Notable Alumni of the University of Missouri-Kansas City
The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) has a rich history of producing accomplished individuals across various fields. Its alumni have made significant contributions to politics, law, arts, sciences, and business, leaving a lasting impact on society. All UMKC graduates are automatically members of the Alumni Association.
Politics and Government
UMKC boasts a distinguished list of alumni who have excelled in the realm of politics and government, shaping policies and serving their communities at various levels.
Harry S. Truman, the 33rd President of the United States, is perhaps the most recognizable alumnus. Serving as Vice President in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon Franklin D. Roosevelt's death. Truman implemented the Marshall Plan to rebuild Western Europe's economy after World War II and established the Truman Doctrine and NATO to contain Soviet communism.
Rick Scott is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and Navy veteran serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served two terms as the 45th governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019.
Sharice Davids represents Kansas's 3rd congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents a district that includes most of the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, including Kansas City, Overland Park, Prairie Village, Leawood, Lenexa, and Olathe.
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Clarence M. Kelley served as the Chief of the Kansas City Police Department from 1961 to 1973 and as the second director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1973 to 1978.
Charles Evans Whittaker was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1957 to 1962. He previously served on the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, becoming the first individual to serve as a judge on all three levels of the federal court system.
Mark Funkhouser served as the 53rd mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, from 2007 to 2011. Prior to serving as mayor, Funkhouser served as Kansas City's city auditor.
Brian Birdwell has served in the Texas Senate for District 22 since 2010. He is a survivor of the September 11, 2001 attacks against The Pentagon.
Jolie L. Justus is an American lawyer and politician from Missouri. A Democrat, she was a member of the Missouri State Senate representing the 10th Senatorial District in Kansas City, serving as the Missouri Senate Minority Leader in her final two years.
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Karen McCarthy was an American educator and politician. representative for the fifth district of Missouri from 1995 to 2005. House of Representatives from Kansas from 1975 to 1979.
Hilary Ashby Bush was a Democratic Party politician who was Jackson County, Missouri prosecutor in the 1940s and 1950s.
Kris Kobach is Kansas Secretary of State, on leave as Daniel L.
Alfred Oko Vanderpuije is a Ghanaian educationist and politician who currently serves as a member of parliament for Ablekuma South Constituency in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.
Ross Rizley was an American politician and United States Representative from Oklahoma and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.
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Law and Judiciary
UMKC's School of Law has produced numerous influential figures in the legal field, serving as judges, lawyers, and legal scholars.
Charles Evans Whittaker's career culminated in his appointment as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
Stephen Rogers Bough is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Ronnie Lee White is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and a former Missouri Supreme Court judge.
Gary August Fenner is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Arts and Entertainment
UMKC alumni have also made their mark in the world of arts and entertainment, showcasing their talents in music, acting, and other creative endeavors.
John Carmack is an American computer programmer and video game developer. He co-founded the video game company id Software and was the lead programmer of its 1990s games Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Quake, and their sequels. Carmack made innovations in 3D computer graphics, such as his Carmack's Reverse algorithm for shadow volumes.
Danny Carey is an American musician and songwriter who is the drummer for the progressive metal band Tool. He has also contributed to albums by artists such as Zaum, Green Jellö, Pigface, Skinny Puppy, Adrian Belew, Carole King, Collide, Meat Puppets, Lusk, and the Melvins.
Edie McClurg is an American retired actress and comedian. She has played supporting roles in films such as Carrie (1976), Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), and Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988).
Connor Wyatt Trinneer is an American film, stage, and television actor. He is best known for his roles as Charles "Trip" Tucker III on Star Trek: Enterprise, Michael on the series Stargate Atlantis, and Professor Moynihan on the web series Guilty Party.
Bob Carpenter is an American sportscaster and current television play-by-play announcer for Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals on MASN.
Sunny Sanwar is a Bangladeshi-born American artist, environmental activist and entrepreneur. He became fluent in multiple languages and is one of the youngest artists to have a solo exhibition at the National Art Gallery with work in permanent collection at the Liberation War Museum.
Charles Bruffy is an American choral conductor. He is artistic director of the Kansas City Chorale in Kansas City, Missouri, and is Chorus Director of the Kansas City Symphony.
The UMKC Conservatory has welcomed acclaimed artists to perform, collaborate, and teach, with many alumni achieving success in the performing arts:
- Toccarra Cash appeared in the Off West End play Half Me, Half You.
- Scott Conner made his Metropolitan Opera debut in Der Rosenkavalier.
- Allison Dillard won in the category of Costume Design (Intimate Theatre) at the 29th Annual L.A.
- Amanda Frederick performed for Pope Francis at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia.
- Alanah Garnier, David Sanchez, Suzanne Hendrix, and Scott Conner have showcased their vocal talents.
- Hermon Mehari won the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Competition.
- Andres Salguero won a Latin Grammy for Best Children's Album for his album Arriba Abajo.
Business and Economics
UMKC alumni have also achieved success in the business world, leading companies and shaping economic policies.
Rick Scott is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and Navy veteran serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served two terms as the 45th governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019.
Mary Colleen Daly is an American economist, who became the 13th President and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on October 1, 2018. She serves on the Federal Reserve's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee on a rotating basis.
Esther L. George is the former president and chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City from 2011 until 2023.
Science and Technology
UMKC alumni have made valuable contributions to science and technology, pushing the boundaries of knowledge and innovation.
Juris Hartmanis was a Latvian-born American computer scientist and computational theorist who, with Richard E. Stearns, received the 1993 ACM Turing Award "in recognition of their seminal paper which established the foundations for the field of computational complexity theory".
Mark A. Ediger is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Air Force who was the twenty-second Surgeon General of the United States Air Force.
Jonathan Metzl (born 1964), psychiatrist and author.
Athletics
UMKC alumni have also excelled in the world of sports, achieving success as athletes and sports executives.
Courtney Frerichs is an American middle-distance runner and steeplechase specialist. She is a three-time silver medalist in the 3000 meters steeplechase. In 2021, she became the first American woman to run under nine-minutes in a women’s 3000-meters steeplechase event with a time of 8:57.77; establishing an American and Area record.
Trey McKinney-Jones is an American professional basketball player for Gunma Crane Thunders of the B.League. He played college basketball for the UMKC Kangaroos (now known as the Kansas City Roos) and the Miami Hurricanes.
Reginald Lamont Hamilton Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. In 2011-12, his senior year at Oakland University, Hamilton averaged 26.2 points per game to lead all of NCAA Division I in scoring.
Antoine Rozner is a French professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. He has won three times on the tour, including wins at the Golf in Dubai Championship in December 2020 and the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in March 2021.
Donald Martin Fehr is an American former sports executive. He was the fifth executive director of the NHL Players Association from 2010 to 2023.
Other Notable Alumni
UMKC has also produced notable alumni in other fields, including:
Juliana Rotich is a Kenyan information technology professional, who has developed web tools for crowdsourcing crisis information and coverage of topics related to the environment. She is the co-founder of iHub, a collective tech space in Nairobi, Kenya, and of Ushahidi, open-source software for collecting and mapping information.
Janet E. Helms is an American research psychologist known for her study of ethnic minority issues. She received the 2006 Award for Distinguished Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology from the American Psychological Association.
Benjamin Leslie Harrison was an officer in the United States Army who contributed to the tactics of modern airmobile warfare involving the integration of helicopters with infantry and armor forces for both rapid deployment and subsequent support.
Noliwe Rooks, one of the first Black professors in the College of Arts and Sciences, associate director of African-American program at Princeton University, W.E.B.
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