List of University of Pittsburgh alumni

This is a list of encyclopedic people associated with the University of Pittsburgh in the United States of America.

Chancellors

• John Gabbert Bowman
• Wesley Posvar 1967-1991

Notable alumni, professors, and staff

Arts and entertainment

• Michael Chabon — 2001 Pulitzer Prize-winning author who has written a number of books set in Pittsburgh.
• Caitlin Clarke — American theater and film actress and theatre teacher.
• Keith Haring — Pop artist. (did not graduate)
• Frederick A. Hetzel — University Press publisher.
• John Irving — Author, The Cider House Rules, The World According to Garp. (did not graduate)
• Delanie Jenkins — Professor and Artist.
• Gene Kelly — Dancer and Actor.
• Margrit Kennedy — German architecht and ecologist.
• Charles Klauder — Architect known for work on university buildings and campus designs, especially his Cathedral of Learning, the first educational skyscraper.
• Lorin Maazel Conductor, violinist, and composer, New York Philharmonic. (did not graduate)
• Bebe Moore Campbell — Author and journalist.
• Ed Ochester — Professor, poet, and editor.
• Barbara Paul — Writer. (PhD)
• Rob Penny — Professor, poet, and playwright.
• Leo Robin — Composer and songwriter. (law degree)
• Rev. Frederick McFeely Rogers Host of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, ordained Presbyterian minister, and advocate for the education and welfare of children. (Graduate School of Child Development)
• Gerald Stern — National Book Award-winning poet. (BA, English)
• August Wilson — 1987 Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who wrote about the African-American experience in the 20th century.

Athletics

• Matthew Bloom — Professional wrestler and San Diego Charger. (alumnus)
• Antonio Bryant - Pro football player, Fred Biletnikoff Award winner.
• Jason Conti — Major League Baseball player.
• Mike Ditka — Member of Pro Football Hall of Fame.
• Tony Dorsett — Member of Pro Football Hall of Fame; Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, and Walter Camp Award winner.
• Larry Fitzgerald — Pro football player, Walter Camp Award and Fred Biletnikoff Award winner.
• Bill Fralic — Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman, member of College Football Hall of Fame.
• Marshall Goldberg — All-Pro Chicago Cardinals defensive back, member of College Football Hall of Fame.
• Hugh Green — Pro football player; Lombardi Award, Maxwell Award, and Walter Camp Award winner.
• Art Griggs — Major League Baseball player.
• Dick Hoblitzel — Major League Baseball player.
• Jimmy Johnson — Broadcaster and first American football coach to win both a NCAA Division 1A National Championship and a Super Bowl.
• Russ Kemmerer — Major League Baseball player.
• Roger Kingdom — Sprint hurdler, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and former World Record holder.
• Bill Maas - Defensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers.
• Ken Macha — Major League Baseball player and manager.
• Dan Marino — Member of Pro Football Hall of Fame.
• Curtis Martin — Pro football player, 2004 NFL Rushing champion.
• Mark May — ESPN Sports Commentator, Outland Trophy winner.
• Mike McCarthy — Head coach of the Green Bay Packers. Assistant football coach at the University of Pittsburgh.
• George "Doc" Medich — Major League Baseball player.
• Johnny Miljus — Major League Baseball player
• Jackie Sherrill — Head football coach at the University of Pittsburgh from 1977 to 1981.
• Sal Sunseri — Pro football coach.
• Jock Sutherland — Hall of Fame football coach, All-American Football player.
• Steve Swetonic — Major League Baseball player.
• Dave Wannstedt — Pro football coach and head football coach for the University of Pittsburgh.

Business

• Pat Croce — Entrepreneur, president of the Philadelphia 76ers.
• Dōng Hàoyún — Chinese shipping magnate, founder of the Orient Overseas Line (now OOCL ), and owner of the largest ship ever built. Cooperated with various University of Pittsburgh to run the academic program at sea.
• Andrew W. Mellon — Banker, philanthropist, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, and founder of the Mellon Institute of Science, which is now part of Carnegie Mellon University. (alumnus)
• David Tepper — Successful speculator, Hedge Fund manager.
• Thomas Usher — Chairman of U.S. Steel and Marathon Oil. (undergraduate, master's and Ph.D degrees)
• Ning Gaoning — Chairman of COFCO International Limited. (MBA)
• Sung Won Sohn — President of Hanmi Financial Corp. (Ph.D)

History

• David Montgomery — Historian

Philosophy

• Patricia Churchland — 1991 MacArthur Prize-winning philosopher noted for her work in philosophy of mind and neurophilosophy. Associated with a school of thought called eliminativism or eliminative materialism.
• James F. Conant — American philosopher who has written extensively about the philosophy of language, ethics, and metaphilosophy. Known for his writings on Wittgenstein and his association with the New Wittgenstein interpretation.
• Robert Brandom — Philosopher ("the Iron City Kant") and author of Making it Explicit.
• David Gauthier — Canadian-American neo-Hobbesian philosopher, author of Morals By Agreement, and philosophy department chairman.
• John McDowell — Philosopher, author of Mind and World.
• John Haugeland — Professor and philosopher whose work has focused on the philosophy of mind, cognitive science, phenomenology, and Heidegger. Coined the term "Good Old Fashioned Artificial Intelligence".
• Wilfrid Sellars — Philosopher and critic of foundationalist epistemology whose work is the foundation and archetype of what is sometimes called the "Pittsburgh School". Under his leadership, the University of Pittsburgh's philosophy department became one of the best in the world.

Politics, law, and activism

• Derrick Bell — Law professor, first tenured black professor at Harvard Law School, dean of U. of Oregon Law School. (law degree)
• Michael Bilirakis — Republican member of the United States House of Representatives.
• Ben Cardin — Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives.
• Father James Cox — U.S. Presidential candidate in 1932 and labor activist.
• Adrian Cronauer — Disc jockey, attorney, activist, basis for the movie Good Morning, Vietnam. Founded WPGH AM radio station.
• Tom Feeney — U.S. representative. (law degree)
• Melissa Hart — U.S. representative. (law degree)
• Orrin Hatch — U.S. senator. (law degree)
• Frank Houben — Dutch provincial governor. (alumnus)
• William Lerach — Securities class-action lawyer, lead attorney in suit against Enron. (undergraduate and law degree)
• Samuel D. Levy — Attorney; Commercial Litigator New York City; Named Among Best in America.
• Wangari Maathai — 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner.
• Jim Moran — Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives.
• John Murtha — U.S. representative.
• Ron Paul — Physician, Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, 1988 Libertarian Party presidential nominee. (Obstetrics and Gynecology training)
• Rick Santorum — U.S. Senator. (MBA)
• Richard Mellon Scaife — Conservative activist, newspaper publisher, philanthropist.
• Elmer Eric Schattschneider — Political scientist.
• Richard Thornburgh — U.S. Attorney General, Governor of Pennsylvania. (law degree)
• James A. Traficant Jr. — Convicted U.S. representative.
• Albert Wynn — Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives.
• Young woo kang — Member of National Council On Disability (master's and Ph.D degrees)

Science, medicine, and technology

• Herbert Boyer — Biochemist.
• Erik Buell — Engineer, founder and chairman of Buell Motorcycle Company - subsidiary of Harley-Davidson.
• Reginald Aubrey Fessenden Canadian inventor, chemist, and sonar pioneer who developed insulation for electrical wires, built first wireless telephone, and transmitted the first audio radio broadcast. Head of electrical engineering at Western University of Pennsylvania.
• Freddie Fu — Sports medicine expert.
• Reginald Fessenden — Radio pioneer, professor.
• Thomas Hales — Mathematics professor, provided proof of the Kepler Conjecture.
• Otto Emery Jennings — Professor of biology.
• Samuel Pierpont Langley — Astronomer, physicist, inventor, aviation pioneer, professor of astronomy at the Western University of Pennsylvania. His 1890 publication of infrared observations at the Allegheny Observatory was used to make the first calculations on the greenhouse effect.
• Paul Lauterbur — 2003 Nobel Prize winner in medicine.
• Jonas Salk — Physician, head of Pitt Virus Research Lab, inventor of the polio vaccine.
• Thomas Starzl — Transplant pioneer, 2004 National Medal of Science.
• Lap-chee Tsui — Geneticist who identified the defective gene that causes cystic fibrosis and president of HUGO, the international organization of scientists involved in the Human Genome Project. (Ph.D.)
• Vladimir Zworykin — Inventor of television technology.
• Benjamin Lee — Physicist. (Master's)

Other

• Gust Avrakotos — CIA agent responsible for arming the Afghan mujaheddin in the 1980s.
• Harry K. Thaw — Murderer and son of coal and railroad baron William Thaw. (never graduated)