List of Villanova University alumni explained

Various notable individuals in many professions attended Villanova University at some point in their educational careers. Many influential and important individuals in the fields of government, business, economics, education, entertainment, arts, fashion, athletics and the sciences are alumni of Villanova.

Arts, entertainment, and journalism

• Emily Barkann - Emmy award-winning journalist and White House correspondent^[1]
• Maria Bello - Golden Globe-nominated actress
• Victor Buono - Academy Award-nominated actor
• Ryan J. Condal - screenwriter, TV series co-creator, executive producer
• Bradley Cooper - Academy Award-nominated actor (attended for one year before transferring to Georgetown University)
• Jim Croce - recording artist
• Carmen Gentile - journalist, author and public speaker
• Tim Hauser - singer and founder of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer
• Michael Hollinger - playwright and screenwriter
• Vahan Janjigian - former Forbes magazine columnist; author of Even Buffett Isn't Perfect and The Forbes/CFA Institute Investment Course
• Keith Jones - Emmy award-winning news anchor and reporter at WCAU in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania^[2]
• Toby Keith - recording artist (attended for one year, received honorary degree)
• Monica Malpass - M.A. in political science in 1999; news anchor and reporter for WPVI^[3]
• Gerald Marzorati - editor of The New York Times Magazine; assistant managing editor of The New York Times
• Don McLean - recording artist (attended for three months and did not receive a degree)
• Zachery S. Mitcham-Author
• Ryan Montbleau - recording artist
• Katherine Parr - fashion model, educator, and philanthropist
• Vincent Piazza - actor (attended for a year; did not graduate)
• David Rabe - playwright (Hurlyburly) and screenwriter (Casualties of War, The Firm)
• Murtaza Razvi - journalist, Senior Assistant Editor and Head of Magazines, Dawn, political analyst, The Indian Express
• Greg Rikaart - Emmy Award-winning actor, currently starring in the daytime soap opera, The Young and the Restless
• Jennifer Santiago - Emmy Award-winning reporter, CBS4 News, Miami
• Cole Sternberg - visual artist
• Philip Terzian - literary editor, The Weekly Standard, author (Architects of Power: Roosevelt, Eisenhower and the American Century)
• Mary Walter - on-air personality, radio show host, political commentator
• Wheeler Yuta (Paul Gruber) - professional wrestler

Business, law, and economics

• Ayman Asfari - British-Syrian businessman, CEO of Petrofac
• Stephen Bienko - Olympic gold medalist trainer and entrepreneur
• Robert J. Bolger - co-founder, former President and CEO of National Association of Chain Drug Stores
• John Drosdick - Chief Executive Officer, Sunoco
• Joseph Dugan - President and CEO, L.B. Foster Company
• John Eleuthère du Pont
• José Fanjul - billionaire sugar baron^[4]
• Robert Genuario - former Connecticut State Senator, Connecticut Superior Court Judge
• Chris Gheysens (VSB, 1993) - President and CEO of Wawa Inc.^[5]
• Robert Gordon IV - CEO of BLCK VC^{[6] [7] [8]}
• Brian Higgins - billionaire hedge fund manager of King Street Capital Management^[9]
• James Kim - Chairman of Amkor Technology
• Thomas G. Labrecque - former CEO of Chase Manhattan Bank
• James Mullen - President and Chief Executive Officer, Biogen Idec
• Jerry Pappert - Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania;^[10] Attorney General of Pennsylvania 2003–2005^[11]
• Ronald O. Perelman - billionaire CEO of Mackandrews and Forbes (one semester in 1960, before transferring to University of Pennsylvania)
• Michael G. Rubin - drop-out billionaire CEO of Fanatics
• Paul V. Scura - former Executive Vice President and Head of Investment Bank of Prudential Securities
• John Waldron - criminal defense Lawyer
• David Worby - trial lawyer who specializes in personal injury cases, most notably Ground Zero illnesses

Education, engineering, and the sciences

• Andrew M. Allen - NASA astronaut and Space Shuttle pilot
• Bridgette Brawner - nurse researcher and professor
• Sean M. Carroll - theoretical physicist
• Steve Chen - computer engineer, principal architect of Cray X-MP supercomputer
• Nance Dicciani - chemical engineer, ranked one of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women
• Edward Guinan - astronomer, discovered Neptune's ring system
• John L. Hennessy - retired President of Stanford University
• Jamie Hyneman - co-host and Executive Producer of Mythbusters (honorary Doctor of Engineering and co-advisor of VU COE senior capstone project)
• Deirdre Imus - Head of the Deidre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology
• Christopher Lee - Director of Philanthropy of the Scripps Research Institute
• Emanuel Rubin - pathologist known for his achievements in clinical and laboratory research, and medical education

Government, politics, and military

• Kelly Ayotte - former U.S. Senator from the state of New Hampshire
• Jill Biden - First Lady of the United States^[12]
• G. T. Bynum - Mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma
• David A. Christian - retired United States Army captain and former candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2012 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania
• Joseph Clancy - former director of the U.S. Secret Service
• George B. Crist - General; first Marine to be designated Commander in Chief, Central Command
• Christopher G. Donovan - Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives
  • Peter Doocy - White House Correspondent for Fox News Walter Doran - Admiral, U.S. Navy (retired)
• William J. Fallon - Admiral, U.S. Navy, and Commander of United States Central Command
• Jacob Frey - Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Charlie Gerow - political consultant, commentator and lawyer
• D. Barry Gibbons - member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Delaware County, 1961–1962
• David Girard-diCarlo - nominated as the U.S. Ambassador to Austria
• Joseph Hare - Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy
• Kate M. Harper - Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives since 2001
• Jerramiah T. Healy - Mayor, Jersey City, New Jersey
• Charles A. Heimbold, Jr. - former U.S. ambassador to Sweden and former chairman of Bristol-Myers Squibb; endowed Villanova's Heimbold Chair of Irish Studies
• Paul X. Kelley - retired Marine general and former Commandant of the Marine Corps
• John LaFalce - former U.S. Congressman from New York state, 1975–2002
• Frank J. Larkin - Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. Senate^[13]
• William J. Martini - district court judge for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
• Joseph J. McMenamin - Brigadier General, U.S. Marine Corps
• Nicholas Micozzie - Pennsylvania State Representative for the 163rd district (1979-2014)
• Ricaurte Vásquez Morales - Chairman of the Panama Canal Authority
• Charles A. Murphy - member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee^[14]
• Peter O'Keefe - Pennsylvania State Representative 1975-1978
• Samuel J. Paparo Jr. - Admiral, US Navy, 64th Commander of the Pacific Fleet;^[15]
• Jerry Pappert - Attorney General of Pennsylvania 2003–2005;^[11] Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania^[10]
• John A. Pica, Jr. - State Senator in Maryland, 1983–1997; Delegate, 1979–1983; lobbyist and attorney, Pica & Associates, LLC
• Dominic Pileggi - State Senate Majority Leader of Pennsylvania
• Stanley A. Prokop - former U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania, 1959–1961
• James M. Quigley - former U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania
• Ed Rendell - former Pennsylvania governor and general chair of the Democratic National Committee in 2000
• Marjorie Rendell - former first lady of Pennsylvania; federal judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• Stefan Roots - mayor of Chester, Pennsylvania
• John G. Rowland - former Connecticut governor, 1995–2004^[16]
• Matthew J. Ryan - former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives; Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
• Dick Schulze - former U.S. congressman from the State of Pennsylvania, 1975–1993
• Donald Snyder (J.D. 1982) - Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1981–2000; Majority Whip^[17]
• Xavier Suarez - former Mayor of Miami
• Dan Truitt - member of Pennsylvania House of Representatives
• Anthony Zinni - General, U.S. Marine Corps (retired); former Commander in Chief of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)

Religion and philosophy

• Michael Francis Burbidge - Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington
• Salvador Miranda - church historian
• John Joseph O'Connor - cardinal and Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York
• Robert Francis Prevost - cardinal and prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops

Sports and athletics

• Malik Allen - former professional basketball player, currently an assistant coach with the Miami Heat
• Ryan Arcidiacono - professional basketball player, currently with the New York Knicks, most outstanding player of the 2016 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
• Paul Arizin - former professional basketball player, member of Basketball Hall of Fame, voted one of the 50 all-time greatest in NBA history in 1996
• Al Atkinson - professional football player, starting linebacker for the Super Bowl Champion 1969 New York Jets
• James Bell (born 1992) - professional basketball player for Japanese team Passlab Yamagata Wyverns
• Michael Bradley - former professional basketball player, NBA and European leagues
• Don Bragg - 1960 Olympic pole vaulting gold medalist
• Mikal Bridges - professional basketball player, currently with the Brooklyn Nets
• Jalen Brunson - professional basketball player, currently with the New York Knicks
• Rolando Cruz - three-time Olympic pole vaulter for Puerto Rico
• Eamonn Coghlan - track and field athlete, four-time Olympian and the only man over age 40 to run a sub-four-minute mile
• Jim Curtin - former Major League Soccer player and current head coach of the Philadelphia Union
• Ron Delany - track and field athlete, gold medalist in 1500 meters at the 1956 Olympic Games
• Denise Dillon - VU Hall of Fame; former Drexel University head women's basketball coach; Villanova University head women’s basketball coach
• Tim Donaghy - former professional basketball referee
• Jumbo Elliott - track and field coach, inducted into National Track & Field Hall of Fame, 1981
• Brian Finneran - former professional football player, Philadelphia Eagles ('99) and Atlanta Falcons (2000–2009), Walter Payton Award winner 1997
• Michael Fitzmaurice - swimmer, gold medal winner 1967 Pan American Games, former US and NCAA record holder, 8-time All American
• Chris Ford - former professional basketball player and coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers
• Randy Foye - former professional basketball player
• Stan Galazin - professional football player
• Josh Hart - professional basketball player, currently playing with the New York Knicks
• Darrun Hilliard (born 1993) - basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Larry James - track and field athlete, 1968 Olympic gold and silver medalist in 1600 m relay and 400 m, respectively; director of athletics and recreation at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
• Wali Jones - former professional basketball player
• Kerry Kittles - former professional basketball player with the New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Clippers, First Team Basketball All-American 1996
• Marty Liquori - track and field athlete, competed in the 1968 Olympics as a freshman in the 1500 meter
• Howie Long - former professional football player and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Oakland Raiders (1981–1993), football analyst, actor
• Kyle Lowry - professional basketball player, 2019 NBA Champion, currently with the Miami Heat
• Art Mahan - former professional baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies, United States Navy officer, Villanova baseball coach and athletic director
• Sydney Maree - track and field athlete, 1988 Olympian, three NCAA titles (1500: 1980, 81; 5000: 1979)
• Bill Melchionni - former professional basketball player, number retired by NBA Nets
• John Mellus - professional football player; named All-American while at Villanova
• Jimmy Murray - former general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles, co-founder of Ronald McDonald House
• Marcus O'Sullivan - Villanova University head coach; three-time indoor world champion; four-time Olympian
• Sonia O'Sullivan - track and field athlete, 2000 Olympic silver medalist in 5000 m
• Don Paige - track and field athlete
• Richie Phillips - lawyer, players' agent, former head of MLB Umpires and NBA officials unions
• Ed Pinckney - former professional basketball player, MVP of 1985 Final Four, member of 1985 National Championship winning basketball team
• John Pinone - Second Team Basketball All-American, 1983
• Howard Porter - former professional basketball player, First Team Basketball All-American 1971
• Summer Rappaport - triathlete, 2020 Olympic Games
• Allan Ray - former professional basketball player
• Kevin Reilly - former professional football player
• Scottie Reynolds - professional basketball player for Polish team Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski; First Team Basketball All-American 2009
• John Ricco - baseball executive; senior vice president and chief of staff for the New York Mets
• Browning Ross - Olympic long-distance runner (1948 and 1952) and gold medal winner at the 1951 Pan American Games
• Mike Seamon - professional soccer player for MLS Seattle Sounders
• Mike Siani - NFL wide receiver, No. 1 draft choice of the Oakland Raiders
• Rory Sparrow - former professional basketball player
• Art Spector (1920–1987) - Boston Celtics basketball player
  • Matt Szczur - former professional baseball player; member of 2009 National Championship winning football team Tim Thomas - former professional basketball player
• Raymond Ventrone - former professional football player, currently special teams coach for the Indianapolis Colts; 2008 Super Bowl participant with NFL Patriots
• Doug West - former professional basketball player; unsuccessfully recruited by then-Pitt assistant coach John Calipari
• Brian Westbrook - former professional football player, 2001 Walter Payton Award winner, 2006 Super Bowl participant with Philadelphia Eagles

References

• Web site: Michael Greene | Faculty/Staff | Philosophy and Religious Studies | Departments and Programs | Academics | Bradley University.

External links

• Villanova University Office of Alumni Relations
• Villanova University

Notes and References

1. News: Tyler . Maddie . Meet the Newest and Youngest Chief White House Correspondent . 11 January 2023 . AKSM News . AKSM Media . AKSM Media . June 3, 2022.
2. NBC10 Philadelphia Bio: Keith Jones
3. News: Monica Malpass biography . . 2010-07-29 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100211120132/http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/bio?section=resources%2Finside_station%2Fnewsteam&id=5771844 . 2010-02-11 .
4. Web site: Board approved: Who lives at 960 Fifth Avenue? . 2017-08-11 . 2017-08-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170811222728/http://www.llnyc.com/45007-board-approved-who-lives-at-960-fifth-avenue . dead .
5. Nicholson, Chris. "Driving Success Through Business Analytics: Wawa's President Speaks to Students", Villanova Business, Summer 2012. Accessed October 8, 2015. "Chris Gheysens ’93 VSB, CFO and President of Wawa, discusses his company's use of business analytics to expand its profitability."
6. News: Dorisca . Samantha . Sep 27, 2023 . EXCLUSIVE: BLCK VC Announces Two-Time Founder, Investor Robert Gordon IV As Its New CEO . AFROTECH . 1–2.
7. Web site: 2023-10-02 . BLCK VC Appoints New CEO To Lead Diversity And Change In Venture Capital . 2024-01-24 . POCIT. Telling the stories and thoughts of people of color in tech. . en.
8. Web site: DEIC Power 100 . 2024-03-02 . deicpower100.com . en.
9. Web site: Forbes Billionaires List. Forbes.
10. Web site: Gerald J. Pappert | Eastern District of Pennsylvania | United States District Court.
11. Web site: History of the Office of Attorney General . 2017-08-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170727155251/https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/The_Office/History_of_the_Office_of_Attorney_General/ . 2017-07-27 . dead .
12. Web site: Dr. Jill Biden | HuffPost. HuffPost.
13. https://www.senate.gov/reference/common/person/larkin_frank_j.htm Frank J. Larkin-United States Senate
14. Web site: CHARLES 'CHARLEY' A. MURPHY'S BIOGRAPHY . Project Vote Smart . February 2, 2013.
15. Web site: Samuel Paparo .
16. Web site: John G. Rowland . www.nga.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120521124509/http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_connecticut/col2-content/main-content-list/title_rowland_john.html . 2012-05-21.
17. Web site: Donald William Snyder (Republican) . Official Pennsylvania House of Representatives Profile . Pennsylvania House of Representatives . https://web.archive.org/web/20000201200904/http://www.house.state.pa.us/members/districts/134/134.htm . 2000-02-01 . dead .