List of University of Nevada, Reno people
Over the years, the University of Nevada, Reno has had an assortment of people gain regional, national, and international prominence in various fields of study.
Education
Anne Henrietta Martin
William Dwight Billings – preeminent ecologist who served as faculty in the Department of Biology from 1938 to 1952 and is known as the father of physiological ecology and for his contributions in desert and arctic ecology. In 1989 he received the Nevada medal presented by Governor Bob Miller.[ 1]
Bryan E. Bledsoe – DO , FACEP , EMT-P – clinical professor, School of Medicine Emergency Department; emergency physician, University Medical Center
T. Brian Callister , M.D. – Associate Professor, Internal Medicine; physician; health care quality and policy expert
James E. Church – best known for having developed the Mount Rose snow sampler (1906), the first instrument for measuring snow water content
Nellie Shaw Harnar , M.A. – historian of Native American history
Steven C. Hayes , Ph.D. – foundation professor, clinical psychology; developer of acceptance and commitment therapy ;[ 2] also known for his work on relational frame theory
John Marini , professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Reno and senior fellow at the Claremont Institute [ 3]
Anne Henrietta Martin – established the university's department of history; first woman to run for the United States Senate
James Richardson, Ph.D. – sociologist, critic of "cultic brainwashing" theories
Wolfram Samlowski – clinical professor of medicine; member of the Research Developmental Therapeutics and Genitourinary Committees for the US Oncology Network
James G. Scrugham – professor of mechanical engineering, 1903-1914; dean, 1914-1917; served as Governor, Representative, and Senator from Nevada
C. Richard Tracy – professor of biology; director of the Biological Resources Research Center; Vada Trimble Outstanding Mentor (1999); UNR Graduate Advisor of the Year (2008); Nevada System of Higher Education Most Outstanding Graduate Advisor (2008)
Glenn Wilson , Ph.D. – Adjunct Professor of Psychology, 1994–2002; taught and established the field of psychology for performing artists; produced the standard text on the topic
Esmail Zanjani – in 2007, led scientists at the School of Medicine and created a sheep with 15% human cells and 85% animal cells, the world's first "human-sheep chimera", which has the body of a sheep but half-human organs[ 4]
Johanna Burton , Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Myram Borders – UPI bureau chief and reporter, Las Vegas News Bureau chief
Walter Van Tilburg Clark – author of The Ox-Bow Incident
Gabriel Damon – actor, RoboCop 2 , Newsies
Frederic Joseph DeLongchamps , 1904 – Nevada State Architect, 1919–1926
Charley Douglass , 1933 – sound engineer, created the first TV laugh track [ 5]
Peter Epstein – jazz musician, alto saxophone
Grant Harvey – actor, The Secret Life of the American Teenager [ 6]
Kane Hodder (attended)- stuntman and actor known for role as Jason Voorhees
Jamie Iredell - writer, author of Last Mass
Lorie Line – classical pianist; performer and composer
William D. Lutz , Ph.D. 1971 – author of The World of Doublespeak
Nick Rattigan – singer-songwriter in Surf Curse and Current Joys
Francine Rivers – novelist
Geoff Schumacher , 1981 – journalist and author, Howard Hughes: Power, Paranoia & Palace Intrigue
Cathy Scott – adjunct journalism instructor, 2000–2005; journalist and true-crime author, The Killing of Tupac Shakur
Benjamin Wade - reality television personality
Claire Vaye Watkins – author of Battleborn
Dolora Zajick – opera mezzo-soprano
Politics and public service
Judge Gershwin A. Drain
Mark E. Amodei – current U.S. Representative from Nevada, Nevada State Assembly, 1996–1998; Nevada State Senate, 1998–2010
Thomas Atkinson – former Mayor of Green Bay, Wisconsin
Helen Delich Bentley – former Congresswoman from Maryland
Alan Bible , 1930 – U.S. Senator from Nevada (1954–1974)
Emmet D. Boyle , 1898 – former governor of Nevada
Ernest S. Brown , 1926 – U.S. Senator from Nevada
Richard Bryan , 1959 – former governor of Nevada and US Senator (Alpha Tau Omega )
Catherine Cortez Masto , 1986 – current U.S. Senator; first Latina U.S. Senator; former Attorney General for the State of Nevada
Frankie Sue Del Papa , 1971 – first female Nevada State Attorney General; first female Secretary of State
Gershwin A. Drain – U.S. federal judge
Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr. , 1962 – Chairman of the Republican National Committee; 1983–1989 American Gaming Association Chairman; Currently Co-Chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates, which conducts the United States general election presidential and vice presidential debates in presidential election years. (Alpha Tau Omega )
Jason Frierson – current U.S. Attorney from the District of Nevada; Nevada State Assembly, 2016-2022; Nevada State Assembly, 2011-2015; Nevada Speaker of the Assembly, 2017-2022 (Kappa Alpha Psi )
Jim Gibbons – 28th Governor of Nevada (Sigma Nu)
Matt Griffin – current Deputy Secretary of State of the State of Nevada (Alpha Tau Omega )
Steven Horsford – current U.S. Representative from Nevada and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus; Nevada State Senate, 2005-2013; Nevada State Senate Majority Leader, 2009-2013
Procter Ralph Hug, Jr. – Judge, Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Alpha Tau Omega )
Myron E. Leavitt , 1952 – Lieutenant Governor of Nevada ; Justice, Nevada Supreme Court
Sheila Leslie , 1979 – M.A. in Spanish Language and Literature; Current member of the Nevada State Assembly representing AD 27 (Washoe County)
Pat McCarran , attended but did not graduate – Democratic United States Senator from Nevada, 1933-1954; noted for his strong anti-Communist stance
William Raggio – former Nevada State Senator (Alpha Tau Omega )
Sig Rogich , 1967 – political adviser to President Reagan and Bush; former US Ambassador to Iceland (Sigma Alpha Epsilon)
Brian Sandoval , 1986 – former U.S. District Court judge and former Governor of Nevada (Sigma Alpha Epsilon)
James David Santini – U.S. Representative from Nevada (Alpha Tau Omega )
Grant Sawyer – former Governor of Nevada (Alpha Tau Omega )
Robin L. Titus – Republican member of the Nevada Assembly .[ 7]
Harvey Whittemore – lawyer, businessman, lobbyist
Sports
Lyle Overbay
Chris Ault , 1969 – former Head Coach of Wolf Pack football team (Sigma Alpha Epsilon )
Rob Awalt – professional football player. Transferred after his first season
Luke Babbitt (class of 2012; left in 2010) – basketball player, Miami Heat
Eric Beavers – professional football player
Doug Betters , 1977 – professional football player and Pro Bowler, Miami Dolphins
Joel Bitonio , 2014 – professional football player, Cleveland Browns
Nate Burleson , 2003 – wide receiver, Detroit Lions
Kaelin Burnett , 2012 – professional football player
Gina Carano (attended) – retired professional mixed martial artist [ 8] actress, television personality, and fitness model
Ryan Church , 2000 – former Major League Baseball outfielder, New York Mets
Todd Clever , 2004 – international rugby player
Jorge Cordova – professional football player[ 9]
Andy Dominique , 1996–1997 – former Major League Baseball player
Forey Duckett – professional football player
Cody Fajardo - quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders
Nick Fazekas , 2007 – basketball player, Denver Nuggets
Lucius Floyd , 1987 – Canadian Football League player, Grey Cup champion.
Isaiah Frey , 2012 – professional football player
Joseph Salvatore Gilbert – Boxer on reality tv show The Contender (Sigma Alpha Epsilon)
Virgil Green , 2011 – professional football player, Denver Broncos
Bob Hamm – NFL player
Frank Hawkins , 1981 – NFL running back, Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders , 1981 –87
Stan Heath , 1949 – first NCAA quarterback to throw for more than 2,000 yards in a season
Terry Hermeling – former offensive lineman for the Washington Redskins
Jeff Horton , 1958 – NFL Assistant Coach, St. Louis Rams
Dario Hunt (born 1989) - basketball player for Hapoel Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Joe Inglett , 1997–2000 – former Major League Baseball player, Toronto Blue Jays
Trevor Insley , 1999 – NCAA Division I-A all-time receiving yards leader
Bill Ireland , 1960–67 – "father of UNLV Athletics", graduated from University of Nevada, Reno (Alpha Tau Omega )
James-Michael Johnson , 2012 – professional football player, Kansas City Chiefs
Edgar Jones , 1979 – former professional basketball player, drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1979.
Colin Kaepernick , 2011 – NFL quarterback, San Francisco 49ers , 2017 Time "Person of the Year" Finalist (Kappa Alpha Psi )
Kevin Kouzmanoff , 2003 – former Major League Baseball player, Oakland Athletics
Mills Lane , 1963 – NCAA boxing champion, boxing referee, lawyer, judge
Mike Legarza , 1983 – leadership coach, public speaker, basketball coach
Liu Lumin , 1998–2000 – 1996 Olympic swimming silver medalist (100m butterfly)
Lisé Mackie, 1995–1998 – 1996 Olympic swimming bronze medalist (800m freestyle relay team, Australia)[ 10]
Charles Mann , 1980–82 – former professional football player and Pro Bowler, Washington Redskins
Brock Marion , 1989–92 – professional football player, Detroit Lions
Brandon Marshall , 2012 – professional football player, Denver Broncos
Rishard Matthews , 2012 – professional football player
Vladimir Matyushenko , 1999 – retired mixed martial artist formerly fighting in the UFC and Bellator MMA
Josh Mauga , 2009 – professional football player
JaVale McGee , 2008 – professional basketball player, Washington Wizards, Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and currently on the Phoenix Suns
Corky Miller , 1997–1998 – former Major League Baseball catcher, Chicago White Sox
Marko Mitchell , 2009 – professional football player with Washington Redskins
Dontay Moch , 2011 – professional football player, Tennessee Titans
Marion Motley , 1940–42 – professional Football Hall of Famer
David Neill , 1999–2002 – set the NCAA freshman record for most touchdown passes in a season
Lyle Overbay , 1996–1999 – former Major League Baseball first baseman, Toronto Blue Jays
Krysta Palmer , 2012-2016 - 2020 Olympics bronze medalist in diving (3-m springboard)
Shar Pourdanesh , 1989–1992 – professional football player, NFL 1996–2001; CFL 1994, 1995
Dodie Post , 1947 – Olympic skier
Chad Qualls , 1999–2000 – former Major League Baseball pitcher, Arizona Diamondbacks
Darrell Rasner , 2000–2002 – former Major League Baseball pitcher, New York Yankees
Jeff Rowe , 2007 – professional football player, New England Patriots
Ramon Sessions , 2007 – professional basketball player, Milwaukee Bucks , April 2008 NBA Rookie of the Month
Grant Sherfield (born 1999) - basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Chris Singleton , 1992–1993 – former Major League Baseball outfielder, current ESPN commentator
Kirk Snyder , 2004–2011 – basketball player, Minnesota Timberwolves
Cal Stevenson (born 1996) - baseball outfielder for the San Francisco Giants
Zach Sudfeld , 2013 – professional football player
Domingo Tibaduiza , 1974 - elite long distance runner
Kirk Triplett – professional PGA Tour golfer
Duke Williams , 2013 – professional football player, Buffalo Bills
Khalid Wooten , 2013 – professional football player
Charles Wright – professional wrestler (gimmicks included The Godfather, Kama, and Papa Shango)
Tony Zendejas , 1983 – professional football player
Other notables
Susan Desmond-Hellmann – CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,[ 11] first woman to hold position of Chancellor at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)[ 12]
John Etchemendy – philosopher and Stanford provost
Jennifer Harman – professional poker player; first woman to win two bracelets in World Series of Poker open events
Diane Kennedy – CPA, speaker, and financial writer
Charlton Laird – linguist and writer; created the 1971 edition of the Webster's New World Thesaurus , which became the standard edition still used today
Adriano B. Lucatelli – Swiss entrepreneur and investor in the financial services industry
Jennifer Mabus – YouTuber, hiker, and Navy spouse[ 13]
Irena Scott , author and physiologist
Ron Toomer , 1961 – developed the first upside-down roller coaster, the Corkscrew
Washoe – first chimpanzee to successfully learn American Sign Language
See also
References
^ Strain, Boyd R. (April 1, 1997). "William Dwight Billings, 1910‐1997" . The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America . 78 (2): 115–117. doi :10.2307/20168134 . JSTOR 20168134 . S2CID 178569338 – via esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com.
^ "NevadaNews – University of Nevada, Reno" . Archived from the original on April 18, 2008.
^ Baskin, Jon (March 17, 2017). "The Academic Home of Trumpism" . The Chronicle of Higher Education . Retrieved March 28, 2017 . John Marini, a professor of political science at the University of Nevada at Reno, praised Trump in July for having grasped that neither political party any longer provided a "meaningful link between the people and the government."
^ Nature, May 1, 2006 - Chimeras in the crosshairs
^ King, Susan; Baker, Bob (April 25, 2003). "Charles Douglass, 93; Inventor Brought Canned Laughs to TV" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved September 11, 2019 .
^ "Grant Harvey" . IMDb . Retrieved May 19, 2017 .
^ "Assemblywoman Robin L. Titus" . Nevada Legislature . Retrieved February 6, 2016 .
^ "Gina Carano MMA Bio" . Retrieved January 1, 2014 .
^ "Jorge Alberto Cordova" . Pro-Football-Reference.Com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2012 .
^ "Lise Mackie (1995-98/Swimming)" . University of Nevada Athletics .
^ "Sue Desmond-Hellmann" . Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation . Retrieved May 8, 2017 .
^ "Susan Desmond-Hellmann | UCSF Profiles" . profiles.ucsf.edu . Retrieved May 8, 2017 .
^ "53 Wolf Pack Student-Athletes Set To Graduate" . Nevada Wolf Pack . May 18, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
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Founded : 1874
Students : 21,353
Endowment : 306.6 million