Graceland University: A Legacy of Notable Alumni

Graceland University, with campuses in Lamoni, Iowa, and Independence, Missouri, has a rich history of fostering individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields. Founded in 1895 by the RLDS Church (later the Community of Christ), Graceland has grown from a small college to a respected university offering a wide range of academic programs. Graceland values learning, wholeness and community. This article explores the lives and achievements of some of the university's most notable alumni, showcasing the diverse impact Graceland graduates have had on the world.

Distinguished Alumni

EduRank ranks Graceland University - Lamoni as 2326th in the world, 803rd in North America, and 759th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Each year at homecoming, Graceland University Development presents alumni and honored friends with awards of recognition for their service to Graceland and the world. This award is given by Graceland University to recognize achievement in a chosen field, service to community, state and nation, good citizenship, humanitarian service and contribution to society.

Caitlyn Jenner

Caitlyn Marie Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, is an American media personality and retired Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete. She enrolled in Graceland University - Lamoni and studied in 1973. Besides being an athletics competitor, sports commentator, motivational speaker, and racing automobile driver, Jenner is a successful businessperson.

David Yost

David Harold Yost is an American actor and producer. He is best known for portraying Billy Cranston in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, Power Rangers Zeo, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always and Power Rangers Cosmic Fury. Yost's career extends to film production, artistic gymnastics, and television acting.

Frederick M. Smith

Frederick Madison Smith, known as "Fred M.", was an American religious leader and author. Serving from 1915 until his death, Smith was the third Prophet-President of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (renamed the Community of Christ in 2001). Frederick Madison Smith was presented the first Graceland diploma June 15, 1898. The son of Joseph Smith III, Frederick’s Graceland legacy lives on today.

Milton Young

Milton Ruben Young was an American politician notable for representing North Dakota in the United States Senate from 1945 until 1981. At the time of his retirement, he was the most senior Republican in the Senate and the last member of the Lost Generation to serve in the Senate.

Israel A. Smith

Israel Alexander Smith was the fourth son of Joseph Smith III and a grandson of Joseph Smith Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Israel A. Smith succeeded his brother, Frederick M. Smith, as Prophet-President of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Community of Christ) on April 9, 1946.

Don Knabe

Donald R. Knabe is a former member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, serving the Fourth District. The long east-west district runs from Marina del Rey and LAX through the South Bay, Los Angeles Harbor Region, and the Gateway Cities, to the southeastern San Gabriel Valley.

Fred Costello

Fredrick W. "Fred" Costello is an American dentist and politician. A member of the Republican Party, Costello served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 25th District, from 2014 to 2016. Previously, he represented the 26th District, from 2010 to 2012.

Roger D. Launius

Roger D. Launius is an American historian and author of Lithuanian descent, a former chief historian of NASA. He retired in 2016 as Associate Director for Collections and Curatorial Affairs for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. He enrolled in Graceland University - Lamoni and in 1976 graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in history. Launius is a consulting historian in air and space history. He has written many books on space flight and has also published on the history of the Latter Day Saint movement.

Read also: Explore Graceland University

Alik L. Alik

Alik L. Alik was a diplomat and politician from the Federated States of Micronesia who was the Vice President of the Federated States of Micronesia from May 11, 2007 to May 11, 2015.

Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz

Mikhael Aimar Jaimez-Ruiz is a Venezuelan former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Jean-Christophe Bouissou

Jean-Christophe Matahuira Bouissou is a French Polynesian politician and leader of the Rautahi political party. He was Vice-President of French Polynesia from 2021 to 2023.

Giovanni Edson Edward

Giovanni Edson "Eddie" Edward is a former Canadian soccer player who played as a defender.

John K. Menzies

John K. Menzies was dean of the Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University. Menzies served as President of the American University of Kurdistan. Located in the Duhok Governorate of Iraqi Kurdistan, the university is fast becoming the region's preeminent institution of higher education.

Steven V. Carter

Steven V. Carter was a Representative from south central Iowa in 1959.

Todd Taylor

Todd Taylor is the Iowa State Senator from the 40th District. Previously between 1995 and 2019 he had served in the Iowa House of Representatives from the 70th District. He received his BA from Graceland College and his BS from the University of Northern Iowa.

Scott Ourth

Scott Douglas Ourth was the Iowa State Representative from the 26th District. He attended Central Michigan University and graduated from Graceland College.

David W.

David W. was a Representative from Missouri; born in Troy, Doniphan County, Kansas.

Mark Smith

Mark D. Smith is an American politician who has served as a member of the Iowa House of Representatives since 2001.

William D. Russell

William Dean Russell is an American historian focusing on the history of the Latter Day Saint movement. Russell taught at Graceland University for forty-one years, retiring as a professor of history in 2007. He has been a civil rights activist since the 1960s, championing the causes of equality for all regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation. A member of the Community of Christ, Russell is one of the activists and leaders credited with the church's progressive transformation in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Roger Thompson

Roger Thompson is a former professional soccer player who played as a centre-back. Born in Jamaica, he represented Canada at youth international level.

Awards and Recognition

Graceland University recognizes alumni and friends for their service and contributions through various awards. These include the Distinguished Service Award and the Graceland Award of Recognition.

Distinguished Service Award: David Vaughan '75

David Vaughan, a 1975 graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in biology and chemistry, received the Distinguished Service Award. Vaughan is a renowned aquaculture researcher who has designed, built, and operated many marine aquaculture projects, programs, and businesses. He initiated the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution’s Aquaculture Division and built the Aquaculture Development Park and the Aquaculture Center for Training, Education, and Demonstration. In 2005, Vaughan became a senior scientist at the Mote’s Elizabeth Moore International Center for Coral Reef Research & Restoration Center in the Florida Keys and program manager for the Coral Reef Restoration Program. Vaughan discovered a process to speed up the rate of growth for coral. Using a process called micro fragmentation, he and his crew are able to produce hundreds of corals in a day. Vaughan postponed his retirement to work on restoring corals at Florida’s Reef Tract, the third-largest coral reef in the world. For the past 32 years, Vaughan has made a name for himself worldwide with numerous published papers and notoriety on his coral growth research. In 2008, he won the Eugenie Clark Scientific Explorer Award from Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, and in 2018, he received The Parker/Gentry Award for Excellence in Conservation/Environmental Biology from The Field Museum. Vaughan has also single-handedly restored and grown over 50,000 corals, and over 100,000 more working with others.

Graceland Award of Recognition

This award recognizes those who have demonstrated special contributions of time, talents, resources, and personal sacrifices to benefit Graceland. The recipients must be living but need not be Graceland alumni.

Bob Bell '86

Bob Bell, a 1986 graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in physical education and health with an elementary education endorsement, received the Graceland Award of Recognition. Bell served in the Army Reserves and completed tours of duty in Iraq. He trained soldiers at the Rock Island Arsenal in Mississippi for four years before hanging up his military uniform in 2013. Bell donned the Lamoni Police Department uniform in 2014 and served as police chief from 2015-19.

Steve '77 and Jeanie Upson

Steve and Jeanie Upson also received the Graceland Award of Recognition. Steve came to Graceland from Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the fall of 1973. Over the years, Steve has served as a county and district horticulture educator with the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service and as manager of a commercial market garden operation east of Kansas City, Missouri. Jeanie is from Skiatook, Oklahoma, and received her Bachelor of Arts in elementary education from Cameron University.

Nita Harder

Nita Harder was made an honorary alumna. A lifelong educator, Harder has worked for 33 years at both the high school and elementary school levels to become a beloved and respected physical education teacher. This past summer marked 41 consecutive years working with the Oklahoma delegation at SPECTACULAR (SPEC), a Community of Christ high school camp held on Graceland’s Lamoni campus. Nita and David’s love for Graceland has spread to their sons, Travis ’82 and Keith ’86, and five of their grandchildren who are, or who plan to become, Graceland graduates.

A Brief History of Graceland University

Graceland University was established as Graceland College in 1895 by the RLDS Church (later the Community of Christ) in Lamoni, Iowa. Land for the college was donated by church members, with the first 20 acres (8.1 ha) given by Marietta Walker. The name "Graceland" was selected by Colonel George Barrett, land surveyor for the college, for the graceful slope of the hill upon which it was built. Until the administration building was completed, classes were conducted in a building in downtown Lamoni.

In 1917, Graceland received accreditation from the states of Iowa and Missouri and from the North Central Association of Colleges, making it the first fully accredited junior college in Iowa. Graceland became a four-year college in 1960. Its nursing program began in 1910 as a cooperative program with the Independence Sanitarium and Hospital in Independence, Missouri. The Graceland Partnership Program, offering degree-completion programs on community college campuses, was established in 1989. In 1995, Graceland acquired SkillPath, a business training company that offers seminars and classes.

Academic Divisions

Graceland's College of Liberal Arts and Science holds classes only on the Lamoni campus. The college holds five divisions: Division of Visual and Performing Arts, Division of Health and Movement Science, Division of Humanities, Division of Science and Math and the Division of Social Science. The School of Nursing is one of Graceland's most popular programs. The School of Nursing offers classes on the Independence Campus and online. Edmund J. The Edmund J. Gleazer School of Education, named for Edmund John Gleazer Jr., a past president of the university, is one of Graceland's largest programs. The C.H. Sandage School of Business offers undergraduate programs. Classes are held on the Lamoni campus and degree completion programs are held online and at regional campuses.

Campus Life and Traditions

Graceland University offers a vibrant campus life with a wide range of activities and organizations. Instead of having fraternities and sororities like many universities, Graceland has residential social organizations called "Houses." These Houses are on Graceland's main campus, but the Independence campus has its own House, McKevit Manor. Students are assigned to a House whether they live on or off campus. Each House has officers who serve on Graceland's student government. Intramural sports are one of the most popular campus activities, with over 47% student participation. With the completion of the Shaw Center expansion in fall 2012, Graceland has placed a renewed emphasis on the performing arts. Graceland performance groups include Chamber Singers, Concert Choir, Oratorio Chorus, Jazz Band, Pep Band, Symphonic Band, Orchestra and Theatre.

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