One great thing about coming to Northwestern is the brag factor. Yeah, you go to a great school right next to the fantastic city of Chicago filled with extremely good-looking people. So what? The one thing you’re allowed to brag about is NU’s impressive list of alumni. Quite a few famous people have walked under the Arch on the way to class.
ActorsLet’s get the obvious out of the way first -NU has a lot of famous actors on its alumni roster. Stephen Colbert, Communication ’87, makes us roll around laughing on weekdays after “The Daily Show,” and was the grand marshal for NU’s Homecoming parade last year. Zach Braff, of “Scrubs” and “Garden State” fame, graduated Communication ’97, and spoke to a packed house at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall this past April. In 2006 alone, two NU alums won acting Emmys – one was Megan Mullally, Communication ’81, for her work on “Will and Grace,” and the other was 2007 Commencement speaker Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who dropped out of the School of Communications, for “The New Adventures of Old Christine.”Other NU alums have taken home another coveted statue – the Oscar. Warren Beatty, Charlton Heston, Phylis Isley, Cloris Leachman, and Patricia Neal are all Wildcat Oscar winners.
Lawyers and PoliticiansTrolling imdb.com for NU alums can make your head get big. But NU doesn’t just graduate famous actors. Those with a political bent will be proud to know Supreme Court justice John Paul Stevens got his law degree from Northwestern in 1947. Current Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich graduated WCAS ’79. In the most recent gubernatorial election, Blagojevich ran against Republican Judy Baar Topinka, Medill ’66. A Wildcat would have won no matter what. In other political realms, Northwestern seems to have a tradition of graduating presidential hopefuls who just don’t make it.History buffs should know Adlai Stevenson, two-time election loser to Dwight D. Eisenhower and eventual United Nations ambassador, graduated from Northwestern’s law school back in 1926. William Jennings Bryan got his law degree from NU in 1883, and then lost the presidential race three times. Dick Gephardt (Communication ’66), former House Democratic leader, unsuccessfully ran for president in 1998 and 2004. George McGovern, who got his Ph.D here in 1953, lost to Richard Nixon in 1972. If only America had chosen a Wildcat.
MiscellaneousSome other distinguished NU alums? Charles H. Mayo, founder of the prestigious medical center The Mayo Clinic, graduated from Northwestern’s medical school in 1888. Indie music favorite Andrew Bird graduated from the School of Music in 1995, and wowed crowds at Pick-Staiger last year. Addicted to Xbox? You’ll be proud to know Joseph Staten, creator of video game Halo, graduated Communication ’94. Trash TV king Jerry Springer graduated from NU’s Law School in 1968. Before that job, however, Springer was mayor of Cincinatti. Love sports? Current NFL players Napoleon Harris (Communication ’02), D’Wayne Bates (SESP ’98) and Austin King (SESP ’03) went to Northwestern. Some Wildcats became ESPN anchors, like Michael Greenberg (Medill ’89), Dave Revsine (WCAS ’91) and Michael Wilbon (Medill ’80).
They Almost made itOthers affiliated with NU can hardly be considered alumni, but still went on to success. Supermodel Cindy Crawford dropped out after being discovered. Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner took a semester of graduate courses in 1949, where he wrote a term paper on – what else? – human sexuality. No, Oprah Winfrey did not go to school here, despite what my mother insists. However, she has taught at Kellogg. But even though the billionaire isn’t quite a Wildcat, these alums, along with a host of other famous Wildcats, really let you brag about Northwestern to your friends. And keep in mind, a few years after you graduate, you and your classmates could be the next set of NU grads to get famous.
