Alumni Profiles

Thomas Ahlbrandt '69

Ahlbrandt serves as world energy project chief for the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver.

David Brooks '84

Brooks will be Coca-Cola China's project manager for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and was director of the Athens 2004 Olympic Torch Relay.

Les Brownlee '62

Concluding a long and distinguished military career, Brownlee retired as Acting Secretary of the Army in 2004.

Jerry Buss '53

Buss is current chairman and majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jerry Calkins '64

Calkins has served on research and medical advisory boards for over 25 public and private organizations and is former vice president for medical affairs at Conjer Inc.

Dick Cheney '65

Cheney is currently the Vice President of the United States and was formerly the chairman and CEO of Halliburton Corporation.

Dean Conger '50

Conger worked for National Geographic as staff photographer and assistant director of photography for 30 years.

Griffin Corpening '77

Corpening was chief engineer for the unpiloted X-43A at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, which shattered the jet speed record in 2004.

Melvin Cox '69

Cox has been senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Sun Chemical Corporation since 2004.

Marcia Dale '60

A former dean of UW's nursing school, Dale was the first nurse from Wyoming to be accepted as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

Arlen D. Davison '55

Davison co-founded the Master Gardener program, through which avid gardeners are provided with horticulture training in exchange for volunteerism.

W. Edwards Deming '21

The father of modern Total Quality Management, Deming was a consultant to several foreign governments.

Francois Dickman '47

Dickman worked with U.S. Foreign Service from 1951 to 1984, including serving as ambassador to Kuwait (1979-83) and the United Arab Emirates (1976-79).

Brent Eastman '62

Eastman is chief medical officer of Scripps Health, a $1.6 billion nonprofit healthcare system based in San Diego.

David R. Emery '85

Emery is chairman, president, and CEO of Black Hills Corporation, a diversified energy company with operations in 13 states and Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Dave Freudenthal '80

Freudenthal is the 31st governor of the state of Wyoming.

George C. Frison '64

UW emeritus professor in archaeology, Frison was Wyoming's first state archaeologist and a Board of Regents professor with the Smithsonian Institution.

Harold H. Gardner

Gardner was a pioneer in the creation of health maintenance organizations.

Curt E. Gowdy, Sr. '42

World-renowned sports announcer Gowdy covered high-profile sporting events for all three major networks (NBC, CBS, ABC) for five decades.

Nancy E. Gwinn '67

Gwinn has been the director of Smithsonian Institution Libraries since 1997.

Jim Hageman

Hageman was a key player in Wyoming's agricultural community and served in the Wyoming House of Representatives for 24 years.

William Heink '62

Heink is a retired site director of Florida operations of the Boeing Space Shuttle operation at Kennedy Space Center.

Cheryl Holt '86

Holt is the author of 17 romance novels, several of which have been USA Today best sellers.

Arthur H. Howe '69

Howe played professional baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1974-75); Houston Astros (1976-1982); and St. Louis Cardinals (1984-85).

Gene Huey '71

A running backs coach for the Indianapolis Colts, Huey helped lead the team to the 2007 Super Bowl championship.

Mark Jenkins '82

The author of three books about his worldwide outdoor adventures, Jenkins wrote a column, "The Hard Way," for Outside magazine for seven years.

Peter M. Johnson '72

Johnson is president of the oil division of Sinclair Oil Corporation, headquartered in Salt Lake City.

Marilyn Kite '70

Kite was the first female appointed to the Wyoming State Supreme Court, in 2000.

Sarah Konrad '01

At age 39, Konrad became the first U.S. female Winter Olympian to qualify in two sports for one Olympic Winter Games, in Turin, Italy.

Cynthia Lummis

Cynthia Lummis is the U.S. Representative for the state of Wyoming.

Margaret McKeown '72

McKeown was appointed by President Clinton to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which includes California, Oregon and Washington.

Ardis J. Meier '77

Meier retired as chief pharmacy consultant to the U.S. Air Force Surgeon General in 2004, following 26 years of distinguished service.

Jim Neal '51

As U.S. Senate Select Committee on Undercover Operations chief cousel, Neal worked on such cases as the 1964 indictment of Jimmy Hoffa.

Stephen Nicholas '75

Nicholas founded the Incarnation Children's Center, a care center for children victimized by HIV and AIDS, in the Washington Heights area of New York City.

Jay Novacek

Novacek is a five-time National Football League Pro Bowler who played on three Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl teams in the early 1990s.

Diana J. Ohman '72

A former Wyoming Secretary of State, Ohman is currently the director of Department of Defense Schools in Europe.

Tom Osborne '57

In collaboration with Hewlett-Packard, Osborne developed the HP35, the first commercial "shirt pocket" calculator, in 1972.

Douglas Owsley '73

A top forensic anthropologist, Owsley is curator and division head for physical anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History.

Susan Pamerleau '68

Pamerleau was the first woman to command the Air Force ROTC and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Air Force Aid Society.

Samuel C. Phillips '42

Phillips was the director of Apollo in charge of manning the Lunar Landing Program.

Wayde Preston

Preston appeared in the 1992 film Captain America and also made guest appearances on the television shows Maverick and Bonanza.

Peter Schoomaker '69

Schoomaker formerly served as the U.S. Army chief of staff.

Marlan Scully '61

Known as the "Quantum Cowboy," Scully has been Distinguished Professor of Applied Physics Quantum Optics at Texas A&M University since 1992.

Alan K. Simpson '54

Simpson was a Republican U.S. Senator from Wyoming from 1978 until 1997.

Milward L. Simpson '21

An attorney, Simpson served as a U.S. Senator and was the 23rd governor of the state of Wyoming.

Pete Simpson, Jr. '93

Simpson is a full-time member of the New York City cast of Blue Man Group.

Todd Skinner '82

A world-renowned rock climber, Skinner was credited with nearly 500 first ascents around the world.

Shauna Smith '05

Smith is the first ever individual outdoor track-and-field NCAA Champion from the University of Wyoming, in the 400-meter hurdles.

Gerald L. Spence '51

An attorney, Spence represented Karen Silkwood's estate in legal action against Kerr-McGee and was a legal commentator during the O.J. Simpson trial.

Mark Spragg '74

Spragg adapted his novel, An Unfinished Life, into a screenplay that was made into a major motion picture in 2005, starring Robert Redford.

Bill Stall '59

As an editorial writer for the LA Times, Stall won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing in 2004.

Michael J. Sullivan '61

Sullivan is a former Wyoming governor and was the United States ambassador to Ireland from 1998 until 2001.

Richard J. Taggart '67

Taggart is executive vice president and CFO of Weyerhaeuser, one of the top U.S. forest products companies.

Carol B. Tome '79

Tome is vice president of corporate services and CFO of The Home Depot.

Kevin Tripp '78

As executive vice president and president, Retail Midwest for SUPERVALU, Tripp oversees retail and pharmacy operations.

Sol Trujillo '73

Trujillo serves as managing director and CEO of Telstra Corporation Ltd., Australia's largest telephone company.

Robert J. Weimer '48

The 2006 American Geological Institute Legendary Geoscience Award winner, Weimer was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1992.

Richard B. Williams '87

President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund since 1997, Williams serves on the federal President's Board of Advisors on Tribal Colleges and Universities.

Wayman C. Wing '47

Wing formed the New York firm Wayman C. Wing Consulting Engineers in 1960, the first engineering firm invited to build in China.

Martha Wyrsch '80

Wyrsch is president and CEO of Spectra Energy Transmission.