List of University of Memphis people

The following is a list of notable University of Memphis people, including alumni, notable faculty members and administrators, and others affiliated with the University of Memphis.

Notable alumni

Government, public service, and public policy

• Rex Armistead – private detective, investigator for the defunct Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission and the Arkansas Project
• Arthur Barclay (born 1982) – politician who has represented the 5th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2016[1]
• Thomas G. Carpenter – former President of the University of Memphis[2]
• Robert N. Clement – former U.S. Congressman[3]
• Bernice Donald – judge, United States district court[4]
• Bob Fisher, president of Belmont University since 2000.
• John Ford – Tennessee politician[5]
• Tre Hargett- Secretary of State, Tennessee
• Willie Herenton – Mayor, City of Memphis[6]
• Ed Jackson – Republican state senator[7]
• James F. Kyle – State Senator, Tennessee Legislature[8]
• David Lillard – Tennessee state treasurer since 2009[9]
• Ed McAteer – leader of the Christian right and founder of the Religious Roundtable; attended but did not graduate[10]
• Curtis S. Person, Jr. – former State Senator, Tennessee Legislature[11]
• Van B. Poole (Class of 1958) – former member of both houses of the Florida Legislature[12]
• Frank Scott Jr., current mayor of Little Rock, AR
• J. Millard Smith – former President of the University of Memphis
• Jim Strickland – mayor of Memphis
• Fred Thompson – actor and former U.S. Senator[13]

Literature, arts, and media

• Dixie Carter – actress[14]
• Kellye Cash – Miss America 1987[15]
• Eric Jerome Dickey – author[16]
• John Dye – actor[17]
• Johanna Edwards – bestselling novelist
• Galen Fott — director and animator[18]
• Barbara Walker Hummel – Miss America 1947[19]
• Jason Isbell – recording artist and songwriter, member of The 400 Unit and Drive-By Truckers[20]
• Michael Jeter - actor
• Dickey Lee – recording artist and songwriter[21]
• Terry Manning – music producer,[22] photographer
• Les McCurdy - Stand Up Comedian, producer, owner McCurdys Comedy Theatre & Humor Institute Sarasota Fl. Est. 1988
• Gary Parrish – sports columnist, radio host and television analyst
• Edmund Warren Perry, Jr. – writer[23]
• William Sanderson – actor[24]
• J. Karen Thomas – actress (Drop Dead Diva, Nashville)[25]
• Pat Kerr Tigrett – fashion designer[26]
• Trenyce – singer, American Idol finalist [27]
• Cara Notestine - Photographer

Business

• Melissa Arnoldi – President of Technology and Operations, AT&T
• Martin Belz – President of Belz Enterprises
• William Dunavant – Chairman of Dunavant Enterprises[28]
• R. Brad Martin – Chairman of the Board/CEO, Saks Incorporated

Athletics

• Dave Anderson – multiple teams, MLB[29]
• Vincent Askew – multiple teams, NBA[30]
• Earl Barron – NBA[31]
• Will Barton – Denver Nuggets, NBA[32]
• William Bedford – multiple teams, NBA
• Isaac Bruce – San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams, NFL[33]
• Antonio Burks – NBA[34]
• Mike Butler – professional basketball player with New Orleans Buccaneers and Utah Stars[35]
• Rodney Carney – Golden St. Warriors, NBA[36]
• Joey Dorsey – Toronto Raptors, NBA[37]
• Chris Douglas-Roberts – Milwaukee Bucks, NBA[38]
• Tyreke Evans – Sacramento Kings, NBA[39]
• Larry Finch – Memphis TAMs, ABA
• T. J. Frier – football player[40]
• Stephen Gostkowski – New England Patriots, NFL[41]
• Earnest Gray – NFL, New York Giants
• Sylvester Gray – Miami Heat, NBA[42]
• Anfernee Hardaway – NBA[43]
• Chad Harville – multiple teams, MLB[44]
• Cedric Henderson – Utah Jazz, NBA[45]
• Richard Jones – New York Nets, NBA[46]
• Larry Kenon – multiple teams, NBA[47]
• Bill Laurie – 1973 NCAA Championship game starting point guard for Memphis State
• Jerry Lawler – Hall of Fame professional wrestler, WWE[48]
• Ronald Leary – Dallas Cowboys, NFL[49]
• Keith Lee – New Jersey Nets, NBA[50]
• James Logan – Houston Oilers, Seattle Seahawks, NFL
• Steve Matthews – Kansas City Chiefs, NFL[51]
• Hank McDowell – multiple teams, NBA[52]
• Mike McKenzie – New Orleans Saints, NFL[53]
• Lloyd Patterson – Saskatchewan Roughriders[54]
• Elliot Perry – Phoenix Suns, NBA[55]
• Derrick Rose – Chicago Bulls, NBA[56]
• Harry Schuh – All-American Tackle, played for Oakland Raiders, LA Rams and Green Bay Packers[57]
• Jack Smith – Philadelphia Eagles, NFL[58]
• Cliff Taylor – multiple teams, NFL[59]
• Andre Turner – multiple teams, NBA[60]
• Dan Uggla – Atlanta Braves, MLB[61]
• David Vaughn – multiple teams, NBA
• Dajuan Wagner – Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA[62]
• Darius Washington – NBA[63]
• Tamika Whitmore – Indiana Fever, WNBA[64]
• Win Wilfong – Cincinnati Royals, NBA[65]
• DeAngelo Williams – Pittsburgh Steelers, NFL[66]
• Shawne Williams – New York Knicks, NBA[67]
• Francis Winkler – Green Bay Packers, NFL[68]
• Jerome Woods – Kansas City Chiefs, NFL[69]
• Keith Wright – NFL, Cleveland Browns
• Lorenzen Wright – multiple teams, NBA[70]
• Wayne Yates – Los Angeles Lakers, NBA[71]
• Jim Hardin - Baltimore Orioles New York Yankees Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball Pitcher

Notable professors and scholars

• Richard Bausch – novelist and short story writer; Moss Chair of Excellence in English at the University of Memphis[72]
• Béla Bollobás – mathematician; known for his work in combinatorics; Fields Medal winner Timothy Gowers' dissertation advisor[73]
• Peter J. Brand – Egyptologist[74]
• Joyce Cobb – jazz vocalist
• Jack Cooper – jazz composer, arranger[75]
• Ralph Faudree – mathematician with a focus on Ramsey theory; provost of the university[76]
• Robert Fisher – MBA, president of Belmont University[77]
• Stan Franklin – cognitive scientist; proponent of artificial consciousness[78]
• Arthur C. Graesser – cognitive psychologist; editor of the Journal of Educational Psychology[79]
• Jessie Mae Hemphill – electric guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist specializing in Southern music[80]
• Benjamin Hooks – civil rights leader[81]
• Xiangen Hu – professor in cognitive psychology
• John Lee – author, professor of English
• Michael Leff – scholar of rhetoric[82]
• Jennifer R. Mandel – professor of biology[83]
• Cecil C. Rousseau – mathematician and author who specializes in graph theory and combinatorics[84]
• Rebecca Skloot – New York Times bestselling science writer, professor of English[85]

Coaches

• John Calipari – Kentucky basketball coach[86]
• Dana Kirk – Memphis basketball coach[87]
• Josh Pastner – Memphis basketball coach[88]
• Tic Price – Memphis basketball coach[89]

Other

• Stan Bronson, Jr. – Guinness World Record holder batboy for Memphis Tigers baseball[90]

References

1. Assemblyman Arthur Barclay, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed August 18, 2016.
2. "Thomas G. Carpenter". University of North Florida. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
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5. "John Ford (Tennessee politician)" (PDF). Tennessee General Assembly Blue Book. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
6. "Willie Herenton". City Mayors. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
7. Whetstone, Tyler (July 27, 2014). "Ed Jackson uses business sense, endurance in Senate race". The Jackson Sun. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
8. "Jim Kyle". Tennessee General Assembly. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
9. "Company Overview of State Of Tennessee: David H. Lillard Jr". Bloomberg. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
10. Margalit Fox (October 10, 2004). "Edward E. McAteer, 78; Empowered Christian Right". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
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12. "Van B. Poole". Florida House of Representatives. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
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14. "Dixie Carter". IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
15. "Kellye Cash". Miss America 1987. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
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18. Donnell, Evans (August 15, 2013). "Animation in Nashville: Bigfott Studios at Belcourt This Saturday". ArtsNash. Archived from the original on 2013-12-16.
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71. "Wayne Yates". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
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73. "3rd Annual CLION Symposium Will Meet October 13–14 at the U of M; Focus Will Be on Random Networks' Applications in Defense and Civilian Sectors". The University of Memphis. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
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78. http://www.cs.memphis.edu/~franklin/
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80. "Jessie Mae Hemphill: Feelin' Good". Pop Matters. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
81. "The University of Memphis Remembers Civil Rights Leader Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks". The University of Memphis. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
82. "Michael Leff". The University of Memphis. Archived from the original on April 29, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
83. "Jennifer R. Mandel, Ph.D." The University of Memphis. Archived from the original on 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
84. "World's Highest Mathematics Honor Goes to Retired U of M Professor". The University of Memphis. Archived from the original on March 5, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
85. "Skloot's book climbing NYT's best-seller chart". The University of Memphis. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
86. "John Calipari on Kentucky basketball: Coachable players filled with bad habits". Carrier-Journal.com. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
87. "Ex-Memphis State Tigers basketball coach Dana Kirk dies". Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
88. "Josh Pastner". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
89. "Basketball Coach Tic Price Resigns". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
90. "University of Memphis bat boy Stan Bronson to celebrate 84th birthday at fundraising party". Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group. Retrieved March 10, 2013.