List of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign people

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

This is a list of notable people affiliated with the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, a public research university in Illinois.

Notable alumni

Not all listed alumni graduated from the university, and are so noted if the information is known.

Nobel Prize winners

Phillip Allen Sharp with President George W. Bush

• Edward Doisy, B.S. 1914, M.S. 1916 – Physiology or Medicine, 1943
• Vincent Du Vigneaud, B.S. 1923, M.S. 1924 – Chemistry, 1955; also served as faculty member
• Robert W. Holley, B.A. 1942 – Physiology or Medicine, 1968
• Jack Kilby, B.S. 1947 – Physics, 2000; inventor of the integrated circuit
• Edwin G. Krebs, B.A. 1940 – Physiology or Medicine, 1992
• Polykarp Kusch, M.S. 1933, Ph.D. 1936 – Physics, 1955
• John Schrieffer, M.S. 1954, Ph.D. 1957 – Physics, 1972; also served as faculty member
• Phillip Sharp, Ph.D. 1969 – Chemistry, 1993
• Wendell Stanley, M.S. 1927, PhD. 1929 – Chemistry 1946
• Rosalyn Yalow, M.S. 1942, Ph.D. 1945 – Physiology or Medicine, 1977

Pulitzer Prize winners

• Barry Bearak, M.S. 1974 – International Reporting, 2002
• Michael Colgrass, B.A. 1956 – Music, 1978
• George Crumb, M.A. 1952 – Music, 1968
• David Herbert Donald, M.A. 1942, Ph.D. 1946 – Biography, 1961 and 1988
• Roger Ebert, B.S. 1964 – Criticism, 1975
• Paul Ingrassia, B.S. 1972 – Beat Reporting, 1993
• Allan Nevins, B.A. 1912, M.A. 1913 – Biography, 1933 and 1937
• James Reston, B.S. 1932 – National Reporting, 1945 and 1957
• Robert Lewis Taylor, B.A. 1933 – Fiction, 1959
• Carl Van Doren, B.A. 1907 – Biography, 1939
• Mark Van Doren, B.A. 1914 – Poetry, 1940

Academia

Notable professors and scholars

• Warren Ambrose, B.S. 1935, M.S. 1936, Ph.D. 1939 – Mathematics, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at MIT; he is often considered one of the fathers of modern geometry.
• Steven Bachrach, B.S., Ph.D. (University of California, Berkley) – Dean of Science at Monmouth University, previously the Dr D. R. Semmes Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas
• George C. Baldwin, Ph.D. 1943 – theoretical and experimental physicist and Professor of Nuclear Engineering, at General Electric Company, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Los Alamos National Laboratory
• Arnold O. Beckman, B.S. 1922, M.S. 1923 – former Professor of Chemistry at Caltech
• Paul S. Dunkin, M.A. 1931, B.S. 1935, Ph.D. 1937 – Professor Emeritus of Library Services at Rutgers University
• Gerald R. Ferris, Ph.D. – Francis Eppes Professor of Management and professor of psychology at Florida State University
• Allan Hay, Ph.D. 1955 – Tomlinson Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at McGill University
• Nick Holonyak, Jr., B.S. 1950, M.S. 1951, Ph.D. 1954 – John Bardeen Endowed Chair Emeritus in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics at UIUC, member of National Academy of Engineering in Electronics, Communication & Information Systems Engineering and Materials Engineering for contributions to development of semiconductor controlled rectifiers, light emitting diodes, and diode laser
• Douglas A. Melton, B.S. – biologist, Xander University Professor at Harvard University
• Michael Moore – professor of theoretical physics at the University of Manchester
• James Purdy, scholar of digital rhetoric
• Nora C. Quebral, Ph.D. – proponent of the development communication discipline; Professor Emeritus of development communication at University of the Philippines Los Baños
• Bernard Rosenthal, Ph.D. 1968 – Professor Emeritus of English at Binghamton University.
• Roy Vernon Scott M.A. 1953, Ph.D. 1957 – Professor Emeritus of History at Mississippi State University
• Guy Standing, M.A. 1972 – Professor of Development Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London
• Dewey Stuit (1909–2008), American educational psychologist; dean of the College of Arts at the University of Iowa from 1948 to 1977
• Maurice Cole Tanquary, A.B. 1907, M.A. 1908, Ph.D. 1912 – Professor of Entomology at several universities and member of the Crocker Land Expedition
• James Thomson B.S. 1981 – Professor of Microbiology, University of Wisconsin – Madison

College presidents and vice-presidents

• Dr. Benjamin Allen – President, University of Northern Iowa
• John L. Anderson M.S., Ph.D. – eighth president, Illinois Institute of Technology; former Provost, Case Western Reserve University
• Robert M. Berdahl M.A. – President of American Association of Universities, former Chancellor of UC Berkeley, former President of University of Texas at Austin
• Warren E. Bow M.A. - President of Wayne State University
• Alvin Bowman Ph.D. – President, Illinois State University
• Tom Buchanan Ph.D. – twenty-third president, University of Wyoming
• David L. Chicoine Ph.D. – President, South Dakota State University
• Coching Chu B.S. 1913 – sixteenth president, Zhejiang University (National Chekiang University period); former Vice President, Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Ralph J. Cicerone M.S. 1967, Ph.D. 1970 – President, National Academy of Sciences, former Chancellor of UC Irvine
• Lewis Collens B.S., M.A. – seventh president, Illinois Institute of Technology
• John E. Cribbet J.D. – legal scholar, Dean of the University of Illinois College of Law, and Chancellor of the University of Illinois
• Lois B. DeFleur, Ph.D. – President, Binghamton University, former Provost of University of Missouri
• W. Kent Fuchs M.S. 1982, Ph.D. 1985 – twelfth president, University of Florida
• Philip Handler Ph.D. 1939 – President, National Academy of Sciences
• Tori Haring-Smith, Ph.D. – President, Washington & Jefferson College
• Freeman A. Hrabowski III M.A., Ph.D. – President, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
• Emil Q. Javier B.S. 1964 – seventeenth president, University of the Philippines
• Alain E. Kaloyeros, Ph.D. 1987 – first president, State University of New York Polytechnic Institute
• Robert W. Kustra Ph.D. – President, Boise State University
• Ray A. Laird B.S. 1932 – President of Laredo Community College in Laredo, Texas, 1960 to 1974; born in Milford, Illinois, in 1907
• Judy Jolley Mohraz Ph.D. 1974 – ninth president, Goucher College
• John Niland, Ph.D. 1970 – fourth president, University of New South Wales, Australia
• J. Wayne Reitz M.S. 1935 – fifth president, University of Florida
• Steven B. Sample B.S. 1962, M.S. 1963, Ph.D. 1965 – tenth president, University of Southern California
• David J. Schmidly Ph.D., – twentieth president, University of New Mexico
• Michael Schwartz, B.S. 1958, M.A. 1959, Ph.D. 1962 – President Cleveland State University
• James J. Stukel M.S. 1963, Ph.D. 1968 – fifteenth president, University of Illinois
• William D. Underwood J.D. – eighteenth president, Mercer University
• Marvin Wachman Ph.D. – President, Temple University, former President of Lincoln University
• Herman B Wells – President, Indiana University
• Chen Xujing – Vice President, Nankai University and Zhongsan University; President, Lingnan University and Jinan University

College provosts and vice provosts

• Joseph A. Alutto M.A. – Provost, Ohio State University
• Richard C. Lee Ph.D. – Vice Provost, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Performing arts

• Barbara Bain, B.S. – winner of three consecutive Emmy Awards for the role of Cinnamon Carter in Mission: Impossible
• Betsy Brandt, B.F.A. 1996 – television actress (Marie Schrader in Breaking Bad)
• Timothy Carhart – film and television actor (Pink Cadillac, The Hunt for Red October)
• Arden Cho – actress
• Andrew Davis – film director (The Fugitive)
• Nancy Lee Grahn, briefly attended – Daytime Emmy-winning actress
• Gene Hackman, attended – five-time Academy Award-nominated actor
• Shanola Hampton – actor (Shameless)
• Arte Johnson, 1949 – Laugh-In television personality
• Margaret Judson – television actress (The Newsroom)
• Chris Landreth, B.S. 1984, M.S. 1986 – Academy Award-winning animator (Best Animated Short Film, 2004, Ryan)
• Ang Lee, B.F.A. 1980 – Academy Award-winning movie director (Best Director, 2005, Brokeback Mountain; 2012, Life of Pi)
• Ned Luke, 1979 – actor (Grand Theft Auto V)
• John Franklin (actor), 1983– Isaac ("Children of the Corn (1984 film)")
• Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, 1980 – actress (Scarface, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Color of Money)
• John McNaughton – film and television director (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Wild Things)
• Ryan McPartlin – actor (Chuck)
• Donna Mills – film and television actress (Knots Landing)
• Ben Murphy – television actor (Alias Smith and Jones)
• Lucas Neff – actor (Raising Hope)
• Nick Offerman, 1993 – actor (Parks and Recreation)
• Jerry Orbach, B.A. – Broadway, film and television actor (Dirty Dancing, Detective Lennie Briscoe in Law & Order)
• Peter Palmer – actor and singer; played "Li'l Abner" on Broadway and film
• Larry Parks – Academy-Award-nominated actor; blacklisted in Hollywood after testifying before the House Un-American Activities Committee
• Andy Richter, briefly attended – actor and Conan O'Brien sidekick
• Alan Ruck – actor (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Star Trek Generations, Spin City)
• Jonathan Sadowski – actor ($#*! My Dad Says (TV series))
• Allan Sherman – comedian (known for the Grammy Award-winning novelty song "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah"; television writer and producer (co-creator of I've Got a Secret)
• Sushanth, B.E. – Telugu actor
• Lynne Thigpen, B.A. 1970–1997 Tony Award-winning actress (Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?)
• Grant Williams – film actor (The Incredible Shrinking Man) and operatic tenor
• Roger Young, M.S. – Emmy Award-winning TV and movie director

Architecture

• Max Abramovitz, B.S. 1929 – architect on many campus and prominent international buildings including the United Nations Building, Assembly Hall (Champaign) and the Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City
• Henry Bacon – architect of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
• Temple Hoyne Buell – architect for the first American central mall
• Jeanne Gang, B.S. – architect
• Ralph Johnson, B. Arch 1971 – principal architect of the Perkins+Will
• David Miller, M. Arch 1972 – principal architect of the Miller/Hull partnership, FAIA
• César Pelli, M. Arch. 1954 – architect for the Petronas Twin Towers
• William Pereira, M. Arch. 1930 – notable mid-20th century American architect in Los Angeles, known for Transamerica Pyramid and Geisel Library
• Nathan Clifford Ricker, D. Arch. 1871 – first architect to receive a degree in architecture from an American institution
• Patricia Saldaña Natke, B. Arch 1986 – architect
• William L. Steele – architect of the Prairie School during the early-twentieth century
• Ralph A. Vaughn (1907–2000) – academic, architect and film set designer; founded the Pi Psi chapter of Omega Psi Phi

Art

• Mark Staff Brandl, B.F.A. 1978 – artist, art historian and critic
• Annie Crawley – underwater photographer
• Leslie Erganian – artist and writer
• Hart D. Fisher, B.A. 1992 – comics book creator, comics publisher
• David Klamen, B.F.A. 1983 – artist and academic
• Susan Rankaitis, B.F.A. 1971 – artist
• Leo Segedin, B.F.A. 1948; M.F.A. 1950 – artist and educator
• Deb Sokolow, B.A. 1996 – artist
• Lorado Taft – sculptor, writer and educator
• Charles H. Traub, B.A. – photographer and educator
• Vivian Zapata – Painter, Official artist of the 2005 Latin Grammys
• Barbara Zeigler – artist

Astronauts

Steven R. Nagel

• Scott Altman, B.S. 1981
• Lee J. Archambault, B.S. 1982, M.S. 1984
• Dale A. Gardner, B.S. 1970
• Michael S. Hopkins, B.S. 1992
• Steven R. Nagel, B.S. 1969
• Joseph R. Tanner, B.S. 1973

Business

• Irving Azoff, attended – CEO of Ticketmaster (2008-present); Executive Chairman Live Nation Entertainment
• Sunil Benimadhu, M.B.A 1992- chief executive officer of the Stock Exchange of Mauritius (2002-present)
• Jim Cantalupo, 1966 – chairman and chief executive officer of McDonald's (1991–2004)
• Stephen Carley, A.B. circa 1973 – chief executive officer of El Pollo Loco, former president and chief operating officer of Universal City Hollywood
• Jerry Colangelo, B.S. 1962 – president and chief executive officer of Phoenix Suns; managing general partner of Arizona Diamondbacks
• Jon Corzine, A.B. 1969 – chairman and chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs (1994–1999), cross listed in Politics section
• Bob Dudley, B.S. – managing director and chief executive officer-designate of BP
• Martin Eberhard, 1960 – co-founder and chief executive officer of Tesla Motors
• George T. Felbeck, B.S.M.E. 1919, M.S.M.E. 1921 – president of Union Carbide (1944–1962)
• George M.C. Fisher, 1962 – chief executive officer of Eastman Kodak (1993–2000)
• Ravin Gandhi – founder of GMM Nonstick Coatings
• John Georges, 1951 – chief executive officer of International Paper (1985–1996)
• Harry Gray, 1941 – chief executive officer of United Technologies (1974–1986)
• E.B. Harris, 1935 – president of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange
• Robert L. Johnson – founder of Black Entertainment Television; principal owner of the Charlotte Bobcats
• Pete Koomen, M.S. 2006 – co-founder of Optimizely
• Michael P. Krasny, B.S. 1975 – founder and chairman emeritus of CDW
• Stephen McLin, B.S. 1968 – former Bank of America executive
• Christopher Michel, B.A. 1990 – founder and chief executive officer of Military.com (1999–2007); founder and chief executive officer of Affinity Labs
• Steven L. Miller, B.S. 1967 – chief executive officer of Shell Oil (1999–2002)
• Tom Murphy, B.S. 1938 – chairman of General Motors
• Jim Oberweis – chairman of Oberweis Dairy
• Ron Popeil – attended (left after one year) – inventor of the infomercial
• Abe Saperstein – creator of the Harlem Globetrotters
• Reshma Saujani – founder and CEO of Girls Who Code
• Barbara Turf – CEO of Crate & Barrel (2008–2012)
• Jack Welch, M.S. 1959, Ph.D. 1961 – chief executive officer of General Electric (1981–2001)
• C. E. Woolman, 1912 – founder of Delta Air Lines
• Yi Gang, Ph.D. 1986 – director of State Administration of Foreign Exchange
• John D. Zeglis, B.S. 1969 – former president of AT&T; former chairman and chief executive officer of AT&T Wireless
• Marcin Kleczynski, B.S. 2012 – founder and CEO of Malwarebytes

Engineering and technology

Panorama of the Bardeen Quad

Steve Chen, co-founder of YouTube

• Shoaib Abbasi, B.S. 1980, M.S. 1980 – president and chief executive officer of Informatica
• Marc Andreessen, B.S. 1993 – co-creator of Mosaic, and later co-founder of Netscape
• Bruce Artwick, M.S. 1976 – creator of Microsoft Flight Simulator
• William F. Baker, M.S. 1980 – best known for being the structural engineer of Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest man-made structure
• Ken Batcher, Ph.D. 1969 – ACM/IEEE Eckert-Mauchly Award winner for work on parallel computers
• Arnold O. Beckman, B.S. 1922, M.S. 1923 – inventor of the pH meter, founder of Beckman Instruments; major donor to the university which included a gift to found the Beckman Institute; namesake of the Beckman Quadrangle
• Eric Bina, B.S. 1986, M.S. 1988 –- co-creator of the Mosaic and among the first employees of Netscape
• Donald Bitzer, B.S. 1955, M.S. 1956, Ph.D. 1960–2003 Emmy Award in Technical Achievement for the invention of the plasma display
• Ed Boon, B.S. 1986 – creator of the Mortal Kombat video game series
• Keith Brendley, B.S., 1980—leading authority on active protection systems and president of Artis, a research and development company
• Mike Byster, 1981 – mental calculator, mathematician
• Steve Chen – co-founder of YouTube
• Ven Te Chow, Ph.D. – professor of hydrology
• John Cioffi, B.S. 1978 – father of DSL (broadband internet connection), Marconi Prize winner, founder of Amati Communications (sold to Texas Instruments), IEEE Fellow
• Alan M. Davis, M.S. 1973, Ph.D. 1975 – IEEE Fellow for contributions to software engineering, author, entrepreneur
• Lemuel Davis, M.S. – software engineer in the field of computer animation; winner of a 1992 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Scientific and Engineering Award
• James DeLaurier, B.S. – designed the first microwave-powered aircraft, the first engine-powered ornithopter, and the first human-carrying ornithopter
• Daniel W. Dobberpuhl, B.S. 1967 – creator of Alpha and StrongARM microprocessors at DEC
• Steve Dorner, B.S. 1983 – creator of Eudora
• Russell Dupuis, B.S. 1970, M.S. 1971, Ph.D. 1972 – professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology; co-recipient of the 2002 National Medal of Technology; awarded the 2007 IEEE Edison Medal; pioneer in metalorganic chemical vapor deposition and the commercialization of LEDs
• Brendan Eich, M.S. 1986 – creator of JavaScript; chief technology officer of Mozilla Corporation
• Larry Ellison, attended (left after sophomore year) – founder of Oracle Corporation
• Michael Hart, B.A. 1973 – founder of Project Gutenberg
• Tomlinson Holman, B.S. 1968 – creator of THX, professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts
• John C. Houbolt, B.S. 1940, M.S. 1942 – retired NASA engineer who successfully promoted lunar orbit rendezvous for Apollo Space Program
• Jawed Karim, B.S. 2004 – co-founder of YouTube
• Fazlur Khan, Ph.D. 1955 – designer and builder of the Sears Tower, the tallest building in the world when it was built in 1973
• Shahid Khan, B.S. 1971 – owner of Flex-N-Gate Corp.; purchased the Jacksonville Jaguars
• Ed Krol – author of Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog
• Chris Lattner – author of LLVM and related projects, such as the compiler Clang and the programming language Swift. At the start of 2017 he started working at Tesla Motors as vice president of Autopilot Software.
• Max Levchin, B.S. 1997 – co-founder of PayPal
• Jenny Levine, M.L.I.S. 1992 – evangelist for library technology and American Library Association Internet strategist
• Russel Simmons – co-founder and chief technical officer of Yelp!
• Bob Miner, B.A. (mathematics) 1963 – co-founder of Oracle Corporation
• Ray Ozzie, B.S. 1979 – creator of Lotus Notes cofounder of Lotus, co-president of Microsoft
• Cecil Peabody – writer, graduate of MIT (1877) and professor at MIT
• Jerry Sanders, B.S. 1958 – co-founder and former chief executive officer of Advanced Micro Devices
• Peter Shirley, Ph.D. 1991 – Distinguished Scientist at NVIDIA recognized for contributions to real time ray tracing
• Thomas Siebel, B.A. 1975, M.B.A. 1983, M.S. 1985 – founder of Siebel Systems
• H. Gene Slottow, Ph.D. 1964 – 2003 Emmy Award in Technical Achievement for the invention of the plasma display
• Nadine Barrie Smith, B.S. 1985, M.S. 1989, Ph.D. 1996 – biomedical researcher in therapeutic ultrasound
• Jeremy Stoppelman – co-founder and chief executive officer of Yelp!
• Bill Stumpf – designer of the Aeron and Ergon ergonomic chairs
• Parisa Tabriz – head of security at Google Chrome
• Craig Vetter – BFA Industrial Design c. 1966 – founder of Vetter Fairing Company and Motorcycle Hall of Fame inductee
• Kevin Warwick – Senior Beckman Fellow, 2004 – cyborg scientist, University of Reading

Literature

• Nelson Algren, B.S. 1931 – author of 1950 National Book Award-winning The Man With the Golden Arm
• William Attaway, B.A. 1935 – author of Blood on the Forge
• Ann Bannon, B.A. 1955 – pulp-fiction writer, author of The Beebo Brinker Chronicles
• Dee Brown, M.S. 1951 – author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
• John F. Callahan, M.A., Ph.D. – literary executor for Ralph Ellison
• Iris Chang, B.A. 1989 – author of The Rape of Nanking
• Dave Eggers, attended 1980s and 90s, B.S. 2002 – author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, What Is the What, and Zeitoun (book)
• Stanley Elkin, B.A. 1952, Ph.D. 1961 – National Book Critics Circle Award winner for George Mills in 1982 and for Mrs. Ted Bliss in 1995
• Lee Falk, 1932 – creator of The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician
• Rolando Hinojosa, Ph.D. 1969 – author of Klail City Death Trip Series
• Irene Hunt, B.A. 1939 – Newbery Medal-winning author of Up a Road Slowly
• Richmond Lattimore, Ph.D. 1935 – poet; translator of the Iliad and the Odyssey
• William Keepers Maxwell, Jr., B.A. 1930 – novelist and fiction editor of The New Yorker (1936–1976)
• Harry Mark Petrakis, attended – novelist
• Richard Powers, M.A. 1979 – novelist and writer
• Shel Silverstein, attended (expelled) – poet, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children's books (Where the Sidewalk Ends)
• Anne Valente, M.S. 2007 – novelist, author of Our Hearts Will Burn Us Down and By Light We Knew Our Name
• Larry Woiwode, 1964 – poet and novelist

Journalism and non-fiction broadcasting

• Jabari Asim, scholar-in-residence 2008–2010 – editor-in-chief, The Crisis, Washington Post Book World deputy editor, columnist; author
• Dan Balz, B.A. 1968, M.A. 1972 – Washington Post national political reporter and editor; author
• Claudia Cassidy, 1921 – Chicago Tribune music and drama critic
• John Chancellor – political analyst and newscaster for NBC Nightly News
• Roger Ebert, B.S. 1964 – film critic
• Bill Geist, 1968 – CBS News correspondent
• Robert Goralski, 1949 – NBC News correspondent
• Bob Grant – radio talk show personality
• Steven Hager – editor of High Times and founder of the Cannabis Cup
• Herb Keinon – columnist and journalist for The Jerusalem Post
• Frederick C Klein, B.A. 1959 – sportswriter Wall Street Journal and author
• Will Leitch – writer and founding editor of Deadspin
• Carol Marin, A.B. 1970 – former news anchor; 60 Minutes correspondent; Illinois Journalist of the Year (1988)
• Tom Merritt, B.S. journalism – technology journalist and broadcaster on TWiT.tv
• Robert Novak, B.A. 1952 – political commentator and columnist
• Suze Orman, B.A. 1976 – financial adviser and author
• Ian Punnett – radio talk-show personality, and Saturday-night host of Coast to Coast AM
• B. Mitchel Reed, B.S., M.A. – radio personality in Los Angeles and New York City
• Taylor Rooks, B.S. broadcast journalism – Big Ten Network television personality and sideline reporter
• Dan Savage – advice columnist (Savage Love) and theater director
• Gene Shalit, 1949 – film critic
• Patricia Thompson, 1969 – film and television producer
• Terry Teachout M.A. music--theater critic and writer
• Douglas Wilson – television personality and designer (Trading Spaces)
• Gregor Ziemer – author and journalist, provided expert testimony during the Nuremberg Trials
• Sean Evans – Host of Youtube show "Hot Ones"

Media

• Robert "Buck" Brown – Playboy cartoonist, creator of the libidinous "Granny" character, whose drawings also regularly addressed racial equality issues
• Dianne Chandler – Playboy Playmate of the Month, 1966
• Brant Hansen – radio personality for Air 1 network
• Erika Harold – Miss America 2003
• Judith Ford (Judi Nash), B.S. — Miss America 1969
• Hugh Hefner, B.A. 1949 – founder of Playboy magazine
• Nicole Hollander, B.A. 1960 – syndicated cartoonist of Sylvia
• Ken Paulson, J.D. – editor-in-chief of USA Today (2004–2008)
• Henry Petroski, Ph.D. 1968 – civil engineer and writer
• Irna Phillips, 1923 – creator of the soap opera

Military

• Lew Allen, Jr., M.S. 1952, Ph.D. 1954 – Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
• Kenneth D. Bailey 1935 – Medal of Honor recipient
• Reginald C. Harmon, LLB 1927 – first United States Air Force Judge Advocate General
• Thomas R. Lamont, J.D. 1972 – United States Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs)
• Jerald D. Slack – U.S. Air National Guard Major General, Adjutant General of Wisconsin
• Herbert Sobel – U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, commander of Easy Company, 506th Infantry Regiment during World War II, featured in Band of Brothers
• Eugene L. Tattini – U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General
• David M. Van Buren, B.S. 1971 – Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition)

Music

• Anton Armstrong – choral director
• Jay Bennett – musician for band Wilco
• Marty Casey, B.A. – lead vocalist of the band Lovehammers
• Rene Clausen – composer, conductor
• Alexander Djordjevic – pianist
• Neal Doughty, attended late 1960s – keyboard player and founding member of REO Speedwagon
• Dan Fogelberg – singer-songwriter
• Nathan Gunn – baritone, opera singer
• John B. Haberlen – director of Georgia State University school of music
• Jerry Hadley – opera singer
• Chan Hing-yan – composer and music educator
• Kenneth Jennings – composer and music educator
• Craig Hella Johnson – choir conductor
• Curtis Jones – house music producer
• Donald Nally – choral director
• Bob Nanna – indie-rock musician; founder of the bands Friction, Braid (band), Hey Mercedes, and The City on Film
• Psalm One – hip-hop artist
• Matt Wertz – singer-songwriter
• Carolyn Kuan – conductor, pianist, music director for Hartford Symphony Orchestra
• Brian Courtney Wilson – Grammy Nominated Gospel artist

Politics

U.S. Senate

• Carol Moseley Braun, – first African-American female United States Senator (Illinois, 1993–1999); U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa (1999–2001)
• Prentiss M. Brown – United States Senator from Michigan (1936–1943); U.S. Representative from Michigan (1933–1936)
• Alan J. Dixon, B.S. – United States Senator from Illinois (1981–1993); 34th Illinois Secretary of State
• Jon Corzine, A.B. 1969 – Governor of New Jersey (2006–2010) and U.S. Senator from New Jersey (2001–2006), cross listed in Business section
• John Porter East, Law, 1959 – United States Senator from North Carolina (1981–1986)

U.S. House of Representatives

• John Anderson – U.S. Representative from Illinois (1961–1981); 1980 presidential candidate
• Willis J. Bailey, 1879 – United States Representative and the 16th Governor of Kansas
• Terry L. Bruce – U.S. Representative from Illinois's 19th congressional district (1985–1993). He earned his B.A. in 1966 and his J.D. in 1969.
• Larry Bucshon — U.S. Representative from Indiana (since 2011)
• Edwin V. Champion – U.S. Representative from Illinois (1937–1939)
• Jesse Jackson, Jr., J.D. 1993 – U.S. Representative from Illinois (1995–2012)
• Tim Johnson, B.A. 1969, J.D. 1972 – U.S. Representative from Illinois (2001–2013)
• Lynn Morley Martin, B.A. 1960 – U.S. Representative from Illinois (1981–1991) and Secretary of Labor in the cabinet of George H.W. Bush (1991–1993)
• Peter Roskam, B.A. 1983 – U.S. Representative from Illinois (since 2007), House Republican Chief Deputy Whip (2011–2014)
• Kurt Schrader, B.S. 1975, D.V.M. 1977 – U.S. Representative from Oregon (since 2009)
• Jan Schakowsky, B.S. 1965 – U.S. Representative from Illinois (since 1999)
• Steve Schiff, B.A. 1968 – U.S. Representative from New Mexico (1989–1998)
• Harold H. Velde, J.D. 1937 – U.S. Representative from Illinois (1949–1957)
• Jerry Weller, B.S. 1979 – U.S. Representative from Illinois (1995–2009)

Executive Branch Officials

Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker

• Nancy Brinker, 1968 – founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure; Chief of Protocol of the United States, United States Ambassador to Hungary (2001–2003)
• Mark Filip, B.A. 1988 – acting Attorney General of the United States (2009); Deputy Attorney General of the United States (2008–2009); Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (2004–2008)
• William Marion Jardine – served as the United States Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt
• Neel Kashkari, B.S. 1995, M.S. 1997 – Interim Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability in the United States Department of the Treasury
• Julius B. Richmond, B.S., M.S. 1939 – 12th United States Surgeon General and the United States Assistant Secretary for Health (1977–1981); vice admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps; first national director for Project Head Start
• Samuel K. Skinner, 1960 – Secretary of Transportation (1989–1991); White House Chief of Staff during the George H. W. Bush Administration (1992)
• Phillips Talbot – United States diplomat, United States Ambassador to Greece (1965–1969)

Statewide Offices

• Russell Olson, attended – 39th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin (1979–1983)
• Ashton C. Shallenberger – 15th Governor of Nebraska
• Samuel H. Shapiro – 34th Governor of Illinois (1968); 38th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois (1961–1968)
• Frank White, 1880 – eighth Governor of North Dakota
• Leslie Munger – former Illinois Comptroller (2015–2017)

State Legislators

• David S. Olsen, B.S. 2011- Illinois House of Representatives (since 2016)
• Kiah Morris, B.S. 2006- Vermont House of Representatives (since 2014)
• Tom Fink, J.D. 1952 – Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives (1973), Mayor of Anchorage (1987–1994)
• Allen J. Flannigan – Wisconsin State Assemblyman (1957–1966)
• Jehan Gordon-Booth – Illinois House of Representatives (since 2009)
• Chuck Graham, B.S. 1987 – Missouri House of Representatives (1996–2002), Missouri State Senate 2004
• Robert W. Pritchard – Illinois House of Representatives (since 2003), former Chairman of the DeKalb County Board (1998–2003)
• Thomas P. Sinnett, 1909 – Illinois House of Representatives (1924–1940), Democratic Party Floor Leader (1932–1934)

Judiciary

• Henry M. Britt, 1941 and 1947 (law) – Arkansas Republican pioneer and circuit judge in Hot Springs
• Rita B. Garman, B.S. 1965 – Illinois Supreme Court (since 2001)
• Lloyd A. Karmeier, B.A. 1962, J.D. 1964 – Illinois Supreme Court (since 2004)
• Ramon Ocasio III – 6th Judicial Subcircuit Judge, Cook County, Illinois (since 2006)
• Robert C. Underwood, 1939 (law) – Illinois Supreme Court (1962–1984)

Local Offices

• M.J. Khan, Master's in Engineering – former member of the Houston City Council
• Dick Murphy, B.A. 1965 – Mayor of San Diego (2000–2005)
• Thomas D. Westfall (1927–2005) – former mayor of El Paso, Texas
• [[ Latasha R. (Johnson) Thomas, B.A. 1987 - Alderman, Chicago City Council (2000-2015)

Activists

• James Brady, 1962 – White House Press Secretary under Ronald Reagan, hand-gun-control advocate
• Dorothy Day, 1918 – founder of the Catholic Worker Movement
• Jesse Jackson – civil-rights leader; presidential candidate; founder of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition
• Victor Kamber, B.S. 1965 – formed The Kamber Group, working for Democratic Party candidates and labor unions
• Vashti McCollum – political activist for the separation of religion and public education and the plaintiff of the McCollum case
• Carlos Montezuma (Wassaja), B.S. 1884 – Native American activist and a founding member of the Society of American Indians
• Albert Shanker – president of the United Federation of Teachers (1964–1984); president of the American Federation of Teachers (1974–1997)
• Mike Cernovich – alt-right author; promoted Pizzagate conspiracy theory and the accusations against John Conyers and Sam Seder.

International Figures

• Giorgi Kvirikashvili, M.S. 1998 – Prime Minister of Georgia
• Berhane Abrehe, M.S. 1972 – Third Minister of Finance of Eritrea
• Rafael Correa, Ph.D. 2001 — President and former Secretary (Minister) of Finances of Ecuador
• Cüneyd Düzyol, M.S. 1996 – Turkish Minister of Development
• Mustafa Khalil, M.S. 1948, Ph.D., 1951 – former Prime Minister of Egypt (1978–1980)
• Atef Ebeid, Ph.D. 1962 – former Prime Minister of Egypt (1999–2004)
• Annette Lu – former vice-president of Taiwan (2000–2008)
• Oran McPherson – former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta; Minister of Public Works for the United Farmers of Alberta government
• Maxwell Mkwezalamba, Ph.D. 1995 – Commissioner for Economic Affairs for the African Union Commission (since 2004)
• Fidel V. Ramos, 1951 – former President of the Philippines (1992–1998)
• Kandeh Yumkella, Ph.D. 1991 – Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization
• Lin Chuan, Ph.D. – Current Premier of Taiwan and former Minister of Finance.
• Sri Mulyani Indrawati, M.Sc., Ph.D. - 26th Finance Minister of Indonesia (2016-now) & Managing Director of the World Bank Group (1 June 2010 – 27 July 2016)
• Bambang Brodjonegoro, Prof., S.E., M.U.P., Ph.D. - 13th Minister of National Development Planning of Indonesia (2016-now) & 29th Finance Minister of Indonesia (27 October 2014 – 27 July 2016)

Other

• Jill Wine-Banks, B.S. - Watergate prosecutor; General Counsel of the Army (1977–1980); Executive Director of the American Bar Association
• Joe Delano Walcker III, LL.M – former Assistant Attorney General II; California Eastern District, Sacramento

Science and mathematics

• Ahmet Nihat Berker, Ph.D. 1977 – condensed matter physicist; president of Sabancı University, Istanbul–Turkey
• David Blackwell, Ph.D. 1941 – mathematician; 2010 Rao–Blackwell theorem; first African American to be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences (1965); first black tenured faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley
• Murray S. Blum – entomologist, authority on chemical ecology and pheromones
• Harold E. Brooks, Ph.D. 1990 – atmospheric scientist; tornado climatology expert
• John Carbon, B.S. 1952 – biochemist; National Academy of Sciences member
• Stephen S. Chang, Ph.D. 1952 – food scientist; recipient, IFT Stephen S. Chang Award for Lipid or Flavor Science
• Alfred Y. Cho, B.S. 1960, M.S. 1961, Ph.D. 1968 – father of molecular beam epitaxy; received the National Medal of Science in 1993
• Karl Clark, Ph.D. – discovered the hot water oil separation process
• Cutler J. Cleveland, Ph.D. – editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Energy and the Encyclopedia of Earth
• Ronald Cohn, B.S. 1965, M.S. 1967, Ph.D. 1971 – researcher and cameraman who helped document Koko, the mountain gorilla
• Josephine Burns Glasgow, A.B., 1909, Master's degree, Ph.D. in mathematics, 1913 – the second woman to receive a Ph.D. from Illinois University
• Gene H. Golub, B.S. 1953, M.A. 1954, Ph.D. 1959 – B. Bolzano Gold Medal for Merits in the Field of Mathematical
• T. R. Govindachari, Post-doc 1946–49, Natural product chemist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate
• Temple Grandin, Ph.D. 1989 – animal scientist; bestselling author; consultant to the livestock industry in animal behavior; her biopic (about her life as a woman diagnosed with autism at age two) won five Emmy Awards in 2010
• Paul Halmos, B.S. 1935, Ph.D. 1938 – mathematician
• Richard Hamming, Ph.D. 1942 – mathematician; developed Hamming code and Hamming distance; winner of 1968 ACM Turing Award; namesake of the IEEE's Richard W. Hamming Medal
• Leslie M. Hicks, Ph.D. 2005- analytical chemist
• Donald G. Higman, Ph.D. 1952– mathematician, discovered the Higman–Sims group
• Donald Johanson, B.S. 1966 – anthropologist, discoverer of oldest known hominid, "Lucy"
• Cheryl Johnson, M.S. 1948 – Inorganic crystallography major; attended law school, has served since 1999 on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin
• W. Dudley Johnson, B.S. 1951 – cardiac surgeon known as the father of coronary artery bypass surgery
• David A. Johnston, B.S. 1971 – USGS volcanologist killed in the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
• Charles David Keeling, B.S. 1948 – chemist, alerted the world about the possible connection between climate change and human activity
• Michael Lacey, Ph.D. 1987 – awarded the Salem Prize for solving conjectures about the Bilinear Hilbert Transform
• Richard Leibler, Ph.D. 1939 – mathematician; formulated the Kullback–Leibler divergence, a measure of similarity between probability distributions; directed the Princeton center of the Institute for Defense Analysis
• Sandra Leiblum, Ph.D. – sexologist
• Stephanie A. Majewski, B.S. 2002; Ph.D. Stanford University 2007 – physicist
• Jeffrey S. Moore, Ph.D. 1989 – chemist
• Catherine J. Murphy, B.S. 1986 – chemist
• P. T. Narasimhan, Post-doc 1957–59 – theoretical chemist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate
• Rahul Pandit, MS and PhD 1977–82 – condensed matter physicist, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate
• Francine Patterson, B.S. 1970 – researcher who taught a modified version of American Sign Language to a mountain gorilla named Koko
• Idun Reiten, Ph.D. 1971 – professor of mathematics; considered to be one of Norway's greatest living mathematicians
• John A. Rogers, – physical chemist and a materials scientist
• Allan Sandage, B.S., 1948 – astronomer and cosmologist; winner of 1991 Crafoord Prize
• Pierre Sokolsky, Ph.D. 1973 – astrophysicist, Panofsky Prize Laureate, directed the HiRES Cosmic Ray Detector project and pioneer in ultra-high-energy cosmic ray physics
• Steven Takiff, Ph.D. 1970 – mathematician
• Charles W. Woodworth, B.S. 1885, M.S. 1886 – founder of the Division of Entomology, University of California, Berkeley; the PBESA gives the C. W. Woodworth Award
• Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, Ph.D. 1975 – computer scientist, winner of 2000 ACM Turing Award
• K. R. Sridhar, M.S. 1984, Ph.D. 1989- Founder of Bloom Energy

Sports

Administration

• Ron Guenther, B.S. 1967, M.S. 1968 – former Director of Athletics, hired coaches Ron Zook and Bruce Weber for football and basketball
• Chester Pittser, B.S. 1924 – Miami University football and basketball coach (1924–1931), Montclair State College football, basketball and baseball coach (1934–1943)
• Doug Mills – (1926–1930), University of Illinois Athletic Director (1941–1966), Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball Head Coach (1936–1947)
• Josh Whitman, B.S. 2001, J.D. 2008 – University of Illinois athletic director, former NFL player

Baseball

Lou Boudreau

Ken Holtzman

• Jason Anderson – Major League Baseball player
• Dick Barrett – former Major League Baseball player, member of Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame
• Fred Beebe – late Major League Baseball player
• Lou Boudreau – late Major League Baseball player; member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Mark Dalesandro – former Major League Baseball catcher and third baseman
• Hoot Evers – former Major League Baseball outfielder (two-time All-Star)
• Darrin Fletcher – former Major League Baseball catcher
• Tom Haller – former Major League Baseball catcher
• Ken Holtzman – former Major League Baseball 2-time All-Star pitcher and Israel Baseball League manager
• Tanner Roark – Major League Baseball pitcher, Washington Nationals
• Scott Spiezio – has played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Anaheim Angels, and Seattle Mariners
• Terry Wells – retired Major League Baseball pitcher

Basketball

See also: Category:Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players

Tal Brody

Brian Randle

• Nick Anderson – (1987–1989), played professionally for the NBA's Orlando Magic and Sacramento Kings
• James Augustine – basketball (2002–2006), played two seasons for the NBA's Orlando Magic, all-time leader in rebounds at Illinois
• Steve Bardo – former National Basketball Association player, current ESPN basketball analyst
• Kenny Battle – played in 4 NBA seasons for the Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors
• Tal Brody – American-Israeli former Euroleague basketball player
• Dee Brown – former National Basketball Association player
• Chuck Carney – (1918–1921), First Big Ten athlete to be named a football and basketball All-American, Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year (1922), twice named a Helms Foundation All-American for basketball (1920 & 1922)
• Jerry Colangelo – (1958–1962), Former owner of the NBA's Phoenix Suns, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, the CISL's Arizona Sandsharks, the Arena Football League's Arizona Rattlers and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks
• Brian Cook – (1999–2003), Fifth all-time scorer for the Illini, played professionally in NBA
• Nnanna Egwu – professional basketball player for the National Basketball League of Australia and New Zealand
• Kendall Gill – (1986–1990), 1990 consensus All-American and Big 10 Player of the Year, played professionally for 15 seasons in the NBA
• Lowell Hamilton – (1985–1989), played Professional Basketball in Greece.
• Derek Harper – (1980–1983), played professionally for 16 seasons in the NBA, ranked 11th all-time in steals and 17th in assists
• Luther Head – (2001–2005), guard for the Sacramento Kings
• Malcolm Hill – (2013–2017), professional basketball player for the Star Hotshots of the Philippine Basketball Association
• Eddie Johnson – played professionally for 17 seasons in the NBA, and the league's 35th all-time leading scorer
• Johnny "Red" Kerr – member of the 1952 Final Four team, played professionally for 11 seasons in the NBA, first head coach for both the Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns, and a former broadcaster for the Chicago Bulls.
• Meyers Leonard – (2010–2012), center for the Portland Trail Blazers, eleventh overall pick in 2012 NBA draft
• Demetri McCamey – Turkish Basketball League player
• Ken Norman – (1984–1987), played professionally for 10 seasons in the NBA
• Don Ohl – basketball (1954–1958), played 10 seasons (1960–1970) in the NBA for three teams (Detroit Pistons, Baltimore Bullets, St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks ), 5xNBA All-Star
• Johnny Orr – basketball (1944–45), Named the National Coach of the Year for the 1976 season and Big Ten Coach of the Year in college basketball while coaching at Michigan
• Stan Patrick– former National Basketball Association player
• Andy Phillip – basketball (1941–1943, 1946–1947), Member of the "Whiz Kids", played 11 seasons of professional basketball for the Chicago Stags, Philadelphia Warriors, Fort Wayne Pistons and Boston Celtics (1947–1958), Head Coach of the St. Louis Hawks (1958–1959), 5xNBA All-Star, 2x Consensus All-American
• Roger Powell – former National Basketball Association player
• Brian Randle (born 1985) – basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Super League
• Dave Scholz – former National Basketball Association player
• Cindy Stein – basketball, head women's basketball coach at the University of Missouri since 1998
• Jaylon Tate – professional basketball player in the National Basketball League of Canada
• Deon Thomas – American-Israeli former Euroleague basketball player
• Deron Williams – National Basketball Association player
• Frank Williams – has been part of the NBA's New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Clippers
• Ray Woods – basketball (1913–1917), Names Helms Foundation College Basketball Player of the Year (1917), 3xHelms Foundation All-American (1915–1917), 3xFirst Team All-Big Ten

Football

See also: Category:Illinois Fighting Illini football players

Dick Butkus

Red Grange

• Alex Agase – Former National Football League player, Cleveland Browns, Member of the College Football Hall of Fame

• Ron Acks – former National Football League player, linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons
• Jeff Allen – football (2008–2011), offensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs
• Alan Ball – National Football League player, cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars
• Arrelious Benn – National Football League player, wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Chuck Boerio – National Football League player, linebacker for the Green Bay Packers
• Ed Brady – former National Football League player, linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals
• Josh Brent – National Football League player, defensive tackles for the Dallas Cowboys
• Bill Brown – former National Football League player, running back for the Minnesota Vikings
• Darrick Brownlow – former National Football League player, linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys
• Lloyd Burdick – National Football League tackle
• Dick Butkus – National Football League linebacker; member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Luke Butkus– National Football League coach, offensive line coach for the Chicago Bears, nephew of Dick Butkus
• J. C. Caroline – former National Football League player, defensive back and halfback for the Chicago Bears
• Danny Clark IV – National Football League player, linebacker for the New Orleans Saints
• Steve Collier – National Football League player, offensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers
• Jameel Cook – former National Football League player, fullback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Vontae Davis – National Football League player, cornerback for the Indianapolis Colts
• Mark Dennis – former National Football League player, offensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins
• David Diehl – National Football League player, offensive guard for the New York Giants
• Doug Dieken – former National Football League player, offensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns
• Ken Dilger – (1991–1994), played professionally for the Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers; starting Tight end in Super Bowl XXXVII
• Charles Carroll "Tony" Eason – (1979–1983) played professionally for the New England Patriots; led team to Super Bowl XX
• Moe Gardner – former National Football League player, former defensive line for the Atlanta Falcons
• Jeff George – first overall pick of 1990 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts, also played for a variety of teams including the Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders, and the Washington Redskins
• Lou Gordon – former National Football League player, defensive end for the Chicago Cardinals
• Red Grange – charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Howard Griffith – former National Football League player, fullback for the Denver Broncos
• George Halas – former National Football League coach for the Chicago Bears; charter member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Don Hansen – former National Football League player, linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons
• Kevin Hardy – played professionally for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys, and Cincinnati Bengals
• Kelvin Hayden – National Football League player, cornerback for the Chicago Bears
• Brad Hopkins – first round pick in the 1993 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans and future all-pro.
• Michael Hoomanawanui – (2007–2009), tight end for the New England Patriots
• A.J. Jenkins – (2008–2011)), wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs, thirtieth overall pick in 2012 NFL Draft
• Henry Jones – former National Football League player, safety for the Buffalo Bills
• Brandon Jordan – Canadian Football League player, defensive tackle for the BC Lions
• William G. Kline – head coach for the University of Florida and University of Nebraska football and basketball teams
• Mikel Leshoure – National Football League player, running back for the Detroit Lions
• Greg Lewis – National Football League player, wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles
• Brandon Lloyd – (1999–2002), wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers, 2010 Pro Bowler and 2010 NFL receiving yards leader
• Corey Liuget – (2008–2010), defensive end for the San Diego Chargers, eighteenth overall pick in 2011 NFL Draft
• Rashard Mendenhall – National Football League player, running back for the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers.
• Whitney Mercilus – (2009–2011), linebacker for the Houston Texans, twenty-sixth overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft
• Brandon Moore – former National Football League player, former offensive guard for the New York Jets
• Aaron Moorehead – National Football League player, wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts
• Ray Nitschke – played professionally for the NFL's Green Bay Packers, and an enshrined member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Tony Pashos – National Football League player, offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens
• Preston Pearson – (1963–1967), Played 13 seasons in the NFL for the Colts, Steelers and Cowboys despite not playing college football
• Frosty Peters – former National Football League player
• Neil Rackers – National Football League player, kicker for the Houston Texans
• Simeon Rice – former National Football League player, defensive end
• Scott Studwell – football (1972–1976), Played 14 seasons (1977–1990) for the Minnesota Vikings, 2-time Pro-Bowler
• Marques Sullivan – Playboy All-American Tackle that played 4 season with NFL's Buffalo Bills, New York Giants, and New England Patriots
• Pierre Thomas – National Football League player, running back for the New Orleans Saints
• Bruce Thornton – former National Football League player, defensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys
• Fred Wakefield – National Football League player, offensive guard for the Arizona Cardinals
• Steve Weatherford – National Football League player, punter for the New York Giants
• Eugene Wilson – National Football League player, defensive back for the New England Patriots
• Isiah John "Juice" Williams – football (2006–2009), NFL Free Agent

Golf

• Bob Goalby – professional golfer; won 1968 Masters Tournament
• D. A. Points – golf, PGA Golfer (1999–present)
• Steve Stricker – (1986–1990), PGA Golfer (1990–present)

Wrestling

• Lindsey Durlacher – two-time All-American Greco-Roman wrestler
• Mark Jayne – wrestler; two-time NWCA All-Star Member
• Jeff Monson – wrestler; two-time gold medalist (99' and 05') ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships, current mixed martial artist, formerly for the Ultimate Fighting Championship
• Jesse Delgado – wrestler, three-time All-American, two-time National Champion at 125 lbs.

Olympics

• Kevin Anderson – Olympian in men's tennis 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; 2015 U.S. Open quarterfinalist
• Avery Brundage, B.S. 1909 – Olympian, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President (1952–1972)
• Dike Eddleman – (1947–49), also tied for 2nd at the 1948 Summer Olympics in the high jump
• Abie Grossfeld – Olympic, Pan Am, and Maccabiah Games gymnast and coach
• George Kerr – (1958–1960), all-time Big Ten Olympian list, champion sprinter and 400/800 meter runner from Jamaica, 1960 Rome, Italy Summer Olympic bronze medal 800 meter winner
• Don Laz – track & field, record setting American pole vaulter and silver medalist in Pole Vault in the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland
• Daniel Kinsey – gold medalist in men's 110 m hurdles, 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris
• Jonathan Kuck – silver medalist in speed skating in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver
• Don Laz – silver medalist in pole vault in the 1952 Helsinki, Finland Games; architect in Champaign, Illinois; his design career was cut short by a stroke
• Tatyana McFadden – USA paralympian athlete competing mainly in category T54 sprint events, team member for the 2012 London Olympics
• Herb McKenley – silver medalist in 400 m, 1948 Summer Olympics in London; silver medal in 100 m and 400 m, gold medal in 4 × 400 m relay, 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki
• Harold Osborn – won two gold medals in the 1924 Summer Olympics, charter member of U.S. Track & Field Hall of Fame
• Bob Richards – gold medalist in pole vault in the 1952 Helsinki and 1956 Melbourne Games
• Ashley Spencer – bronze medalist in 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, 400 meter hurdles; 2013 world champion, 4-x-400 relay
• Justin Spring – (2002–2006), member of the bronze medal-winning men's gymnastics team at the 2008 Summer Olympics
• Craig Virgin – long-distance runner, 1975 NCAA cross country champion, 1980 and 1981 world cross-country champion
• Deron Williams – USA basketball team member for the 2012 London Olympics

Other

• Perdita Felicien – first female in Illinois history to win a gold medal in an individual event at the World Championships
• Belal Muhammad – (Law) professional mixed martial artist for the UFC
• Billy Arnold – Race driver and winner of the 1930 Indianapolis 500 mile race

Notable faculty

Presidents

• Selim Peabody (1880–1891)

Nobel laureates

John Bardeen

• John Bardeen, 1951–1991– awarded Nobel Prizes for Physics in 1953 for co-inventing the transistor and again in 1972 for work on superconductivity (one of the four people in the world to win multiple Nobel Prizes and the only one who won twice in Physics)
• Elias James (E.J.) Corey, 1951–1959 – Nobel laureate (Chemistry, 1990)
• Leonid Hurwicz, 1950–1951, 2001 – Nobel laureate (Economics, 2007)
• Paul Lauterbur, 1985–2007 – Nobel laureate (Physiology or Medicine, 2003)
• Anthony James Leggett, 1983 – Nobel laureate (Physics, 2003)
• Salvador Luria, 1950–1959 – Nobel laureate (Physiology or Medicine, 1969)
• Rudolph Marcus, 1964–1968 – Nobel laureate (Chemistry, 1992)
• Franco Modigliani, 1948–1952 – Nobel laureate (Economics, 1985)
• Alvin E. Roth, 1974–1982 – Nobel laureate (Economics, 2012 )

Pulitzer Prize winners

• Leon Dash, faculty – Explanatory Journalism, 1995
• Bill Gaines, faculty – Investigative Reporting, 1976 and 1988

Other

• William Bagley, faculty 1908–1917 – an original proponent of educational essentialism
• Tamer Başar – Swanlund Endowed Chair & CAS Professor of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; winner of Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award in 2006
• Richard Blahut – former chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, best known for his Blahut–Arimoto algorithm used in rate–distortion theory; winner of IEEE Claude E. Shannon Award in 2005 and the recipient of IEEE Third Millennium Medal
• Eleanor Blum, Professor Emerita of Library Science at the University of Illinois in Urbana–Champaign.
• Jean Bourgain, faculty – Fields Medal in Mathematics of International Mathematical Union, 1994
• Zong-qi Cai, leads the Forum on Chinese Poetic Cultire
• Ira Carmen, 1968–2009 – first political scientist elected to the Human Genome Organization; co-founder of the social science subdiscipline of genetics and politics
• Wallace Hume Carothers – organic chemist, inventor of nylon and first synthetic rubber (Neoprene)
• Ron Dewar – music educator, jazz saxophonist, leader of influential Memphis Nighthawks
• Joseph L. Doob, faculty 1935–1978 – developed a theory of mathematical martingales
• Anne Haas Dyson, Professor in Curriculum and Instruction
• Jan Erkert, chair of the Department of Dance; Fulbright scholar
• Donald B. Gillies, 1928–1975, professor of mathematics, pioneer in computer science and game theory
• David Gottlieb, 1946–1982 – discovered chloramphenicol; Guggenheim Fellow, Biology-Plant Science, 1963
• Lejaren Hiller, faculty 1952–1968 – chemist and composer; invented process for dyeing Orlon; pioneer in music composition by computer (1950s)
• Nick Holonyak, Jr. – Lemelson-MIT Prize (2004), National Medal of Technology (2002), National Medal of Science (1990); credited for the invention of the LED and the first semiconductor laser to operate in the visible spectrum
• Sri Mulyani Indrawati, M.A., Ph.D. 1992 – managing director of the World Bank Group (since 2010), former Finance Minister of Indonesia (2005–2010)
• Donald William Kerst, 1938–1957 – developed the betatron
• Petar V. Kokotovic – winner of Richard E. Bellman Control Heritage Award in 2002
• Frederick Wilfrid Lancaster, Professor (1972–1992) than emeritus professor (1992–2013) of Library and Information Science
• Jean-Pierre Leburton – Gregory E. Stillman Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and professor of Physics
• Stephen E. Levinson – professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Francis Wheeler Loomis, Head of Physics Department 1929–1957 – former Guggenheim Fellow; established school's physics department
• Catherine J. Murphy – professor of chemistry
• Lisa Nakamura, Director of the Asian American Studies Program – Author of "Digitizing Race: Visual Cultures of the Internet" (2008), "Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity and Identity on the Internet" (2002), and co-editor of "Race in Cyberspace" (2002)
• Marie Hochmuth Nichols, faculty 1939–1976 – influential rhetorical critic
• Mangalore Anantha Pai, power engineer, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate
• Abram L. Sachar, 1923–1948 – founding president of Brandeis University
• Theodore Sougiannis, distinguished professor of accountancy
• Fred W. Tanner, 1923–1956 – food microbiologist; charter member of the Institute of Food Technologists; founder of scientific journal Food Research (now the Journal of Food Science)
• Alexandre Tombini, Governor of the Central Bank of Brazil
• Brian Wansink, 1997–2005 – Julian Simon professor and author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think
• William Warfield, 1976–1990 – bass-baritone singer; chair of the Division of Voice in the College of Music
• Elmo Scott Watson, 1916–1924 – journalism professor who specialized in the American West
• Carl Woese – Crafoord Prize recipient (bioscience, 2003); professor of microbiology; foreign member of the Royal Society; defined the Archaea
• Michael Ringenberg, graduate 2002 – Coach of North Penn A3 Lacrosse Team

See also

• List of people from Illinois