Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,900 students located 20 minutes north of Charlotte in Davidson, N.C. Since its establishment in 1837 by Presbyterians, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country. Through The Davidson Trust, the college became the first liberal arts institution in the nation to replace loans with grants in all financial aid packages, giving all students the opportunity to graduate debt-free. Davidson competes in NCAA athletics at the Division I level, and a longstanding Honor Code is central to student life at the college.
The following is a list of notable people associated with Davidson College, located in the American city of Davidson, North Carolina.
Arts, film, theatre, and broadcasting
Roxanne Beckford, actress
Craig Detweiler, screenwriter, cultural commentator
William R. Ferris, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, 1997–2001; founding director, Center for the Study of Southern Culture
John T. Fesperman, conductor and organist
Herb Jackson, contemporary artist
Laeta Kalogridis, screenwriter and film producer
Jana Mashonee Sampson, singer
John Howell Morrison, composer
Lester Strong, Emmy Award-winning journalist
James Harding (journalist), British journalist
Bertis Downs IV, R.E.M. manager
Richard E. Blanchard, Sr., gospel music writer
John T. Fesperman, organist
Stephen Andrew Lynch, film pioneer
Michael Brun, DJ
Donald Davis (storyteller), storyteller
Nelson Sullivan, videographer and gay rights activist
McNair Evans, photographer
Frank Gohlke, photographer (attended, but later transferred to The University of Texas at Austin)
Harry Pickens, pianist
Rod Daniel
Kesler Woodward
William R. Trotter
Jack Harris (broadcaster)
Todd Kimsey
Steve Holman, custom furniture maker; mediocrity
Mik Aoki, Baseball Head Coach of the University of Notre Dame (2011–present)
Brett Boretti, Baseball Head Coach of the Columbia Lions (2006–present)
De'Mon Brooks, basketball player
Alex Caskey, MLS player with Seattle Sounders (2012–present)
Jake Cohen, American/Israeli professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv
Pat Crawford, MLB player and member of the 1934 World Series St. Louis Cardinals
Stephen Curry (basketball) (did not graduate), NBA basketball player (2009–present)
Alex Gibbs, Assistant Head Coach of the Houston Texans (2008–10)
Fred Hetzel, NBA basketball player (1965–71)
Terry Holland, basketball coach at Davidson (1969–74), University of Virginia (1974–90)
Pete Hughes, Baseball Head Coach of the Oklahoma Sooners (2012–present)
Tyler Kalinoski, basketball player
Mike Maloy, ABA and overseas basketball player
Matt Matheny, Elon basketball coach
Chris Pollard, Baseball Head Coach of Duke University (2012-present)
Caroline Queen, 2012 USA Olympic whitewater slalom K-1 kayaker
Dick Snyder, NBA basketball player (1966–79)
Matt Spear, Davidson soccer coach
Scotty Barr, MLB player
Charlie Reiter, professional soccer player
Buck Flowers, American football player
Fred Anderson (baseball), MLB player
Flake Laird, college football, baseball, and basketball coach and player
Oliver Huie, college football coach
George M. King, college football player
Bart Creasman, professional soccer player
Brendan Winters, professional basketball player
Fred Johnston, MLB player
Robert Eenhoorn, MLB player
Dean Keener, college basketball player, coach, and commentator
Robert Ukrop, professional soccer player
Ryan Adeleye, professional soccer player
Rod Knowles, professional basketball player
Perry Crosswhite, Australian basketball player
Nik Cochran, professional basketball player
Bruce Elder (basketball), basketball player
Jason Richards (basketball), basketball player and college basketball assistant
Derek Rucker, Australian basketball player
Brandon Williams (basketball), basketball player and NBA minor league coach
Jennifer Roos, women's college basketball coach
Everett Booe, baseball player
Carl Cashion, baseball player
Lloyd Christenbury, baseball player
Rufe Clarke, baseball player
Bob Vail, baseball player
Dick Marlowe, baseball player
Buck Marrow, baseball player
Bill Masse, baseball player
Paul Nichols, football coach
Bill Fetzer, college baseball, basketball, and football coach
William L. Younger, college football coach
H. M. Grey, college football coach and player
Kevin Donnalley, former NFL player
Sam Lanford, professional baseball player
Shirley Wilson, football coach
Tom Dore, college basketball player
John A. Brewin, college administrator
Dougal M. Buie, college baseball coach
Conor Grace
Chris Czerapowicz
William Appleton, technologist
James Batten, CEO, Knight-Ridder (1989–95)
John Belk, head of Belk
John Chidsey, CEO, Burger King, Inc. (2006–11)
Martin Daniel Eakes, CEO, Center for Responsible Lending (2000–present)
Stephen P. MacMillan, former CEO, President, Chairman of the Board, Stryker Corp.
Lunsford Richardson, inventor of Vicks VapoRub and founder of Vicks
Clayton Daley, former CFO of The Procter & Gamble Company
Jack Wayman, the creator of the Consumer Electronics Show
Ty Morse, leader in mobile marketing
Lawrence Wilkinson, helped start Oxygen (TV channel)
Earl J. Hesterberg
Justin Jenk
Jean Mauzé
Graham T. Allison, professor at Harvard and author of Essence of Decision (did not graduate)
Roger H. Brown, President at Berklee College of Music (2004-present)
James M. Farr, President of the University of Florida (1927–28); English language and literature scholar
Elizabeth Kiss, President of Agnes Scott College (2006–present)
Eugene C. Brooks, president of the University of North Carolina
Thomas W. Ross, president of the University of North Carolina system
Glenn Terrell, president of Washington State University
Michael Munger, professor at Duke University
Douglas A. Hicks, provost at Colgate University
C. Alphonso Smith, professor
Ben W. MacKay, professor
William Andrew Moffett, historian and librarian
Jennings Bryant, professor of communication at the University of Alabama
Walter Edgar, historian
John Wilson Moore, biophysicist
Evander Bradley McGilvary, American philosopher
Carl Elliott (philosopher), American philosopher
James H. Daughdrill, Jr., president of Rhodes College
Daniel Harvey Hill, Jr., chancellor at North Carolina State University
Philip Beidler, American literature professor
James M. Robinson
Harold Douglas Pratt, Jr.
Richard McIlwaine (educator)
Julius W. Pratt
Wade Barber, Superior Court Judge in North Carolina (1998-2006)
Kenneth B. Bell, Justice of the Florida Supreme Court (2003–2008)
Samuel James Ervin III, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (1980-99)
Sam J. Ervin IV, Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (2015-present)
William Eskridge, legal theorist and professor at Yale Law School
Vincent Foster, Deputy White House Counsel in the Bill Clinton administration (1993)
William J. Haynes, II, General Counsel, U.S. Department of Defense
Boyce Ficklen Martin, Jr., Chief Judge Emeritus of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
John L. Napier, United States Congressman; Judge, U.S. Court of Federal Claims
James Dickson Phillips, Jr., Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (1978-94).
William Byrd Traxler, Jr., Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (1998–present)
William Walter Wilkins, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (1986-2007)
Conner Eldridge, US attorney for the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
Sanford L. Steelman, Jr., North Carolina Court of Appeals judge
Vic Fleming, judge and teacher in Little Rock, Arkansas
Richard Lesley Voorhees, United States federal judge
Robert Allan Edgar, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee judge
Harry Martin (judge), North Carolina Supreme Court justice
Henry Gaston Bunn, Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice
Alan Z. Thornburg, North Carolina Court of Appeals judge
Taylor Hudnall Stukes, South Carolina Supreme Court chief justice
James Edmund Boyd, United States federal judge
Armistead Burwell, Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (1892-1894)
Ketan Ramanlal Bulsara, surgeon
Mark S. George, medical professor
Wayne B. Jonas, director, NIH Office of Alternative Medicine
William Cumming Rose, determined essential amino acids for human nutrition
David Talmage, immunologist
Porter Paisley Vinson, surgeon at the Mayo Clinic
Burkey Belser, graphic designer and creator of the Nutrition facts label
Mary T. Martin Sloop
William D. Halyburton, Jr., World War II Medal of Honor recipient
Rufus G. Herring, World War II Medal of Honor recipient
Tom Marshburn, NASA astronaut
Prescott Prince, Navy captain, rule of law officer who defended Khalid Sheik Mohammed
Major General Stephen Dodson Ramseur
Lieutenant General Jack C. Stultz, Commanding General, United States Army Reserve
William Lee J. Lowrance, Confederate soldier
Samuel Reeves Keesler, World War I pilot
Fred Borch, United States Army attorney
John Belk, Mayor of Charlotte (1969–77)
John Dillard Bellamy, United States Congressman from North Carolina (1899–1903)
Kurt Biedenkopf, Minister-President of Saxony (1990-2002) and President of the German Bundesrat (1999–2000); studied at Davidson 1949–50
David Blount, Member of the Mississippi Senate (2008-present)
Dan Clodfelter, Mayor of Charlotte (2014-present), Member of the North Carolina Senate (1999-2014)
George Cretekos, Mayor of Clearwater, Florida
John M. Faison, United States Congressman from North Carolina (1911–15)
Anthony Foxx, Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina (2009–13) and United States Secretary of Transportation (2013–present)
David H. Gambrell, United States Senator from Georgia (1971–72) (appointed)
David N. Henderson, United States Congressman from North Carolina (1961–77)
Jim Hodges, Governor of South Carolina (1999–2003)
James Holshouser, Governor of North Carolina (1973–77)
Hinton James, United States Congressman from North Carolina (1930–31)
James G. Martin, Governor of North Carolina (1985–93)
Grier Martin, Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives (2005-present)
Larry McDonald, United States Congressman from Georgia (1975–83); died 1983 when the Soviet Union shot down Korean Air Flight 007
E. Blackburn Moore, Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates (1950-67)
Maston E. O'Neal, Jr., United States Congressman from Georgia (1965–71)
George Osborne, Member of Parliament and Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom; studied at Davidson as a Dean Rusk Scholar
Carl C. Perkins, United States Congressman from Kentucky (1984–93)
William R. Purcell, member of the North Carolina Assembly
Paul Renner, member of Florida House of Representatives
Charlie Rose, United States Congressman from North Carolina (1973–97)
John Shott, member of the West Virginia House of Delegates
Jasper K. Smith, member of the Louisiana House of Representatives (1944-48; 1952-64)
John Spratt, United States Congressman from South Carolina (1982–2011), former ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee
William Francis Stevenson, United States Congressman from South Carolina (1917–33)
Mary Verner, Mayor of Spokane, Washington (2007–2012)
Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States and President of Princeton University; (did not graduate)
Robert Broadnax Glenn, governor of North Carolina
James McNair Baker, Confederate Senator
J. Bayard Clark, United States Congressman from North Carolina
Mary Fant Donnan, candidate for North Carolina Commissioner of Labor
E. McA. Currie, mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina
Fletcher L. Hartsell, Jr., member of the North Carolina General Assembly
Bill Ferguson (politician), member of the Maryland Senate
Bill Bencini, mayor of High Point, North Carolina
Ed Lindsey, member of the Georgia House of Representatives
Carolyn Hugley, member of the Georgia House of Representatives
James Dalrymple McIver, member of the North Carolina General Assembly
George W. Gregory, Jr., member of the South Carolina House of Representatives
DuBose Porter, chair of the Georgia Democratic Party and former member of the Georgia House of Representatives
Stanley H. Fox, North Carolina Assembly member
Greg Murphy (politician), North Carolina Assembly member
Joe Jaworski, former mayor of Galveston, TX
Jay Chaudhuri, member of the North Carolina General Assembly
Public and private service
Kenneth L. Brown, US Ambassador to Ghana (1992–95)
Vincent W. Foster, Jr., Deputy White House Counsel (1993)
Wyche Fowler, Jr., United States Senator and Representative from Georgia (1977–93); US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (1996–2001)
John L. McLucas, United States Secretary of the Air Force (1973–75); CEO of MITRE Corporation
Leonidas L. Polk, American agrarian leader
Dean Rusk, United States Secretary of State (1961–69)
Tony Snow, White House Press Secretary (2006–07), syndicated talk radio host and Fox News Channel pundit
Lenny McAllister, conservative activist
James F. Entwistle, US Ambassador to Nigeria
Stephen Salyer, President & CEO, Salzburg Global Seminar, former CEO of Public Radio International (PRI)
John Finklea, EPA administrator
William Winkenwerder, Jr., Defense Department official
Buie Seawell, chief of staff to Gary Hart
Eric Sapp, political consultant
Yaroslav Brisiuck, Ukrainian diplomat
Michael R. Taylor, FDA administrator
Margaret Hoover, political commentator
G. Thompson Brown (1921-2014), professor; founder of Honam Theological University and Seminary; missionary
Charles Cousar, New Testament scholar, author, Professor Emeritus at Columbia Theological Seminary
Paul B. Freeland, Presbyterian minister from Louisiana, genealogist, historian, philanthropist
Douglas Oldenburg President Emeritus at Columbia Theological Seminary; moderator of the 210th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
Holmes Rolston III, professor, theologian, philosopher; 2003 Templeton Prize recipient
J. Rodman Williams, theologian and father of modern Renewal Theology
Herbert Spaugh, bishop of the Moravian Church
Francis Wilson Price, missionary
Donald A. Crosby, philosopher
Edward V. Ramage
Writers, journalists, and publishers
Vereen Bell, journalist and author
Jack Livings, author, winner of the 2015 PEN / Robert W. Bingham Prize.
Martin Clark, author
Patricia Cornwell, author
William Emerson, civil rights journalist for Newsweek; editor in chief of The Saturday Evening Post; left Davidson early to serve in World War II
R. S. Gwynn, poet
John Hart, Edgar Award-winning author
Alamgir Hashmi, award-winning poet, scholar
McKendree Long, artist, preacher, poet, known as "picture painter of the apocalypse"
Jason McManus, Editor-in-Chief of Time Inc. (1988-94)
Sheri Reynolds, author, playwright
Frank Soos, author, Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction, Alaska State Writer Laureate
William Styron, author; attended in 1942, left to join the Marines
Charles Wright, Pulitzer Prize and Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry recipient; chancellor of The Academy of American Poets
W. Dabney Stuart, American poet
Rebecca Hazelton, American poet
Hilary Masters, novelist
Chuck Sudetic, journalist
Robert Thornton Henderson, American author
Robert Olmstead, American novelist and educator
Sarah Frances Hardy, American artist and author/illustrator, best known for her picture books
Jonathan Berkey
George Arthur Buttrick
Alfred Mele
William Bodiford
Daniel Harvey Hill
Kenneth Menkhaus
David Kaylor
Guy Owen (novelist)
Douglas Glover (writer)
Leemon McHenry
Julio Ramirez (academic)
Wilson Gaines Richardson
Dorothy Allison
John M. Bevan
Henri Cole
Al Young
Frank Albinder
Pinckney Benedict
Terese Svoboda
Russ Warren
Lewis Bevens Schenck
Patrick J. Sparrow
Jagoda Marinić
Elijah Frink Rockwell
Nirmal Selvamony
List of Davidson College people Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
