List of Lake Forest College people

Notable people

Alumni

Arts and entertainment

• Richard Armstrong, class of 1971, director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation
• Blair Butler, stand-up comedian, television host
• Allan Carr, class of 1958, producer of the film Grease and Broadway's La Cage aux Folles, Tony Award winner
• Kahil El'Zabar, class of 1977, internationally renowned musician and composer
• Scott Goldstein, Emmy Award-winning producer, writer, and director
• Steve Goodman, class of 1970, Grammy Award-winning folk singer, writer of "Go, Cubs, Go"
• Kelly Leonard, class of 1988, producer at Second City
• Colin McComb, class of 1991, writer and game designer
• Natalia Nogulich, class of 1971, actress, writer, professor, and director
• Ian Punnett, class of 1982, broadcaster, author, and Episcopal deacon
• Penelope Rosemont, surrealist movement visual artist, writer, and publisher
• Richard Widmark, class of 1936, popular post-WWII era actor, "the face of film noir"

  Athletics

• Herb Alward, football player and football coach
• John Biolo, class of 1938, NFL player and football coach
• Mush Crawford, professional football, basketball, and baseball player, football coach
• Ernie Krueger, class of 1915, professional baseball player
• E. J. Mather, class of 1910, football and basketball player, football coach
• Diana Nyad, class of 1973, world-record distance swimmer, national squash player, author, journalist, and motivational speaker
• John H. Rice, class of 1895, football and baseball player, football coach, and athletic director
• Andy Russo, class of 1970, basketball player and coach
• Casey Urlacher, class of 2003, professional football player and mayor of Mettawa, Illinois
• Robbie Ventura, class of 1992, professional racing cyclist, hockey player
• Joe Zemaitis, class of 2002, professional triathlete

  Business

• Dave Beran, class of 2003, James Beard award-winning chef, owner of Dialogue in Santa Monica, California
• Nate Berkus, class of 1994, award-winning interior designer and decorator, New York Times bestselling author, movie producer, and host of The Nate Berkus Show
• Chester R. Davis, businessman, assistant secretary to the U.S. Army, Vice-President of the Association of the U.S. Army
• James C. Foster, class of 1972, chairman, CEO, and President of Charles River Laboratories, Inc., 2003 Forbes Entrepreneur of the Year
• Grace Groner, class of 1931, philanthropist and secretary at Abbott Laboratories
• Rob Mermin, class of 1971, author, founder of award-winning international touring company Circus Smirkus
• Nicholas J. Pritzker, Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Hyatt Development Corporation, co-founder and co-chair of Clean Energy Trust

  Education

• Edward Wingenbach, class of 1991, President of Hampshire College, former Acting President and Dean of Faculty at Ripon College

  Engineering and science

• Richard J. Ablin, class of 1961, notable for his work on tests for prostate cancer screening
• William Mather Lewis, class of 1900, American teacher, university president, local politician, and state and national government official
• William Duncan MacMillan, attended Lake Forest College in 1889, made notable contributions in astronomy and mathematics

  Government and politics

• Marsha E. Barnes, class of 1969, U.S. Ambassador to Suriname and U.S. State Department official
• Victor deGrazia, political strategist, former campaign manager and deputy to Illinois governor Dan Walker, successful jury consultant
• Homer Galpin, Illinois State Senator and lawyer
• Susan Garrett, class of 1994, former Illinois State Senator for the 29th District and 59th district in the House of Representatives
• George E.Q. Johnson, class of 1900, United States Attorney who successfully prosecuted Al Capone for tax evasion, Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• Otto Kerner Sr., class of 1905, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Attorney General of Illinois
• Philip Klinkner, class of 1985, American political scientist, blogger, author, and professor
• Rick Kolowski, class of 1966, Nebraska State Senator and educator
• Peg Lautenschlager, class of 1977, attorney, former Attorney General of Wisconsin, first woman elected to be Attorney General in Wisconsin
• Lloyd John Ogilvie, class of 1952, Presbyterian minister, former United States Senate Chaplain
• Adolph J. Sabath, class of 1891, attorney, member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Edward J. Smejkal, class of 1895, Illinois State Representative and lawyer
• Trent Van Haaften, class of 1987, Indiana State Representative, 2010 Democratic nominee for Congress in Indiana's 8th district

  Religion

• John Wilbur Chapman, class of 1879, Presbyterian evangelist

  Writers, journalists and publishers

• Herbert Block, political cartoonist and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner
• Jacqueline Carey, class of 1986, New York Times bestselling fantasy fiction author
• Andrea Day, class of 1987, reporter at WNYW-FOX 5 New York City until 2011, winner of three Emmy Awards
• John Thomson Faris, author, editor, and clergyman
• Sig Gissler, class of 1956, professor, administrator of the Pulitzer Prize from 2002-2014, former editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
• Ed Janus, class of 1968, independent audio producer, interviewer, and journalist
• Ralph J. Mills, class of 1954, acclaimed American poet, scholar, and professor
• Bob Verdi, class of 1967, Chicago Blackhawks historian, Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award winner

  Coaches

• John W. Breen
• Ira T. Carrithers
• Sylvester Derby
• Ralph Glaze
• Clarence Herschberger
• Ed Hughes
• Ralph Jones
• Wally Lemm
• Ralph Thacker

  Faculty

• Warder Clyde Allee
• Robert Archambeau
• Alan Axelrod
• James Mark Baldwin
• Joseph Carens
• Rebecca Makkai, writer and author of The Great Believers, which was shortlisted for the National Book Award
• Elizabeth Marquardt
• Janet McCracken
• Charles A. Miller
• Ronald Miller
• Ahmad Sadri
• Fernando Sanford
• Davis Schneiderman
• Lawrence M. Schoen
• Stephen D. Schutt
• Robert Pelton Sibley
• David Spadafora
• Gerald Vizenor, Native American writer, activist, academic, and literary critic

  Presidents

• Daniel Gregory, 1878-1886
• William C. Roberts, 1886-1892
• John M. Coulter, 1893-1896
• James Gore King McClure, 1897-1901
• Richard D. Harlan, 1901-1906
• John S. Nollen, 1907-1917
• Herbert M. Moore, 1920-1942
• Ernest A. Johnson, 1942-1959
• William Graham Cole, 1960-1970
• Eugene Hotchkiss III, 1970-1993
• David Spadafora, 1993-2001
• Stephen D. Schutt, 2001-present

  Fictional

• Bree Van de Kamp and her husband Rex in Desperate Housewives both attended Lake Forest College