This page lists notable students, alumni, and faculty members of Central Washington University.
Sports
Football
- Adam Bighill — CFL Linebacker of the BC Lions
- Keith Gilbertson — NCAA football coach formerly of the University of Idaho, University of California, Berkeley, University of Washington. Played football for the Wildcats for one season in 1967, later graduating in 1971 [1]
- Jon Kitna [2] — NFL quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and Dallas Cowboys. Led the team to an NAIA Div. II championship in 1995
- Greg Olson — NFL offensive coach, as of February 2022 for the Los Angeles Rams
- Mike Reilly — CFL quarterback of the Edmonton Eskimos, Formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers, St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks
Baseball
- MLB pitcher Dave Heaverlo — San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners
- MLB outfielder Billy North — Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants
Basketball
- Joe Callero — Head men's basketball coach at California Polytechnic State University and former head coach of Seattle University
Other
- Miesha "Cupcake" Tate — former Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion, former Ultimate Fighting Championship [3] Bantamweight Champion
- Bryan Caraway — UFC bantamweight fighter, ex-boyfriend of Miesha Tate [4]
- Matt Hume (business) — retired mixed martial artist; founder and head trainer at AMC Pankration in Seattle, [5] V.P. of Operations at ONE Championship
- Anthony Hamilton — professional MMA fighter in the UFC's Heavyweight Division [6]'
Government or military
- Ann Anderson (politician) — member of the Washington State Senate
- Staff Sergeant Bryan Christopher Black — US Army Special Forces soldier killed in action during the Tongo Tongo ambush in Niger on October 4, 2017.
- U.S. Air National Guard Brigadier General John R. Croft — Chief of Staff of the Wisconsin Air National Guard
- Duane Davidson — Washington State Treasurer [7]
- U.S. Air National Guard Brigadier General Myron N. Dobashi — Commander of the Hawaii Air National Guard
- USMC General James N. Mattis [8] — United States Marine Corps. Class of 1972. Commander of the United States Central Command 2010–2013. Secretary of Defense under President Donald Trump.
- Astronaut Dorothy M. Metcalf-Lindenburger [8] — assigned to the crew of STS-131, her first expedition. [9]
- United States Coast Guard Signalman First Class Douglas Albert Munro (October 11, 1919 – September 27, 1942) — only member of the United States Coast Guard to have received the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military's highest decoration.
- Lieutenant Commander Craig Olson, Navy Blue Angels — Demonstration #5 Lead Solo Pilot. A Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet instructor pilot at Naval Air Station Lemoore. Decorations include: Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and various personal and unit awards. [10]
- Ron Sims — Former Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (under President Barack Obama) and former King County Executive. [11]
- Doug Sutherland — former Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands
Business
- Christine M. Day — CEO of athletic sportswear company Lululemon Athletica
- Stephen L. Nelson — author of "Quicken for Dummies" and 150 other books in the series, over 5 million copies sold worldwide. Named "most prolific computer book writer" by Wall Street Journal
- Shelley Powers — computer book author and technology architect
- Raymond Conner — former vice chairman of The Boeing Company and president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Other
- Ry Armstrong — musician and actor
- David L Boushey — American stuntman and the founder of the United Stuntmen's Association, the International Stunt School, the Society of American Fight Directors, and is a member of The Hollywood Stuntmen's Hall Of Fame.
- Dr. David Boyd — trauma surgeon, and developer of Regional Trauma Emergency Medical Services ( EMS). [12]
- Mary Jo Estep (1910-1992) — teacher, sole survivor of the Battle of Kelley Creek
- Sadistik (Cody Foster) — Hip Hop Artist
- James L. Gaudino — president of Central Washington University from 2009 to 2021
- W. Hudson Kensel — historian of the American West.
- Quigg Lawrence — Anglican bishop
- Daniel D. McCracken — prominent computer scientist. [13] He was a Professor of Computer Sciences at the City College of New York, and the author of over two dozen textbooks on computer programming.
- Craig T. Nelson — star of sitcom Coach [14]
- Susan Elaine Rancourt — American murder victim. Rancourt's name was given to university's Barto Hall residence hall. [15]
- David L. Soltz — Provost of the university, 2001-2007 [16]
- Allan Byron Swift — Emmy Award-winning broadcaster, served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1995. He represented the Second Congressional District of Washington as a Democrat.
- Brian Thompson — known for his work in action films and television series
- Wanz — featured singer on Macklemore and Ryan Lewis hit song " Thrift Shop"
References
- ^ "Player Bio: Keith Gilbertson". Gohuskies.cstv.com. Archived from the original on 2008-10-31. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- ^ "Central Washington University". U.S. News & World Report.
- ^ "Miesha Tate UFC Bio". Retrieved 2014-01-01.
- ^ "Bryan Caraway UFC Bio". Retrieved 2014-01-01.
- ^ "Matt Hume MMA Bio". Retrieved 2014-01-01.
- ^ "Ready to Rumble: Redmond's Hamilton wants to grab CageSport heavyweight title - Redmond Reporter". redmond-reporter.com. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
- ^ "Benton County treasurer sets sights on the state job". Tri-City Herald. Retrieved 2016-11-09.
- ^ a b Morrison, Sid (September 8, 2012). "Op-ed: State has gone from passing to failing on higher education in past 50 years". The Seattle Times.
- ^ "Astronaut Bio: Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger (06/2010)". Jsc.nasa.gov. 1975-05-02. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
- ^ "LCDR Craig R. "Merlin" Olson – #5 Lead Solo". Archived from the original on 2011-03-03. Retrieved 2012-10-12.
- ^ "Sims leaving HUD, says he's not running for governor". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
- ^ Boyd DR; Cowley RA (1983). "Comprehensive regional trauma emergency medical services (EMS) delivery systems: the United States experience". World Journal of Surgery. 7, (1) (1): 149–157. doi: 10.1007/BF01655923. PMID 6837054. S2CID 22681971.
- ^ Lohr, Steve (August 12, 2011). "Daniel D. McCracken, Expert on Computers, Dies at 81". New York Times.
- ^ "TV.com – Craig T. Nelson Biography". Tvguide.com. Retrieved 2010-01-18.
- ^ "Barto Hall garden dedicated to student who was killed in 1974".
- ^ "CWU Provost Accepts Position as New President of Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania". Central Washington University. November 13, 2007. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2023.