Notable Alumni of Case Western Reserve University

Alfredo Palacio 1939–2025

Former president of Ecuador and cardiologist

Dennis Kucinich 1946–

Former U.S. representative from Ohio

Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts · Class of 1973

Also attended: Cleveland State University

Child: Jackie Kucinich (American University)

Victor Ciorbea 1954–

Former Prime Minister of Romania and Bucharest mayor

Mark Hanna 1837–1904

Ohio senator and manager of McKinley's presidential campaigns

Sibling: Howard Melville Hanna (Union College)

François-Philippe Champagne 1970–

Canadian Minister of Finance and lawyer

Lincoln Díaz-Balart 1954–2025

Cuban-American lawyer and U.S. representative

Juris Doctor · Class of 1979

Also attended: New College of Florida

Sibling: Mario Díaz-Balart (University of South Florida-Main Campus)

Sibling: José Díaz-Balart (New College of Florida)

Andrew R. Wheeler 1964–

15th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

Also attended: Washington University in St Louis, George Mason University

Mike Turner 1960–

US Representative from Ohio

Juris Doctor · Class of 1985

Also attended: University of Dayton, Ohio Northern University

Stephanie Tubbs Jones 1949–2008

US Representative from Ohio

Juris Doctor, Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1974

James Thomas Lynn 1927–2010

Former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Also attended: Harvard University

Louis Stokes 1925–2015

First African American congressman from Ohio

Attended until 1948

Also attended: Cleveland State University

Wayne Wheeler 1869–1927

Attorney and leader of the Anti-Saloon League

Also attended: Oberlin College

William Burnham Woods 1824–1887

Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

Also attended: Yale University

Sibling: Charles R. Woods (The United States Military Academy at West Point)

Kelly Morrison 1969–

US Representative for Minnesota and physician

Doctor of Medicine · Class of 1997

Also attended: Yale University, Boston University

Stephen M. Young 1889–1984

US senator from Ohio from 1959 to 1971

Attended until 1911

Also attended: Kenyon College

Thomas J. Herbert 1894–1974

56th Governor of Ohio

Xiong Xianghui 1919–2005

Communist Party spy and later senior diplomatic official

Wu Cherng-dean 1957–

Chairman of Taiwan's New Party

Schive Chi 1947–

Taiwanese economist and politician

Hui Yin-fat 1936–2016

Hong Kong social worker and Executive Council member

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. 1912–2002

US Air Force general, Tuskegee Airmen commander

Attended until 1930

Also attended: University of Chicago, The United States Military Academy at West Point

Father: Benjamin Oliver Davis Sr. (Howard University)

Florence Ellinwood Allen 1884–1966

US federal judge on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

Also attended: University of Chicago, New York University

Father: Clarence Emir Allen (Case Western Reserve University)

Fred Gray 1930–

Civil rights attorney and Alabama legislator

Also attended: Alabama State University, The University of Alabama, Lipscomb University

Mohammed Ibn Chambas 1950–

Ghanaian diplomat and former UN special representative for West Africa

Bachelor's degree · Law

Also attended: Cornell University

David Satcher 1941–

16th Surgeon General of the United States

Also attended: Morehouse College

Josh Mandel 1977–

Former Ohio state treasurer

Also attended: Ohio State University-Main Campus

Paul Buchheit 1977–

Creator of Gmail and entrepreneur

Craig Newmark 1952–

Founder of Craigslist and philanthropist

Master of Science

Charles Francis Brush 1849–1929

Engineer, inventor and entrepreneur

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Herbert Henry Dow 1866–1930

Founder of Dow Chemical

Child: Alden B. Dow (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Columbia University in the City of New York)

Warren Anderson 1921–2014

Union Carbide chairman during the Bhopal disaster

Law · Attended until 1956

Also attended: Colgate University

Muriel Siebert 1928–2013

First woman to own a New York Stock Exchange seat

Jennie S. Hwang 1949–

Engineer and entrepreneur, head of H-Technologies Group

Mark Weinberger 1961–

Former global chairman and CEO of EY

Also attended: Georgetown University, Emory University

Barry Meyer 1946–

Former chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment

Also attended: University of Rochester

James Sokolove 1944–

Personal injury attorney and Sokolove Law founder

Also attended: Harvard University

Donald Knuth 1938–

Computer scientist, Stanford professor emeritus

Bachelor of Science, Master of Science · Mathematics · Class of 1960

Also attended: California Institute of Technology

Donald Arthur Glaser 1926–2013

Physicist, 1960 Nobel laureate for inventing the bubble chamber

Also attended: California Institute of Technology

Polykarp Kusch 1911–1993

Physicist, shared the 1955 Nobel Prize in Physics

Also attended: University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Paul Berg 1926–2023

Stanford biochemist, 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner

Doctor of Philosophy · Biochemistry · Class of 1952

Also attended: The Pennsylvania State University, The Pennsylvania State University

Richard Thaler 1945–

University of Chicago economist

Bachelor of Arts

Also attended: University of Rochester

Paul Lauterbur 1929–2007

Chemist, 2003 Nobel laureate for MRI work

Also attended: University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus

Alfred G. Gilman 1941–2015

Pharmacologist, 1994 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Also attended: Yale University, University of Virginia-Main Campus

Father: Alfred Gilman, Sr. (Yale University, Columbia University in the City of New York)

Ferid Murad 1936–2023

Pharmacologist, 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1965

Also attended: DePauw University, University of Virginia-Main Campus

Edward C. Prescott 1940–2022

Economist; 2004 Nobel economics laureate

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Carnegie Mellon University

Edward W. Morley 1838–1923

Scientist of the Michelson–Morley experiment

Also attended: Williams College

Emily Blackwell 1826–1910

Physician and women's rights activist

Doctor of Medicine · Class of 1854

Sibling: Elizabeth Blackwell (Upstate Medical University)

Caldwell Esselstyn 1933–

Physician, author and Olympic rowing champion

Also attended: Yale University

Child: Rip Esselstyn (The University of Texas at Austin)

Richard Garwin 1928–2025

Physicist and author of first hydrogen bomb design

Bachelor of Science

Also attended: University of Chicago

Donald A. Thomas 1955–

Former NASA astronaut and engineer

Also attended: Cornell University

William Glasser 1925–2013

Psychiatrist, developer of reality therapy

Also attended: University of California-Los Angeles

Suzana Herculano-Houzel 1972–

Brazilian neuroscientist

Master of Science · Class of 1995

Jason Brennan 1979–

Philosopher, Georgetown business professor

Bachelor of Arts · Economics

Also attended: University of Arizona, University of New Hampshire-Main Campus

Siegfried Hecker 1943–

Nuclear scientist and former Los Alamos director

Robert Kearns 1927–2005

Inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper

Also attended: University of Detroit Mercy, Wayne State University

Tshilidzi Marwala 1971–

Rector of the United Nations University

Also attended: Harvard University, Columbia University in the City of New York

Julie Gerberding 1955–

First woman director of the US CDC

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, University of California-San Francisco

David Cooperrider 1954–

Professor of social entrepreneurship at Case Western Reserve

Roger Zelazny 1937–1995

Science fiction and fantasy writer

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Margaret Bourke-White 1904–1971

Documentary photographer and photojournalist

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Columbia University in the City of New York, Cornell University

Spouse: Erskine Caldwell (Erskine College)

Harvey Pekar 1939–2010

Underground comic writer of American Splendor

M. Scott Peck 1936–2005

Psychiatrist and author of The Road Less Traveled

Also attended: Harvard University, Columbia University in the City of New York

Rich Sommer 1978–

Actor known for Mad Men

Also attended: Concordia College at Moorhead

Alan Rosenberg 1950–

Actor known for L.A. Law and Cybill

Also attended: Yale University

Spouse: Marg Helgenberger (Northwestern University, University of Nebraska at Kearney)

Janis Carter 1913–1994

Actress, singer and television personality

Andrew Vachss 1942–2021

Crime fiction author and children's rights attorney

Also attended: Boston University, New England Law-Boston

Franklin Cover 1928–2006

Actor known for The Jeffersons

Also attended: Denison University

Judith Reisman 1935–2021

Conservative author and critic of Alfred Kinsey

Also attended: New York University

John Howard 1913–1995

Actor in Lost Horizon and The Philadelphia Story

Rina Banerjee 1963–

Indian-American artist and sculptor

Also attended: Yale University

Bruce Graham 1925–2010

Architect at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill

Also attended: University of Dayton, University of Pennsylvania

Jim Brickman 1961–

Pop pianist and songwriter

Also attended: Cleveland Institute of Music

Lynn Hershman Leeson 1941–

Multimedia artist and filmmaker

Also attended: San Francisco State University

Alix Kates Shulman 1932–

Writer and early second-wave feminist activist

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York, New York University

Mitzi Hoag 1932–2019

American television and film actress

Jon-Erik Hexum 1957–1984

Actor and model, star of Voyagers!

Also attended: Michigan State University

Susie Gharib 1950–

Business news journalist and Fortune correspondent

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Joe Russo 1971–

Film director, co-directed Avengers: Endgame

Also attended: University of Iowa

Manute Bol 1962–2010

NBA player, one of the tallest ever

Also attended: University of Bridgeport

Child: Bol Bol (University of Oregon)

Don Shula 1930–2020

NFL head coach, winningest in league history

Master's degree · Physical education

Also attended: John Carroll University

Child: Dave Shula (Dartmouth College)

Rowland Wolfe 1914–2010

Gymnast, 1932 Olympic tumbling gold medalist