List of Texas A&M University–Commerce people
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The following is a list of notable people associated with East Texas A&M University, formerly Texas A&M University–Commerce, located in the American city of Commerce, Texas.
Notable alumni
[edit]Politics and government
[edit]- Randy Alexander – Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Springdale, Arkansas[1]
- Lindley Beckworth – Former judge of United States Customs Court
- Mary Lou Bruner – Republican candidate for a seat on the Texas State Board of Education; received a master's degree in Special Ed. from the Commerce campus (when it was called East Texas State University).
- Lanell Cofer – Former American politician and lawyer
- Mike Conaway – Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas's 11th congressional district
- Phil Dyer – Former mayor of Plano, Texas
- Marsha Farney (formerly Marsha Gonyaw) – Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from Williamson County; received bachelor's and master's degrees in professional education from the Commerce campus in the early 1990s
- Brady P. Gentry – former American politician
- Jimmy Hickey Jr. – Republican member of the Arkansas State Senate from Texarkana, Arkansas; obtained Bachelor of Business Administration from the Texarkana campus
- Justin Holland – Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 33rd district
- Alphonso Jackson – former secretary of Housing and Urban Development under U.S. President George W. Bush
- Tom Price – judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, 1997-2015
- Sam Rayburn – Democratic representative for Texas's 4th congressional district and long-term Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- Sam W. Russell – Former American lawyer and politician
- Hilda G. Tagle – Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- Jimmy Turman – Former politician and educator, served in the Texas House of Representatives and also was speaker of the house until 1963
- Gary VanDeaver – former school superintendent for the New Boston Independent School District and incoming Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives; received doctorate in education from TAMU-Commerce
Media and arts
[edit]- Duane Allen – lead singer of The Oak Ridge Boys
- Tia Ballard – actress for Funimation Entertainment
- Linda Brookover – Screenwriter, film producer, essayist on film topics
- Rob Collins - Emmy Winning Sports Anchor at FOX4 TV Kansas City.
- Will Creedle – Novelist and thought leader in the field of website ADA compliance
- Jim Fiscus – photographer specializing in editorial and advertising photography, including several campaigns for the Showtime series Dexter
- Morgan Garrett – Voice actress
- Adrian Hall – former American theater director
- Trenton Doyle Hancock – fine artist
- Colleen Hoover – New York Times bestselling author of eleven novels and five novellas
- Jerrod Knight - Radio Personality and voice actor[2]
- Donovan Lewis - Sports Talk Radio Host[3] at SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket, Dallas, TX
- Staley T. McBrayer – newspaper publisher and inventor of the Vanguard web offset press for newspaper printing[4]
- John Charles Norman – advertising executive and graphic designer, chief creative officer, TBWA Chiat Day, Los Angeles
- Bill O'Neal – author who has written more than thirty books and three hundred articles and book reviews on the American West
- Robyn O'Neil – artist known for her large-scale graphite on paper drawings
- William A. Owens – American author, folklorist and educator
- Gary Panter – illustrator and set designer of Pee Wee's Playhouse
- Jeff Parrott – American painter
- Key Poulan - composer
- Freda Ross - News Director at WBAP-AM, Dallas, TX[5]
- Michael Sampson – New York Times best-selling author
- Michael Schwab (designer) – Graphic designer and illustrator, attended from 1970 until 1972.[6]
- Mark Seliger – photographer noted for his portraiture; regular front-page photographer for Rolling Stone, where he began working in 1987.
- Jordan Randall Smith - founder and music director of Symphony Number One[7]
- Daniel Starks – Radio Host, Voice Actor, General Manager at KGVL-AM and KIKT-FM
- Erin Trieb – American photographer
- Lester Van Winkle – American sculptor
- Renée Witterstaetter – comic book colorist, editor, and writer
- John Clifton Wright – American author
- Susan Wood – American poet
- Ralph C. Wood – Scholar of theology and English literature
Athletes and coaches
[edit]- Althea Byfield – Former professional basketball player and netball bronze medal winner for Jamaica
- Autry Beamon – former NFL player
- Bobby Bounds – former Arena League Football player
- Chad Brown – NFL official, refereed Super Bowls XXXV and XLV
- Marv Brown – former Detroit Lion
- Curtis Buckley – former NFL player
- John Carlos – former sprinter; professional football player; human rights activist
- Bob Carpenter – former NBA player
- Jake Carter – former NBA player
- Rob Childress – former college baseball coach at Texas A&M[8]
- Tim Collier – former NFL cornerback
- Ricky Collins – former CFL wide receiver
- Derrick Crawford – former Arena Football League player
- Will Cureton - former starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns
- Clint Dolezel – former Arena Football League all-star quarterback; head coach for the Philadelphia Soul in the AFL
- Buck Fausett – Former MLB player[9]
- Harry Fritz – Former professional tennis player, also was a member of East Texas State's men's tennis team that won the 1972 NAIA National championship
- Bill Gaines – former professional basketball player
- Jon Gilliam – former Kansas City Chiefs player, played in Super Bowl I
- Ernest Hawkins – Winningest football coach in Texas A&M-Commerce athletic history, also lead the team an NAIA National Championship title in 1972
- Scott Highsmith – Football coach currently serving as an offensive analyst for Southern Miss, previously served as head coach at Belhaven and East Texas Baptist
- Ross Hodge – current head coach for North Texas Men's Basketball Team
- Rich Houston – American football player
- Lee Johnson – former NBA player
- Vernon Johnson – former professional football player
- Bo Kelly – former Arena League Football player for the Arizona Rattlers
- Kader Kohou - Ivorian NFL cornerback for the Miami Dolphins
- John Lotz – Former men's basketball coach at Florida
- Dee Mackey – former NFL player for the San Francisco 49ers
- Kyle Mackey – Former NFL Quarterback for the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins
- Harvey Martin – former defensive end in the National Football League and Super Bowl XII MVP
- Danny Mason – current CFL Defensive End for the Ottawa RedBlacks
- Kevin Mathis – former starting cornerback for the Super Bowl Champion Dallas Cowboys
- Durwood Merrill – former MLB umpire
- Shelby Metcalf – former head coach of men's basketball at Texas A&M
- Mike Miller – former head coach of the Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team, current assistant coach for the Washington Wizards
- Larry Nemmers – former NFL official
- Rex Norris – former defensive coordinator at the University of Oklahoma
- John Pearce – former football coach at Stephen F. Austin State University
- Luis Perez – Quarterback for the Arlington Renegades of the XFL
- Dave Philley – former MLB player[10]
- Ron Poe – Former high school football coach, one of the winningest high school football coaches in Texas history and state champion in 1979
- Herb Raybourn – former MLB player, scout, and New York Yankees Director of Latin American Operations
- Bryn Roy - professional Canadian football player
- Davarus Shores – Bronze Metal winner at the 2017 World Games competing in American Football representing the United States
- Wes Smith – former NFL player for the Green Bay Packers
- Charles Tuaau – former professional football player
- Aundra Thompson – former NFL player for the Green Bay Packers
- Michael Trigg – former ArenaBowl-winning player and head coach
- Darrell Tully – former NFL player; Superintendent of schools at Spring Branch ISD in the Houston area
- Alan Veingrad – NFL football player
- Devondrick Walker – Professional European basketball player
- Sam Walton – NFL football player
- Curtis Wester – former Canadian Football League player
- Dwight White – Hall of Fame NFL player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Super Bowl Champion
- Darrell Williams – former professional basketball player[11]
- Antonio Wilson – former professional football player for the Minnesota Vikings and the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League
- Wade Wilson - former NFL quarterback
Military personnel
[edit]- Chris Adams – United States Air Force officer and author
Other
[edit]- Ali Abdullah Al-Daffa – Mathematician and scientist
- T. Don Hutto – co-founder of Corrections Corporation of America (CCA)
- Parimal V Tergundi - Professor at KLS Gogte Institute of Technology, Belagavi
- Ernest Wallace (1906–1985), historian of the South Plains, the Comanche Indians, and the State of Texas
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "Randy Alexander's Biography". votesmart.org. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ^ "Jerrod Knight". ketr.org. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ "Norm Hitzges & Donovan Lewis". KTCK-AM. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
- ^ "Staley McBrayer, 92; Inventor of Offset Press for Newspaper Printing". Associated Press. April 18, 2002. Retrieved October 19, 2017 – via Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Freda Ross". WBAP.
- ^ "The Cover Artist: Michael Schwab". The Bay Club. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
- ^ Lim, Jon. "Jordan Smith on How Becoming a Maestro at the Pivot Led to a Great Career as a Conductor". Moving Forward. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
- ^ "Rob Childress - Director of Player Development - Baseball Support Staff". University of Nebraska. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
- ^ admin. "Buck Fausett – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved 2023-05-23.
- ^ "Obituary | David Earl Philley". Fry-Gibbs Funeral Home. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ "The Long Rebound for Darrell Williams".