

Susan Higginbotham, historical fiction novelist and attorney

• Leona S. Aiken – psychology professor
• William M. Anderson Jr. (BA) – president of the University of Mary Washington
• Nancy Wright Beasley – author
• Errett Callahan – archeologist
• Caressa Cameron – Miss Virginia
• Eric H. du Plessis – author, translator and educator
• Frank E. Grizzard Jr. – American historian
• Grace E. Harris – academic administrator and social worker
• Susan Higginbotham – historical fiction author and attorney
• Jack Hranicky – archeologist
• Hendrée E. Jones – researcher on women's substance abuse
• Eileen A. Joy – Old English literary specialist
• Mirta Martin (Ph.D. 1996) – ninth president of Fort Hays State University
• Sesha Joi Moon – chief diversity officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia; former chief diversity officer of the U.S. House of Representatives (B.A. 2005, M.S. 2008)
• Margaret Ann Neale – Adams Distinguished Professor of Management, emerita, at the Stanford Graduate School of Business
• Howard Owen – author and winner of the Hammett Prize
• Sheri Reynolds – author of contemporary Southern fiction

References

1. Moreno, Sabrina (July 2, 2025). "Rama Duwaji, Zohran Mamdani's wife, has Richmond roots". Axios Richmond. Archived from the original on August 1, 2025. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
2. "Abbitt, Watkins Moorman (1908–1998)". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
3. "Lashrecse Aird". Project Ballotpedia. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
4. "Lamont Bagby". Project Ballotpedia. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
5. "Roz Dance". Project Ballotpedia. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
6. "Todd Pillion". Project Ballotpedia. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
7. "Kim Taylor". Project Ballotpedia. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
8. "Schuyler VanValkenburg". Project Ballotpedia. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
9. "WITTMAN, Robert J., (1959–)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
10. Bostwick, Joanne. "About Daryl Cobb". authorvisitsbydarylcobb.com/aboutme.html. Daryl Cobb Productions. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
11. Cobb, Daryl. "Author Visits by Daryl Cobb". Author Visits by Daryl Cobb. Daryl Cobb Productions. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
12. "A Virtual Unknown: Meet 'Moot,' the Secretive Internet Celeb Who Still Lives With Mom". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on September 14, 2019.
13. Kevin Powers
14. Sinclair, Melissa Scott (January 26, 2017). "A Changed Storyline". richmondmagazine.com. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
15. Sims, Dave (September 25, 2007). "Growing a Bard". Paste Magazine. Retrieved July 7, 2009.
16. Brow, Jason (March 22, 2024). "GWAR's Dave Brockie, a.k.a. Oderus Urungus, left a legacy of bad taste and wild entertainment". Treble.
17. "Yann Bonato Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
18. "VCU". Vcuathletics.com. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
19. "Literature Study Guides – By Popularity". eNotes.com. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
20. "Quanitra Hollingsworth – WNBA.com – Official Site of the WNBA". WNBA.com. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
21. "Turkish women's basketball team reaching for the stars". Archived from the original on July 4, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
22. "Brandon Inge Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
23. "Sean Marshall Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
24. "Eric Demarqua Maynor". Basketball-Reference.Com. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
25. "Cla Meredith Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
26. "FIFA Tournaments – Players & Coaches – Hayley MOORWOOD". Fifa.com. June 10, 2016. Archived from the original on July 13, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
27. "John Rollins". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
28. "Larry Sanders". Basketball-Reference.Com. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
29. "Scott Sizemore Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved December 10, 2012.