Baldwin Wallace University: A Legacy of Notable Alumni
Baldwin Wallace University (BW), a private institution located in Berea, Ohio, has a rich history dating back to its establishment in 1845. Founded as Baldwin Institute by John Baldwin, a Methodist businessman and utopian community founder, it later merged with German Wallace College in 1913. Over the years, BW has fostered a diverse community of students who have gone on to make significant contributions in various fields. This article highlights some of the university's most notable alumni, showcasing the breadth of talent and impact that BW graduates have had on the world.
A Foundation of Academic Excellence
The university enrolls approximately 3,300 full-time undergraduate and graduate students. Baldwin Wallace offers more than 80 majors, as well as several cooperative and pre-professional programs. Evening and weekend programs include 12 majors and 6 certificate programs. For undergraduate programs, these majors lead to a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Music, or Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Beyond this, BW offers 16 master's programs that lead to a Master of Arts in Education or Master of Business Administration. BW offers programs and some courses online.
BW's commitment to academic excellence is reflected in its diverse range of programs and its focus on providing students with a well-rounded education. The Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music is a renowned institution within the university, attracting talented musicians from around the world. Additionally, BW offers classes at Corporate College East in Warrensville Heights, Ohio, expanding its reach and providing educational opportunities to a wider audience.
Notable Alumni in Arts and Entertainment
Baldwin Wallace University has produced a number of successful individuals in the arts and entertainment industry.
Ciara Renée, who studied musical theater at BW in 2013, has made a name for herself as an actress and musician. She is best known for her roles on Broadway as The Witch in Big Fish, the Leading Player in Pippin, Jenna in Waitress, and Elsa in Frozen. She also starred as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl in the CW series DC's Legends of Tomorrow.
Read also: Explore ABAC Degrees
Colton Ryan is an American actor and singer. He is known for his performance as Conrad Roy in Hulu's miniseries, The Girl from Plainville (2022), for which he garnered critical acclaim, and for playing Connor Murphy, a role which he understudied in the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen and reprised in the 2021 film adaptation. He is also known for playing the main role of Samuel on the Apple TV+ series Little Voice and originating the roles of Gene Laine in Girl from the North Country and Jim Doyle in New York, New York, the latter of which earned him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical.
Claudia Jordan is an American talk show host, actress, model, businesswoman, and reality television and radio personality. She is known for appearing as a model on the American version of Deal or No Deal and The Price Is Right, and for competing on seasons 2 and 6 of The Celebrity Apprentice as well as the first season of Deal or No Deal Island. Jordan appeared on the Bravo reality television series The Real Housewives of Atlanta for its seventh season.
George Buza is an American and Canadian actor who is best known for voicing Beast in X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men '97.
Amber Lee Connors is an American voice actress, dubbing director, and line producer who has provided voices for English dubbed Japanese anime and video games. She is known for her roles as Nozomi Kaminashi from Keijo!!!!!!!!, Miki Kawai from A Silent Voice, Takami Karibuchi from Brave Witches, Akane Hiyama from Love Tyrant, Juri Yukawa from Kokkoku: Moment by Moment, Esther Rosenthal from A Certain Scientific Accelerator, Yuri Shiraki from Lord of Vermilion: The Crimson King, Mai Kawakami from Myriad Colors Phantom World, Akagi from Azur Lane, Ooi from Kancolle, Ayano Hanasaki from Hanebado!, Pieck from Attack on Titan, Lucinia Porter from Meta Runner, Megakaryocyte from Cells at Work!, Mei Aihara from Citrus, and Furina / Focalors from Genshin Impact. Connors is also the founder of post-production company Sound Cadence Studios.
These alumni demonstrate the diverse talents and career paths that BW graduates pursue in the entertainment industry.
Read also: Inside The Baldwin School
Leaders in Sports
Baldwin Wallace University has a strong athletic tradition, and many of its alumni have achieved success in the world of sports.
Jim Tressel is an American college football coach and university administrator who served as president of Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio from 2014 to 2023. Before becoming an administrator, Tressel was the head football coach of the Youngstown State Penguins and later the Ohio State Buckeyes in a career that spanned from 1986 until 2010. Tressel's teams earned several national championships during the course of his career, earning him numerous accolades.
Harrison Dillard was an American track and field athlete, who is the only male in the history of the Olympic Games to win gold in both the 100 meter (sprints) and the 110 meter hurdles, making him the “World’s Fastest Man” in 1948 and the “World’s Fastest Hurdler” in 1952.
Curt Miller is an American basketball executive and coach who is the Executive Vice-President and General Manager of the Dallas Wings of the WNBA. He most recently served as the head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks from 2023-2024. Other previous head coaching positions include the Connecticut Sun (2016-2022), Bowling Green State University (2001-2012), and Indiana University (2012-2014). Miller also served as an assistant coach to Brian Agler with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2015.
Scott Shafer is an American football coach and former player. He has served as the defensive coordinator for the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders. Previously, he served as the head coach at Syracuse University until November 2015.
Read also: The History of BW Football
Kyle Boddy is an American baseball pitching trainer and consultant. He is the founder and owner of the baseball performance training system Driveline Baseball, which uses a sabermetric approach to increase pitching velocity and improve conditioning.
Matt Underwood is an American sportscaster currently serving as the television play-by-play announcer for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball.
These individuals have achieved success as athletes, coaches, and sports commentators, representing Baldwin Wallace University with distinction.
Notable Alumni in Politics, Law, and Public Service
Baldwin Wallace University has a long history of producing leaders in politics, law, and public service.
George William Norris was an American politician from the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. He served five terms in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican, from 1903 until 1913, and five terms in the United States Senate, from 1913 until 1943. He served four terms as a Republican and his final term as an Independent. Norris was defeated for re-election in 1942.
Peter Vance Neffenger is a United States Coast Guard Admiral and public servant who served as Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration from July 2015 to January 20, 2017.
William Louis Fiesinger was an American politician. A Democrat, he served in the United States House of Representatives from 1931-1937 representing Ohio's 13th district.
Charles Otto Lobeck was a Nebraska politician who served four terms as a United States representative.
Genevieve Rose Cline was a judge of the United States Customs Court and the first woman to serve in the United States federal judiciary, serving as an Article I federal judge.
Martin Leonard Sweeney Sr. was a Representative from Ohio and the father of Robert E. Sweeney.
Robert E. Sweeney was a Representative from Ohio and a son of another former Representative, Martin L. Sweeney.
Mike Dovilla is a former member of the Ohio House of Representatives who represented the Seventh District from 2013 to 2016. Prior to redistricting, he was first elected to represent the Eighteenth District in 2010. He is a Republican.
Nan Baker is a Republican politician. Formerly, she represented the 16th district as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2009 to 2016.
These alumni have served in various levels of government, making significant contributions to their communities and the nation.
Champions of Social Justice and Activism
Baldwin Wallace University has a strong commitment to social justice, and many of its alumni have dedicated their lives to fighting for equality and human rights.
James Morris Lawson Jr. was an American activist and university professor. He was a leading theoretician and tactician of nonviolence within the Civil Rights Movement. During the 1960s, he served as a mentor to the Nashville Student Movement and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He was expelled from Vanderbilt University for his civil rights activism in 1960, and later served as a pastor in Los Angeles for 25 years.
Harriet Granger Hulet Walker was an American hospital administrator and leader in the temperance movement.
These alumni have made a lasting impact on society through their advocacy and activism.
Innovators in Science and Technology
Baldwin Wallace University has also produced alumni who have made significant contributions in the fields of science and technology.
Robert Franklyn "Bob" Overmyer was an American test pilot, naval aviator, aeronautical engineer, physicist, United States Marine Corps officer, and USAF/NASA astronaut. Overmyer was selected by the Air Force as an astronaut for its Manned Orbiting Laboratory in 1966. Upon cancellation of the program in 1969, he became a NASA astronaut and served support crew duties for the Apollo program, Skylab program, and Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. In 1976, he was assigned to the Space Shuttle program and flew as pilot on STS-5 in 1982 and as commander on STS-51-B in 1985.
These alumni have pushed the boundaries of scientific knowledge and technological innovation.
Other Notable Alumni
In addition to the alumni mentioned above, Baldwin Wallace University has produced numerous other notable individuals in a variety of fields.
David William Ferrie was an American pilot who was alleged by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison to have been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate President John F. Kennedy. Garrison also alleged that Ferrie knew Lee Harvey Oswald. Ferrie denied any involvement in a conspiracy and said he never knew Oswald. Decades later, photos emerged establishing that Ferrie had been in the same Civil Air Patrol unit as Oswald in the 1950s, but critics have argued this does not prove that either Ferrie or Oswald was involved in an assassination plot.
Arthur Worth "Bud" Collins Jr. was an American journalist and television sportscaster, best known for his tennis commentary.
Kshitij Thakur is an Indian politician, who served as a Member of Legislative Assembly from Bahujan Vikas Aghadi representing Nalasopara constituency in the Maharashtra State Assembly, from 2009-2024.
Eugene N. Borza was a professor of ancient history at Pennsylvania State University, where he taught from 1964 until 1995.
Thomas Barlow Walker was an American business magnate who acquired lumber in Minnesota and California and became an art collector. Walker founded the Minneapolis Public Library. He was among the ten wealthiest men in the world in 1923. He built two company towns, one of which his son sold to become part of what is today known as Sunkist. He is the founder and namesake of the Walker Art Center.
Elisha Scott Loomis was an American teacher, mathematician, genealogist, writer and engineer.
Mary Bigelow Ingham was an American author, educator, and religious worker.
Amos R. was Representative from Ohio from 1904 to 1907.
J. was Representative from Ohio from 1907 to 1909.
Miner G. was Representative from Ohio from 1921 to 1923
John M. state of Ohio. He was Ohio Attorney General from 1900 to 1904.
James Simester was an American Methodist missionary and educator to Fuzhou, China.
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