Notable Alumni of the University of Northern Iowa
The University of Northern Iowa (UNI), a public university located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, has a rich history of producing accomplished graduates across various fields. Founded in 1876 as the Iowa State Normal School, UNI initially focused on training teachers and educators. Over time, it has expanded its academic offerings to include more than 90 majors across five colleges. This article highlights some of the university's most notable alumni, showcasing their diverse achievements and contributions to society.
A Legacy of Education and Public Service
UNI's early mission to train educators laid the foundation for a strong tradition of public service. Several prominent alumni have made significant contributions in the fields of education, politics, and public administration.
Charles Grassley: A UNI alumnus who earned his B.A. in Social Sciences/Government--Teaching in 1955 and an M.A. in Education in 1956. Charles Ernest Grassley is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. He was also president pro tempore from 2019 to 2021. Grassley is the senior United States senator from Iowa, serving since 1981. He is in his eighth term.
Linda Upmeyer: A graduate who served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 2003 to 2021, representing the 54th district. She became the first female Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives from 2016 to 2020. She received her BSN from the University of Iowa and her MSN from Drake University. On August 19, 2015, Upmeyer was elected by the members of the Iowa House of Representatives Republican majority to serve as the Speaker of the House. Upmeyer's father, Del Stromer, served as Speaker from 1981-82.
David Ray Nagle: An American politician and lawyer from Iowa. He was a Representative in the United States House of Representatives, representing Iowa's 3rd congressional district from 1987 to 1993. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
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Joy Corning: An American politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of Iowa. A Republican, she was a native of Cedar Falls, Iowa. She graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.
Janet Petersen: An American politician and a Democratic member of the Iowa Senate representing the 18th District since January 2013. She previously served as the Senate Minority Leader and has previously represented the 64th district in the Iowa House of Representatives, between 2001 and 2013. She received her BA from the University of Northern Iowa and her MA from Drake University.
Ras Smith: An American politician from Iowa. He served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 2017 to 2023, as a legislator from District 62.
Mark Costello: The Iowa State Senator from the 8th District. A Republican, he has served in the Iowa Senate since being elected in 2014. He had also previously served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 2013-2014.
Anesa Kajtazovic: A Bosnian-American politician who was a member of the Iowa House of Representatives, representing the 61st District from 2011 to 2015. Kajtazovic was an unsuccessful candidate for Iowa's 1st congressional district in an open seat primary in June 2014.
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Chris Hagenow: An American attorney and politician who served as a member of the Iowa House of Representatives from 2009 to 2021.
Nancy Jo Powell: Served as the United States Ambassador to India from April 2012 to May 2014.
Michael Hogan: An American historian who served as president of the University of Connecticut (2007-2010) and president of the University of Illinois System (2010-2012). He subsequently became a distinguished professor of history at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
Ruth Watkins: A student of speech language pathology, and the former president of the University of Utah. She stepped down from the role on April 7, 2021, to enter the private sector.
Carolyn Hunt: An American educator and politician who, as the wife of Jim Hunt, served as the Second Lady of North Carolina from 1973 to 1977 and twice-served as the First Lady of North Carolina, from 1977 to 1985 and again from 1993 to 2001. She is the longest serving first lady in North Carolina history and she and her husband were the first governor and first lady to serve two four-year terms in North Carolina.
Read also: Legacy of Fordham University
Accomplishments in Arts and Literature
UNI's commitment to a well-rounded education has also fostered creativity and artistic expression. Several alumni have achieved recognition in the arts and literature.
Robert James Waller: Best known for his best-selling novel The Bridges of Madison County, published in 1992. The novel was later made into a popular movie starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. Waller graduated from UNI first with a B.A. in Business Education--Teaching in 1962 and again in 1964 with an M.A. in Education. He joined the UNI faculty in 1968 as Assistant Professor of Management and Economics and in 1977 became a full professor. In 1980, Waller was named Dean of the School of Business, a position he held until 1986. In that year he returned to the classroom to teach for three years. He has been on leave from UNI since 1989. Waller played on UNI's basketball team when he was an undergraduate.
Nancy Price: Well-known for her book Sleeping with the Enemy. It was published in 1987 and became a hit movie when it was released in February 1991. Much of the novel is set in a city very much like Cedar Falls with a university very much like UNI. Price, an accomplished poet as well as a novelist, is the daughter of the fourth president of UNI, Malcolm P. Price, the man for whom Price Laboratory School was named. Price received her M.A. degree in Education from UNI in 1964. She taught in the Department of English Language and Literature for many years.
Gary Kelley: An award-winning illustrator. He has illustrated several children's books including Rip Van Winkle. In addition, for twelve years he has created a design used to publicize the College Hill Arts Festival. The design appears on posters, T-shirts, and other memorabilia associated with the event. Kelley graduated from UNI in 1968 with a B.A. in Art.
Mona Van Duyn: An American poet. She was appointed United States Poet Laureate in 1992.
Success in Athletics
The UNI Panthers have a strong athletic tradition, and numerous alumni have gone on to achieve success in professional sports.
Nick Nurse: An American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as head coach for the Toronto Raptors, whom he led to an NBA championship in 2019 and with whom he was named the NBA Coach of the Year in 2020.
David Johnson: An American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Northern Iowa Panthers and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2015 NFL draft. Johnson spent five seasons with the Cardinals, earning Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections in 2016. He also played for the Houston Texans and New Orleans Saints.
Chris Klieman: An American college football coach. He is the head football coach at Kansas State University, a position he has held since the 2019 season. Klieman served as the head football coach at North Dakota State University from 2014 to 2018. He succeeded the retiring Bill Snyder at Kansas State after leading the North Dakota State Bison to four NCAA Division I Football Championship titles in five seasons.
Lisa Bluder: The former head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball program. Formerly, she served as coach of St. Ambrose University and the Drake Bulldogs.
Greg McDermott: An American basketball coach who has been the head coach of the Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team since 2010. Previously, McDermott served as the head coach at Wayne State College, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, and Iowa State. He is the father of NBA player Doug McDermott.
Darian DeVries: The head men's basketball coach at West Virginia University. He was previously the head coach at Drake University from 2018 to 2024.
A.J. Green: An American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Northern Iowa Panthers.
Mike Furrey: An American college football coach and former professional wide receiver and safety. He is the wide receivers coach for the University of South Carolina, a position he has held since 2024. He was the head football coach for Limestone University from 2016 to 2017 and from 2022 to 2023. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent following the 2000 NFL draft. He played college football at Northern Iowa and Ohio State University.
Ali Farokhmanesh: An American former professional basketball player and current Colorado State Rams men's basketball assistant coach.
Austin Howard: A former American football offensive tackle. He played college football at Northern Iowa, and was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He was also a member of the Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Indianapolis Colts, and Washington Redskins.
Benny Sapp: An American former professional football cornerback. He was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at Northern Iowa.
Seth Tuttle: An American former basketball player and current assistant coach for the Northern Iowa Panthers. He had an All-American college career at Northern Iowa (UNI). Tuttle was considered one of the top college players in the country, and was a midseason finalist for the Naismith College Player of the Year award.
Adam Koch: An American former professional basketball player. He was an All-American player as a collegian at University of Northern Iowa and led the Panthers to a memorable upset of top-seeded Kansas in the 2010 NCAA tournament.
Terry Allen: Was the head coach of the UNI football team from 1987-1996. Allen spent 22 years associated with this athletic program: as a student athlete from 1975 to 1979, a graduate assistant, and then as Assistant Coach. When he was named Head Coach in February 1989, he was the youngest coach at the 1-AA level. Allen received his B.A. degree in Physical Education--Teaching in 1979.
Eddie Watt: An American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed relief pitcher from 1966 through 1975, most prominently as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1969 to 1971 and, won the World Series in 1970. He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs. In 2000, Watt was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame.
Contributions to Media and Journalism
UNI alumni have also made their mark in the world of media and journalism, informing and entertaining audiences across various platforms.
Mark Steines: An American broadcast journalist and actor who was host of the syndicated gossip and entertainment round-up program Entertainment Tonight from 2004 to 2012, joining the program on August 24, 1995. He left the show on July 27, 2012. From 2012 to 2018, he co-hosted Hallmark Channel's Home and Family.
Krista Voda Kelley: An American sportscaster who covers auto racing as the play-by-play announcer for the ARCA Menards Series on MAVTV. She previously worked for NASCAR on Fox and NASCAR on Speed from 2003 to 2014 as the host of the pre-race show for the Truck Series and beginning in 2007 as a pit reporter for the NASCAR Cup Series. She also was a fill-in sideline reporter for Fox's NFL coverage. She then worked as the pre and post-race show host for the Cup Series for NBC from 2015 to 2020.
Chris Pirillo: An American entrepreneur and former television personality. Pirillo is perhaps best known as the former host of Call for Help, a call-in tech support show which, at the time, aired on TechTV from 2001 to 2003.
Tom Pettit: An American journalist, who was a television news correspondent for NBC from the 1960s through 1995. During most of that period, he filed reports for NBC Nightly News (as well as the preceding Huntley-Brinkley Report) and served numerous times on the panel of Meet the Press. He served as one of NBC's floor reporters at the political conventions in 1972, 1976, and 1980. William Thomas Pettit was an American journalist, who was a television news correspondent for NBC from the 1960s through 1995.
Other Notable Alumni
Jane Elliott: An American diversity educator. As a schoolteacher, she became known for her "Blue eyes/Brown eyes" exercise, which she first conducted with her third-grade class on April 5, 1968, the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The publication of compositions which the children had written about the experience in the local newspaper led to much broader media interest in it.
Joan Larsen: An American attorney serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She previously was an associate justice of the Michigan Supreme Court from 2015 to 2017.
Joseph Otting: An American businessman and government official. He served as the 31st Comptroller of the Currency from November 27, 2017 to May 29, 2020.
Will Wilkinson: An American writer.
Raychelle Burks: An associate professor of analytical chemistry at American University in Washington, D.C., and science communicator, who has regularly appeared on the Science Channel. In 2020, the American Chemical Society awarded her the Grady-Stack award for her public engagement excellence.
Roger Jepsen: Was an American politician from Iowa. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Lieutenant Governor of Iowa from 1969 to 1973 and a member of the United States Senate for one term from 1979 to 1985. Jepsen later was the chairman of National Credit Union Administration from 1985 to 1993 where he helped oversee more than 14,000 credit unions nationally.
Gil Gutknecht: Was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives first elected in 1994 to represent Minnesota's 1st congressional district. Gutknecht lost his 2006 reelection bid to DFL candidate Tim Walz, and his term ended in January 2007.
David Glawe: Was the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis from January 2017 to May 2020 and is currently the President and CEO of the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
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