List of North Carolina State University people

The list of North Carolina State University people includes notable alumni, faculty, and chief executives of North Carolina State University.

Alumni, faculty, and former students

Academics

• Annie Antón (Professor 1998-Present) Professor of software engineering and founder of ThePrivacyPlace
• David E. Aspnes (Professor 1992-Present) Distinguished University Professor and member of the National Academy of Sciences
• John Balaban (Professor 2000?-Present) Poet
• Dorianne Laux (Professor 2008?-Present) Poet
• Donald Bitzer (Professor 1989-Present) Father of Plasma Television
• William Brantley Aycock (B.S. Education 1936) former University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chancellor
• Albert Carnesale (Ph.D. Nuclear Engineering 1966, Faculty member 1962-1969) UCLA Chancellor
• Donald J. Farish (M.S. Entomology, 1966) Biologist and president of Rowan University
• William C. Friday (B.S. Textile Engineering 1941) Former President of the University of North Carolina
• Eduardo Halfon A Guatemalan writer
• M. Thomas Hester (Professor 19??-Present) Renaissance English literature scholar, co-founder of the John Donne Journal
• George Kennedy (Professor 1976-Present) Entomologist
• John Kessel (Professor 1982-Present) Award Winning Science-Fiction Author
• Tom Regan (Professor 1967-Present) Philosopher and animal rights activist
• John Riddle (Professor 1965?-2005) Historian and author of "Eve's Herbs"
• William Lynn Robbins Jr. (Professor 2006-Present) Doctor of Historical Politics
• Robert Rodman (Professor 1973-Present) Professor of computer science, author of Introduction to Language
• Mary Schweitzer (Professor 2003-Present) Paleontologist
• Rodney Waschka II (Professor 1990-Present) Composer
• R. V. Young (Professor 19??-Present) Renaissance English literature scholar, co-founder of the John Donne Journal
• Charles Edward Stevens (Professor 1980 - 1992)- Professor and expert in comparative physiology and digestive systems

Athletics

Philip Rivers, NFL Quarterback and NFL Pro-Bowler

• Thurl Bailey (1983) former NBA basketball player
• Andrew Brackman (2005) Pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds
• Chris Colmer (2005) Offensive Lineman for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Chris Corchiani (1991) former NBA basketball player
• Jerricho Cotchery (2004) football player, NY Jets.
• Bill Cowher (B.S. Education 1979) football, Former head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• Vinny Del Negro (1988) Current NBA Head Coach of Los Angeles Clippers.
• David Fox (B.S. Civil Engineering 1994) 1996 Olympic swimmer.
• Roman Gabriel (B.S. Education 1962) football player.
• Tom Gugliotta (1992) former NBA Basketball player
• Frank Harris, former National Football League player, Chicago Bears
• Lloyd Harrison (B.S. Business 2000), retired National Football League player
• J.J. Hickson (Attended 2007-2008), NBA basketball player
• Julius Hodge (B.A. Communications 2005, theater minor) NBA Basketball player, Denver Nuggets, #20 pick in the 2005 NBA Draft.
• Terrence Holt (B.A. Sociology 2004, attended 1999-2001) football player, Carolina Panthers.
• Torry Holt (B.A. Sociology 1998) retired National Football League player.
• Cullen Jones, 2008 Olympic 4x100m freestyle relay gold medal winner.
• Manny Lawson (B.S. Industrial Engineering 2006), football player, San Francisco 49ers
• Sean Locklear (2004), NFL offensive lineman for the Seattle Seahawks
• Sidney Lowe (1983) former NBA basketball player and former head coach of the North Carolina State University basketball team.
• Pablo Mastroeni (Attended 1994-1997), Soccer player, Miami Fusion and Colorado Rapids. Represented United States in the FIFA World Cup in 2002 and 2006.
• Nate McMillan (Attended 1985-1986) former NBA Basketball player, now head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.
• Joe Milinichik, former National Football League player, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers.
• Colt Morton, catcher for the San Diego Padres, 2007-present.
• Chuck Nevitt, (1982) former NBA basketball player
• Mike Quick (1982), former star NFL wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles (1982-90), and current Eagles' radio broadcaster
• Tab Ramos (B.A. Foreign Language and Literature 2003, attended 1984-1987) Soccer player, MetroStars. Represented United States in the FIFA World Cup in 1990, 1994, and 1998.
• Lamont Reid (B.S. PRT 2005) NFL, football player Denver Broncos.
• Philip Rivers (B.S. Business 2003) football player, San Diego Chargers, #4 pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.
• Koren Robinson football player, Green Bay Packers, #9 pick in the 2001 NFL Draft.
• Scott Schweitzer, professional soccer player.
• Cedric Simmons (Attended 2004-2006), NBA Basketball player, Chicago Bulls, #15 pick in the 2006 NBA Draft.
• Vic Sorrell (Head Baseball Coach 1946-1966) played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball
• Doug Strange, retired Major League Baseball player.
• Craig Sutherland, professional soccer player
• Sylvester Terkay, Professional wrestler
• David Thompson (B.A. Sociology 2003, attended 1971-1975) retired NBA and ABA basketball player.
• Jim Valvano Head Coach of Men's Basketball for NC State's National Championship (1983)
• Spud Webb (Attended 1983-1984), NBA Basketball player, Atlanta Hawks, Won the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
• Mario Williams (Attended 2003-2005), football player, Houston Texans, #1 pick in the 2006 NFL Draft.
• Adrian Wilson (Attended 1998-2001), football player, Arizona Cardinals
• Tracy Woodson retired Major League Baseball player

Business

• James W. Owens (1968, MT 1970, Ph.D. 1973) CEO and Chairman of Caterpillar Inc.
• Dr. John Townsend (1977, BA), award-winning author and consultant of leadership & organizational coaching
• John Widman (1984), luthier

Media

• Randy Boone (attended early 1960s), actor and singer
• Brett Claywell (B.S. Architecture 2001), Actor
• Richard Curtis (Bachelors 1972), a founder and managing editor of graphics and photography for USA TODAY
• Zach Galifianakis (Communication and film major circa 1987, did not graduate), Comedian, Actor, Writer
• Terry Gannon (B.A. History 1985) ABC Sports commentator
• Michael Gracz (B.S. Business 2004), a professional poker player
• Tim Kirkman (B.E.D. Design 1990), a film writer/director
• Roy H. Park (Bachelors 1931), a communications executive
• Jerry Punch (B.S. Pre-Med 1975) Sideline reporter & auto racing analyst for ESPN and ABC
• Jon Reep (B.A. Communications, 1996) Comedian and Winner of Last Comic Standing season 5 (2007), NBC.
• John Tesh (B.A. Communication 1975), a musician
• Jill Wagner (B.A. Management 2001), an actress
• T. R. Pearson (B.A. and M.A. in English), a novelist
• Tab Thacker (B.A. Criminal Justice), Police Academy actor and NCAA champion wrestler.

Military

• Joseph P. Aucoin (B.S. Electrical Engineering, 1980) Rear Admiral, U. S. Navy.
• Bradley Lee (B.S. Chemistry 1987) Commander of the USS San Antonio.
• William C. Lee (1917) First commander of the 101st Airborne Division.
• Dan K. McNeill (B.S. 1968) Commander of NATO International Security Assistance Force
• Raymond Odierno (M.S. Nuclear Effects Engineering) Chief of Staff of the United States Army (2011 - ); Commanding General, Multi-national Force—Iraq; Commanding General Fort Hood and U.S. Army III Corps.
• Hugh Shelton (B.S. Textile Technology 1963) Former chairman of the U.S. Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Maxwell R. Thurman (B.S. Chemical Engineering 1953) U.S. Army general, Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, 1st Four Star Officer at NCSU
• Eli L. Whiteley (M.S. 1948) Medal of Honor recipient

Politics

• Chris Collins (B.S.M.E. 1972) County Executive of Erie County, New York
• John Edwards (B.S. Textile Technology 1974) Former Senator, 2004 vice-presidential nominee, and 2008 presidential candidate
• Abdurrahim El-Keib (Ph.D. Electrical Engineering, 1984) Engineering Professor and interim prime minister of Libya.
• Oliver Max Gardner (B.S. 1903) Lawyer, Businessman and Governor of North Carolina from 1929 to 1933
• Robert Gibbs (B.A. Political Science) Former White House Press Secretary for President Obama.
• J.D. Hayworth (B.A. Speech Communications and Political Science 1980) Member, United States Congress, 6th District, Arizona
• James B. Hunt Jr. (B.S. Agricultural Education 1959, M.S. Agricultural Economics 196?) 4-term Governor of North Carolina
• William Kerr Scott (1917) North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture, Governor of North Carolina, and United States Senator
• Walter B. Jones (Attended 1962-1965) Member, United States Congress, 3rd District, North Carolina
• Robert B. Jordan, III (B.S. Forestry, 1954) Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina (1985-1989)
• Patrick McHenry (Attended 1997) Member, United States Congress, 10th District, North Carolina
• Burley Mitchell (B.A. 1966) Former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice
• Wendell H. Murphy (B.S. Agriculture 1960) former North Carolina Senate member
• Rajendra K. Pachauri (M.S. Industrial Engineering 1972, Ph.D. Industrial Engineering and Economics 1975) Chaired the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore.
• Steve Troxler (B.S. Conservation 1974) North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Science and technology

• Marshall Brain (M.S. Computer Science 1989, Instructor 1986-1992) Founder of HowStuffWorks
• David Carroll (B.S. Physics 1985) Director of the Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials at Wake Forest University
• C. Clark Cockerham (Emeritus Professor, deceased) Father of DNA fingerprinting.
• Joe Britt (B.S. Computer Engineering 1991) Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Danger Inc.
• James Goodnight (B.S. Applied Mathematics 1965, M.S. Experimental Statistics 1968, Ph.D. Statistics 1972, Faculty member 1972-1976) CEO of SAS Institute
• Wes Jackson (Ph.D. Genetics 1967) Founder of The Land Institute.
• John S. Mayo (B.S., M.S., Ph.D. Electrical Engineering) Engineer and seventh president of Bell Labs.
• Bill Nussey (B.S. Electrical Engineering 1987) Former Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Da Vinci Systems.
• Katharine Stinson (B.S. Mechanical Engineering 1941) First female engineering graduate, first female engineer hired by Federal Aviation Administration.
• Anand Lal Shimpi (B.S. Electrical Engineering 2004) Founder of AnandTech.
• Mark D. Stowers (Ph.D. and M.S. Microbiology 1981) Vice President, Research and Development of POET LLC.
• Mark Templeton (Bachelor of Environmental Design 1975) President and CEO of Citrix Systems.
• Erik Troan (B.S. Computer Science 1995) Former Executive at Red Hat.
• Scot Wingo (M.S. Computer Engineering 1992) Co-Founder of Stingray Software, Co-Founder of ChannelAdvisor.

Chief executives of the University

Alexander Q. Holladay, first President of NC State (1889-1899)

John W. Harrelson, first Chancellor of NC State (1934-1953)

Presidents

• Alexander Q. Holladay 1889-1899
• George T. Winston 1899-1908
• Daniel H. Hill, Jr. 1908-1916
• Wallace Carl Riddick 1916-1923
• Eugene C. Brooks 1923-1934

Dean of Administration

• John W. Harrelson 1934-1945

Chancellors

• John W. Harrelson 1945-1953
• Carey Hoyt Bostian 1953-1959
• John T. Caldwell 1959-1975
• Jackson A. Rigney (interim) 1975
• Joab Thomas 1975-1981
• Nash Winstead (interim) 1981-1982
• Bruce Poulton 1982-1989
• Larry K. Monteith 1989-1998
• Marye Anne Fox 1998-2004
• Robert A. Barnhardt (interim) 2004
• James L. Oblinger 2005-2009
• James H. Woodward (interim) 2009-2010
• William R. Woodson 2010-