List of Lake Forest College people

Notable people

This list contains people associated with Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois, including current and former college presidents, as well as notable alumni and faculty members.

Alumni

Main category: Lake Forest College alumni

Academia

• Richard J. Ablin, class of 1961, professor of pathology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine
• Sig Gissler, class of 1956, professor of journalism at Columbia University
• Philip Klinkner, class of 1985, James S. Sherman professor of government at Hamilton College
• William Mather Lewis, class of 1900, former president of George Washington University and Lafayette College
• Ralph J. Mills Jr., class of 1954, professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago
• Edward Wingenbach, class of 1991, president of Hampshire College, former acting president and dean of faculty at Ripon College

Arts and entertainment

• Richard Armstrong, class of 1971, director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation
• Blair Butler, stand-up comedian and 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, musician and composer
• Scott Goldstein, Emmy Award-winning producer, writer, and director (L.A. Law, Doogie Howser, M.D., Today Show)
• 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

Engineering and science

• Richard J. Ablin, class of 1961, notable for his work on tests for prostate cancer screening
• Walter A. Hill, agricultural scientist, notable for his work on sweet potato crops
• 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
• Aaron Swartz, computer programmer, entrepreneur, writer, political organizer, and Internet hacktivist

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
• 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
• Frank Richman, class of 1904, Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, judge at the Nuremberg trials
• 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
• Lloyd John Ogilvie, class of 1952, Presbyterian minister, former United States Senate Chaplain

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
• Carolyn Crimi, class of 1982, children's book writer
• 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

Main category: Lake Forest College faculty

• Warder Clyde Allee
• Robert Archambeau
• Alan Axelrod
• James Mark Baldwin
• Joseph Carens
• Elizabeth Teter Lunn
• 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
• Holly Swyers, author of Wrigley Regulars: Finding Community in the Bleachers.
• Gerald Vizenor, Native American writer, activist, academic, and literary critic

Presidents

• Robert Wilson Patterson Sr., 1857–1878
• 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, 2001–2022
• Dr. Jill M. Baren, 2022–present

Fictional

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

References

• Owens, Eric. America's best value colleges (2006 ed.). Random House, New York. OCLC 59282820.