Notable Alumni of Eastern Michigan University

Eastern Michigan University (EMU), founded in 1849, has a long history of producing accomplished graduates across various fields. Ranked among the top universities globally for alumni prominence, EMU boasts a network of alumni who have made significant contributions to society. This article highlights some of the most notable alumni of Eastern Michigan University, showcasing their diverse achievements and lasting impact.

Overview of Eastern Michigan University

Eastern Michigan University is one of the eight research universities in Michigan and is located in Ypsilanti. Pride runs deep at Eastern Michigan University. It’s earned every day through hard work, hands-on experience, and a commitment to excellence. 90% of EMU students have Fridays free-so you have intentional time to intern, research, recharge, or build meaningful connections. EMU is where confidence grows, careers begin, and Eagles rise.

Arts and Entertainment

Jeff Daniels

Jeffrey Warren Daniels is an American actor known for his versatility in both comedic and dramatic roles on stage and screen. His accolades include two Primetime Emmy Awards and nominations for five Golden Globe Awards, five Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Tony Awards. Besides acting, Daniels is also a film director, musician, voice actor, and stage actor.

S. Epatha Merkerson

S. Epatha Merkerson is an American actress recognized for her extensive work in television, film, and theater. She is the recipient of an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, four NAACP Image Awards, two Obie Awards, and two Tony Award nominations. Merkerson is best known for her role as NYPD Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the NBC police procedural drama series Law & Order, where she appeared in 388 episodes from 1993 to 2010.

Dann Florek

Ezekial Dann Florek is an American actor and film director. He is best known for his role as New York City Police Captain Donald Cragen on NBC's Law & Order and its spinoff Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Dave Meyer on L.A. Law (1988-1993).

Read also: EMU's Legacy of Success

Winsor McCay

Zenas Winsor McCay was an American cartoonist and animator, best known for his comic strip Little Nemo (1905-1914; 1924-1927) and the animated film Gertie the Dinosaur (1914). He also worked under the pen name Silas on the comic strip Dream of the Rarebit Fiend.

John Heffron

John Heffron is an American stand-up comic.

Kevin Saunderson

Kevin Maurice Saunderson is an American electronic dance music DJ and record producer. He is famous for being a member of a trio, along with Juan Atkins and Derrick May, who came to be known as the Belleville Three, who are often credited to being among the pioneers and originators of techno: in particular this act helped define Detroit techno, the earliest style of this music genre.

Zach Gowen

Zachary Mark "Zach" Gowen is an American professional wrestler and promoter who competed for World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Athletics

Antonio Gates

Antonio Ethan Gates is an American former professional football player who played as a tight end for the San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers for 16 years. An eight-time Pro Bowl selection and six-time All-Pro, Gates was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

George Gervin

George Gervin, nicknamed "the Iceman", is an American former professional basketball player who played in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Virginia Squires, San Antonio Spurs, and Chicago Bulls. In 1996, Gervin was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, and in 2021, Gervin was named as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history.

Earl Boykins

Earl Antoine Boykins is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is an assistant coach for the UTEP Miners. Standing at 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) in height, Boykins is the second-shortest player in NBA history behind Muggsy Bogues.

Alysha Newman

Alysha Eveline Newman is a Canadian track and field athlete who specializes in the pole vault. She is 2024 Summer Olympics bronze medallist and 2018 Commonwealth Games champion, and holds both the Canadian national and Commonwealth Games records in the women's pole vault. Newman represented Canada at the 2016, 2020, and 2024 Summer Olympics, where she won a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Her vault of 4.85 meters also set a new Canadian national record. This marked her as the first Canadian woman to medal in pole vaulting at the Olympics.

Charlie Batch

Charles D'Donte Batch is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Eastern Michigan Eagles. He was selected by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 1998 NFL draft and played 15 seasons in the NFL, most of it as a backup with his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers, with whom he earned two Super Bowl rings (Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII).

Bob Welch

Robert Lynn Welch was an American professional baseball starting pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1978-87) and Oakland Athletics (1988-94). He attended Eastern Michigan University, where he played college baseball for the Eastern Michigan Hurons baseball team. He helped lead the Hurons, coached by Ron Oestrike, to the 1976 College World Series, losing to Arizona in the Championship Game.

Read also: A Detailed Look at ECNU

Matt Shoemaker

Matthew David Shoemaker is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, and Minnesota Twins and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yomiuri Giants. Prior to beginning his professional career, he played college baseball at Eastern Michigan University (EMU).

Hasely Crawford

Hasely Joachim Crawford TC, OLY is a former track and field athlete from Trinidad and Tobago. In 1976, he became his country's first Olympic champion. Hasely Crawford Stadium, in Port of Spain, was renamed in his honour in 2001.

Jamie Nieto

Jamie Earl "James" Nieto is an American high jumper and actor.

Andy Mulumba

Andy Leon Mulumba Kabaluapa is a Congolese-Canadian former professional football linebacker. He played college football for Eastern Michigan.

Business and Entrepreneurship

John Harvey Kellogg

John Harvey Kellogg was an American businessman, inventor, physician, and advocate of the Progressive Movement. He was the director of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan, founded by members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, his "development of dry breakfast cereals was largely responsible for the creation of the flaked-cereal industry, with the founding and the culmination of the global conglomeration brand of Kellogg's (now Kellanova)."

Michael Bailey Smith

Michael Bailey Smith is an American actor and businessperson. He is best known for his appearances on the television series Charmed, where he played Belthazor, a Grimlock leader and Shax.

Eduardito Maruri

Eduardo Maruri Miranda is an Ecuadorian businessman and creative leader who is currently President & CEO Europe, as well as Vice President of the Global Creative Board, at Grey Global Group.

Politics and Public Service

George Allen

George Herbert Allen was an American football coach. He served as the head coach for two teams in the National Football League (NFL), the Los Angeles Rams from 1966 to 1970 and the Washington Redskins from 1971 to 1977.

Kenshiro Matsunami

Kenshiro Matsunami is a retired Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, who served as a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature).

Rodney E. Slater

Rodney Earl Slater is an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the United States Secretary of Transportation under President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001.

Royal S. Copeland

Royal Samuel Copeland was a United States Senator from New York from 1923 until 1938, as well as an academic, homeopathic physician, and politician.

Greg Mathis

Gregory Ellis Mathis, also known as Judge Mathis, is an American former court judge for Michigan's 36th District, who is now a television court show arbitrator, author, television producer, and motivational speaker.

Other Notable Alumni

Loren D. Estleman

Loren D. Estleman is an American writer of detective and Western fiction, known for his series of crime novels featuring the investigator Amos Walker.

Stan Heath

Stanley Heath III is an American basketball coach currently serving as the head coach for Eastern Michigan.

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