Notable Alumni of Loyola University Maryland
Loyola University Maryland, a Jesuit university known for its blend of liberal arts education and professional programs, has produced a diverse array of accomplished individuals across various fields. This article highlights some of the university's most notable alumni, showcasing their contributions to politics, literature, sports, business, and more.
Introduction to Loyola University Maryland
Loyola University Maryland is a Jesuit university with around 3,800 undergraduates, Loyola-Maryland combines the breadth of a larger school with the more personalized approach of a smaller one. Jesuit education goes beyond the classroom into community service and leadership development, invaluable training for life. Loyola-Maryland does it with fewer hassles at choosing an academic direction, or switching directions, if necessary. It is fairly easy for a student to double major in two liberal arts (including Engineering) subjects or a liberal arts major and a business program (except for Accounting). There is considerable depth in the business and education programs, as much as you’ll find at public and private universities that have thousands more students, and Loyola-Maryland does not cap students out of these programs as larger schools do. Collectively, the business programs represent about 40 percent of Loyola-Maryland’s undergraduate population. The university offers a five-year Bachelors-Masters program in Accounting; the State of Maryland requires 150 credits of business and liberal arts education for CPAs. There is also an accelerated path called Emerging Leaders to a more traditional MBA.
Politics and Public Service
Loyola University Maryland has a strong tradition of producing leaders in the realm of politics and public service. Several alumni have made significant impacts at the local, state, and national levels.
- Barbara Mikulski: A prominent figure in Maryland politics, Barbara Ann Mikulski served as a United States Senator from Maryland from 1987 to 2017. As a member of the Democratic Party, she also served in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987. She stands as the longest-serving woman in the history of the United States Congress and the longest-serving Senator in Maryland history.
- Thomas L. J. D'Alesandro III: Served as the 44th mayor of Baltimore from 1967 to 1971. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the president of the Baltimore City Council from 1962 to 1967. During his tenure as mayor, the Baltimore riot of 1968 occurred. He was the eldest son of Thomas D'Alesandro Jr., the 41st mayor of Baltimore; and brother of Nancy Pelosi, the 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and first woman to hold that office.
- Herbert Romulus O'Conor: An American lawyer serving as the 51st Governor of Maryland from 1939 to 1947. He also served in the United States Senate, representing Maryland from 1947 to 1953. He was a Democrat. He enrolled in Loyola University Maryland and studied in 1917.
- Michael D. Griffin: An American physicist and aerospace engineer who served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering from 2018 to 2020. He previously served as deputy of technology for the Strategic Defense Initiative, and as administrator of NASA from April 13, 2005, to January 20, 2009.
- John Joseph Hall: An American musician, songwriter, politician, environmentalist, and community activist. He served as a U.S. representative for New York's 19th congressional district, serving from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Hall also founded the rock band Orleans in 1972 and continues to perform with them. He Enrolled in Loyola University Maryland and Studied in 1965-1966.
- Jill P. Carter: An American politician and attorney who was a member of the Maryland Senate from 2018 to 2025, representing the 41st district in Baltimore. She previously represented the district in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2003 until her resignation in 2017.
- Bryan Warner Simonaire: An American politician who serves as a Maryland state senator representing District 31, which encompasses much of northern Anne Arundel County's Baltimore suburbs. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the minority leader of the Maryland Senate from 2020 to 2023.
- Mark Soo Chang: An American politician who has served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing District 32 since 2015.
Literature and Journalism
Loyola University Maryland has fostered the talents of numerous writers and journalists who have made significant contributions to the world of literature and media.
- Tom Clancy: Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of his novels have been bestsellers and more than 100 million copies of his books have been sold. His name was also used on screenplays written by ghostwriters, nonfiction books on military subjects occasionally with co-authors, and video games. He was a part-owner of his hometown Major League Baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles, and vice-chairman of their community activities and public affairs committees.
- Mark Bowden: An American journalist and writer. He is a former national correspondent and longtime contributor to The Atlantic. He is the author of several books, including Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, which chronicles the events of a U.S. military raid in Mogadishu, which was later adapted into a motion picture of the same name that received two Academy Awards.
- Robert LoCascio: An American businessman. He is the founder and former CEO of LivePerson and is attributed with creating one of the foundational technologies for AI web chat.
Sports
Loyola University Maryland has a proud tradition of athletic excellence, with many of its alumni achieving success in professional sports and the Olympic Games.
Read also: Tuition at Loyola University Maryland
- Santi Aldama: A Spanish professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Loyola Greyhounds. He was named most valuable player (MVP) of the 2019 FIBA U18 European Championship.
- Milos Kocic: A Serbian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
- Katie Hoff: A former American competitive swimmer, she is an Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder. Hoff was known for her success in the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley. She represented the United States at the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics, in which she was awarded a silver medal and two bronze medals.
- Cam Spencer: An American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Memphis Hustle of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Loyola Greyhounds, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, and the UConn Huskies.
- McKenzie Coan: An American swimmer. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, she swam the 400m Freestyle in the S8 category. Coan was one of four S8 category swimmers chosen to compete for Team USA at the games. She later had her breakout games in the 2016 Summer Paralympics, where she would go on to win 3 gold medals in the category S7 50, 100, and 400M Freestyle races, with an additional silver medal in the 34-point women's 4 × 100 m Freestyle relay. In the process of getting her gold medal in the 50M Freestyle she also set a new Paralympic Record.
- Zach Thornton: An American soccer player who is goalkeeping coach for Chicago Fire FC. A goalkeeper, he spent 16 seasons in Major League Soccer with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (1996-97), Chicago Fire (1998-2006), Colorado Rapids (2007), New York Red Bulls (2008) and Chivas USA (2008-11).
- Dave Wojcik: An American basketball coach who is currently head boys' basketball coach at the Linsly School. He previously was a college basketball coach, most recently head men's basketball coach at San Jose State from 2013 to 2017.
- Dijana "DiDi" Haračić: A Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
- Jason L Rowe: An American former professional basketball player. He played at Buffalo Traditional School in his native Buffalo, New York, leaving as the all-time leader in points and assists, and then signed to play college basketball for the Loyola Greyhounds in the MAAC, where he was a two-time all-conference performer.
- Ginny Capicchioni: A lacrosse goaltender. She played women's lacrosse at Sacred Heart University. After college she played men's box lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League, senior Canadian Lacrosse Association, and for Team USA at the 2011 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship.
- Gavin Prout: A Canadian professional lacrosse player who plays for the Colorado Mammoth in the National Lacrosse League, and formerly of the Hamilton Nationals in Major League Lacrosse. He was also a member of the Team Canada squad that won the gold medal during the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship.
Business and Finance
Loyola University Maryland's business programs are well-regarded, and many of its graduates have gone on to achieve success in the corporate world.
- Harry Markopolos: Former chief investment officer of Rampart Investment Management Co.
- John Boland Schuerholz Jr.: An American baseball front office executive. He was the general manager of Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves from 1990 to 2007, and then served as the Braves president for a decade from 2007 until 2016. Before joining Atlanta, he spent 22 years with the Kansas City Royals organization, including nine (1982-1990) as the club's general manager.
- Karen Ignagni: The President and Chief Executive Officer of EmblemHealth as of September 2015, until which time she was the President and Chief Executive Officer of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), formerly HIAA (Health Insurance Association of America). She is often mentioned as one of the most effective lobbyists and the most powerful people in healthcare.
Arts and Entertainment
Loyola University Maryland has also produced notable figures in the arts and entertainment industry.
- Jim McKay: James Kenneth McManus, better known professionally as Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist.
- Sheila Cameron: An American artist, blogger, graphic designer and producer based in California. She is mostly known for initiating the "Free Katie" campaign, in which she designed and sold merchandise in response to the news of Katie Holmes's engagement to Tom Cruise.
Academia and Religion
Loyola University Maryland, with its Jesuit tradition, has also produced a number of notable figures in academia and religion.
- Edwin A. Fleishman: An American psychologist best known for his work in the field of industrial and organizational psychology. Among his notable achievements was a taxonomy for describing individual differences in perceptual-motor performance.
- Soane Patita Paini Mafi: Is the fourth Roman Catholic Bishop of Tonga. At the age of 53, on 14 February 2015, he was appointed by Pope Francis as the first ever cardinal from Tonga and he became on that date the youngest member of the College of Cardinals with the title of cardinal priest assigned to the titular church of Santa Paola Romana.
- James Francis Stafford: An American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as major penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary from 2003 to 2009.
- Timothy John "T. J." Creamer: A NASA flight director, retired astronaut and a colonel in the United States Army.
- Thomas Joseph Toolen: An American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Mobile from 1927 to 1969, and was given the personal title of Archbishop in 1954.
- Edward Bernard Bunn SJ: An American Catholic priest and Jesuit who became the president of Loyola College in Maryland and later of Georgetown University. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he was educated at Loyola College before entering the Society of Jesus in 1919.
- John Michael McNamara: An American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore from 1927 to 1947 and of the Archdiocese of Washington from 1947 until his death in 1960.
Read also: Applying for Loyola Scholarships
Read also: ACT Scores for Loyola
tags: #loyola #university #maryland #notable #alumni
