Georgia State University: A Legacy of Notable Alumni

Georgia State University (GSU), an urban research university located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, has fostered a diverse and accomplished alumni network since its founding in 1913. Serving a population of approximately 50,000 students, GSU is recognized as one of the four research universities within the University System of Georgia. Its alumni have made significant contributions across various fields, ranging from arts and entertainment to politics and business. This article explores some of the most notable graduates and former students who have shaped their respective industries and brought recognition to their alma mater.

Arts and Entertainment

Georgia State University boasts a remarkable array of alumni who have excelled in the entertainment industry, leaving an indelible mark on film, music, and comedy.

Julia Roberts

Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress celebrated for her versatility and leading roles in films spanning numerous genres. Her performances have garnered critical acclaim and commercial success, earning her an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. Films starring Roberts have collectively grossed over $3.9 billion globally, solidifying her status as one of Hollywood's most bankable stars. After early roles in Mystic Pizza (1988) and Steel Magnolias (1989), Roberts rose to prominence as a leading actress with the blockbuster romantic comedy Pretty Woman (1990).

Ludacris

Christopher Brian Bridges, known professionally as Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age nine, where he began rapping. Starting as a DJ, he formed his own record label, Disturbing tha Peace, in the late 1990s to independently release his debut studio album Incognegro (1999). After its single, "What's Your Fantasy" (featuring Shawnna), became a top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, the album was re-released by Def Jam Recordings as his major label debut, Back for the First Time (2000). The latter album peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and spawned his second top 40 single, "Southern Hospitality" (featuring Pharrell).

Gucci Mane

Radric Delantic Davis, known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for mainstream audiences during the 2000s. His debut studio album, Trap House (2005) was released by the independent label Big Cat Records and entered the Billboard 200; it was followed by Hard to Kill (2006), which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 entry with its second single, "Freaky Gurl". That same year, he released his third album, Trap-A-Thon before signing with Atlantic Records to release his fourth album, Back to the Trap House (2007).

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Mike WiLL Made-It

Michael Len Williams II, known professionally as Mike WiLL Made It (often stylized as Mike WiLL Made-It) or simply Mike Will, is an American record producer. He is best known for producing trap beats for Southern hip hop and pop artists on commercially successful singles. His credits include "Black Beatles" and "Powerglide" by Rae Sremmurd, "Mercy" by Kanye West, "No Lie" by 2 Chainz, "Bandz a Make Her Dance" by Juicy J, "Pour It Up" by Rihanna, "Love Me" by Lil Wayne, "Body Party" by Ciara, "We Can't Stop" by Miley Cyrus, "Formation" by Beyoncé, and "Humble" by Kendrick Lamar. He embarked on a career as a non-performing lead artist in 2013 with his debut single "23" (featuring Miley Cyrus, Wiz Khalifa and Juicy J), which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. His 2017 follow-up single, "Rake It Up" (with Yo Gotti featuring Nicki Minaj) peaked at number eight on the chart. He has released six mixtapes and one solo studio album, Ransom 2 (2017).

William DuVall

William Bradley DuVall is an American musician best known as the current co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Alice in Chains. He joined Alice in Chains in 2006, replacing the band's original lead singer, Layne Staley, who died in 2002, and shares vocal duties with guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell. DuVall has recorded three albums with the band: 2009's Black Gives Way to Blue, 2013's The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, and 2018's Rainier Fog. DuVall won an ASCAP Pop Music Award for co-writing the song "I Know" for Dionne Farris in 1996, and has earned three Grammy Award nominations as a member of Alice in Chains.

Ray Stevens

Harold Ray Ragsdale, known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian. He is best known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty hits such as "Gitarzan" and "The Streak". Stevens has received gold albums for his music sales and has worked as a producer, music arranger, and television host. He is also an inductee of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the Christian Music Hall of Fame, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Lita

Amy Christine Dumas is an American retired professional wrestler and singer. She is best known for her tenure in WWE under the ring name Lita. An inductee of the 2014 WWE Hall of Fame, Dumas is regarded as one of the greatest female performers in WWE history.

Daffney

Shannon Claire Spruill was an American professional wrestler, wrestling manager and actress better known by her ring name Daffney.

Lady Bunny

Lady Bunny, previously known as Bunny Hickory Dickory Dock, is an American drag queen, nightclub DJ, actor, comedian, and event organizer. She is the founder of the annual Wigstock event, as well as an occasional television and radio personality. She has released disco singles such as "Shame, Shame, Shame!" and "The Pussycat Song", and has hosted two one-woman comedy shows, 'That Ain't No Lady!' and 'Clowns Syndrome'.

Melissa Ordway

Melissa Pam Gaston is an American actress and model. She is best known for portraying Abby Newman on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. In May 2022, she was nominated for an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Daytime Drama for her portrayal of Abby Newman on The Young and the Restless. Gaston has been featured in campaigns by a number of major brands including Skechers, Old Navy, David's Bridal, Anchor Blue and Tillys.

Omar Dorsey

Omar Dorsey is an American actor. He has appeared in films The Blind Side, Django Unchained (2012), and Selma (2014) playing James Orange. In 2016, Dorsey began starring as Hollingsworth "Hollywood" Desonier in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series Queen Sugar.

ABRA

Gabrielle Olivia Mirville, known professionally as Abra (stylized as ABRA), is an American singer and songwriter. She is currently signed to Polo Grounds Music and RCA Records, and was formerly signed to Awful Records.

Melissa Ponzio

Melissa Ponzio is an American actress, best known for her roles as Melissa McCall on Teen Wolf and Karen on The Walking Dead. Ponzio has also starred in Chicago Fire as Donna Robbins.

Politics and Public Service

Georgia State University has also produced a number of prominent figures in the realm of politics and public service, who have contributed to shaping policies and serving their communities.

Bobby Jindal

Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is an American politician who served as the 55th governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. representative from Louisiana from 2005 to 2008, and served as chair of the Republican Governors Association from 2012 to 2013.

Keisha Lance Bottoms

Keisha Lance Bottoms is an American attorney and politician who served as the 60th mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, from 2018 to 2022. She was elected mayor in 2017. Before becoming mayor, she was a member of the Atlanta City Council, representing part of Southwest Atlanta. Bottoms did not run for a second term as mayor. President Joe Biden nominated Bottoms as vice chair of civic engagement and voter protection at the DNC for the 2021-2025 term. In June 2022, Bottoms joined the Biden administration as senior advisor and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement where she served until February 2023. Bottoms formerly served as a member of the President's Export Council.

Brad Raffensperger

Bradford Jay Raffensperger is an American businessman, civil engineer, and politician serving as the secretary of state of Georgia since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Georgia House of Representatives, representing District 50.

Bee Nguyen

Bee Nguyen is an American nonprofit executive and politician who served as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 89th District from 2017 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she was elected during a special election in December 2017 to fill the seat vacated following Stacey Abrams's resignation in August 2017 to focus on her run for governor. Nguyen is the first Vietnamese-American elected to the Georgia House of Representatives.

Carolyn D. Meadows

Carolyn Dodgen Meadows is an American conservative activist, who served as president of the National Rifle Association (NRA). She was elected the organization's president in April 2019 after then-president Oliver North was forced out of the position. She also serves as 2nd vice chairwoman of the American Conservative Union's board and as chairwoman of the Stone Mountain Memorial Association Board of Directors. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Donald Trump administration from July 2017 to January 2018. Her ten…

Business and Entrepreneurship

GSU alumni have also achieved considerable success in the world of business and entrepreneurship, leading companies and driving innovation across various industries.

Ken Lewis

Kenneth D. Lewis is the former CEO, president, and chairman of Bank of America, currently the second largest bank in the United States and twelfth largest by total assets in the world. While CEO of Bank of America, Lewis was noted for purchasing the failing companies Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch, resulting in large losses for the bank and necessitating financial assistance from the federal government. On September 30, 2009, Bank of America confirmed that Lewis would be retiring by the end of the year. Lewis was replaced by Brian Moynihan as president and CEO and Walter Massey as chairman of the board.

Kat Cole

Katrina "Kat" Cole is an American businesswoman. She is the CEO of AG1, formerly known as Athletic Greens. She was previously the chief operating officer and president of North America for Focus Brands and the president of Focus Brands' subsidiary Cinnabon, an American chain of retail bakeries specializing in cinnamon buns. Earlier in her career, she was the executive vice president of Hooters.

Academia and Science

Georgia State University's alumni have also made significant contributions to academia and scientific research, furthering knowledge and shaping the minds of future generations.

Henry Jenkins

Henry Guy Jenkins III is an American media scholar and Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts, a joint professorship at the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. He also has a joint faculty appointment with the USC Rossier School of Education. Previously, Jenkins was the Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities as well as co-founder and co-director (with William Uricchio) of the Comparative Media Studies program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has also served on the technical advisory board at ZeniMax Media, parent company of video game publisher Bethesda Softworks. In 2013, he was appointed to the board that selects the prestigious Peabody Award winners.

Michelle Thaller

Michelle Thaller is an American astronomer, research scientist, and science communicator. Thaller is formerly the Assistant Director for Science Communication at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. She retired in 2024 after 27 years at NASA.

Tam O'Shaughnessy

Tam Elizabeth O'Shaughnessy is an American children's science writer, associate professor emeritus of school psychology, and former professional tennis player. She co-founded the science education company Sally Ride Science together with her life partner, astronaut Sally Ride - the first American woman and third woman in space. The company was relaunched as a nonprofit entity, Sally Ride Science at UC San Diego, on October 1, 2015. O'Shaughnessy serves as executive director. O'Shaughnessy enrolled in Georgia State University, graduated with Bachelor of Science in biology and with Master of Science in biology.

Andy Stanley

Charles Andrew Stanley, known as Andy Stanley, is an American who is the founder and senior pastor of North Point Ministries, a nondenominational evangelical Christian church with several campuses across the north metro Atlanta areas. He is the founder and senior pastor of North Point Community Church.

Louie Giglio

Louie Giglio is an American Christian pastor. He is the leader of Passion City Church in Atlanta. The founder of the Passion Movement, he is an author and public speaker.

Athletics

Georgia State University's sports programs have fostered talented athletes who have gone on to achieve success in professional sports.

R. J. Hunter

Ronald Jordan Hunter is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Georgia State Panthers under the direction of his father and Georgia State head coach, Ron Hunter, being named twice Sun Belt Player of the Year as well as the Sun Belt Conference Male Athlete of the Year. He holds the school record for most career points with a total of 1,819 after just three seasons of play.

David Buchanan

David Andrew Buchanan, is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Texas Rangers organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds, in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, and in the KBO League for the Samsung Lions.

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