National_Known_Comm

Some of the Responses to a Survey
Well-Known Former Communication Students
by National Communication Assoc. Colleagues

John Quincy Adams taught rhetoric at Harvard

Michael Adams - President of University of Georgia; Ph.D in rhetoric from Ohio State

Evan Bayh - Indiana Senator; studied debate and other communication-related courses at Indiana University

Brandi Chastain - soccer player; Santa Clara University

Connie Chung - television news reporter/anchor

Bob Costas - television news host

William Lane Craig - philosopher / theologian; Wheaton College

Walter Cronkite - University of Texas

Dawn Fratangelo - television news reporter; Mass Media major from Plattsburgh State University of NY

James Gandolfini - actor; Rutgers university

Dick Gephardt - politician; debater; degree from Northwestern University (speech)

Christine Gregoire - Attorney General for the state of Washington; BA in speech from UW

Peter Hart - reporter (FAIR); Rutgers University

Jonathan Hillerman - actor

William Inge - playwright; University of Kansas

Hugh Jackman - actor

Earvin "Magic" Johnson - basketball player; Michigan State

Lyndon Johnson taught Public Speaking at Southwest Texas State University

Lady Bird Johnson - University of Texas

Ted Koppel - Nightline host; BA in speech from Syracuse University; MA in Mass Communication

Dennis Kuicinich - presidential candidate (congressman from Ohio)

Brian Lamb - CEO of C-SPAN

Gary Larson - The Far Side cartoonist; BA from University of Washington

Matt Lauer - Today Show host; BA from Ohio University

Spike Lee - actor/director; Indiana University

David Letterman - Late Night host; Ball State University

Barry Levinson - director

Matthew McConaughy - actor; University of Texas at Austin (or RTF)

Mark McGrath - lead singer for Sugar Ray; BA from University of Southern California

Donovan McNabb - quarterback for Philadelphia Eagles; comm. degree from Syracuse University

Joyce Mallick - opera star; University of Kansas

Nicholas Meyer - screenwriter / author / director; Ph.D. from University of Iowa

Newton Minow - former FCC Chair; Northwestern University

Edmund Muskie - debater at Bates College

Jane Pauley - television news anchor; Indiana University

Dan Rather - CBS Evening News anchor; journalism degree from University of Texas at Austin

Andrea Rich - Director of LACMA; former professor at UCLA

Meg Ryan - actress; studied journalism at NYU

David St. Peter - U. of North Dakota grad; President of Minnesota Twins

Sandur Vanocur - television news reporter; Northwestern University

Kurt Warner - St. Louis Rams quarterback; University of Northern Iowa

Denzel Washington - actor

Tennessee Williams - playwright; University of Iowa

"Weird Al" Yankovic was involved in the forensics team at Cal Poly

Renee Zellweger - actress

Hoda Kotb, Dateline NBC correspondent,Virginia Tech Communication grad, http://www.msnbc.com/onair/bios/h_kotbe.asp

Pierre Thomas ABCNEWS Justice Department Correspondent, Virginia Tech Communication grad
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/WorldNewsTonight/thomas_pierre_bio.html

Chris Hansen, now a lead reporter for Dateline NBC, was a Communication major at Michigan State University. His bio, http://www.msnbc.com/onair/bios/c_hansen.asp

Harry Smith, co-anchor of CBS This Morning and host of "Biography" on the History Channel Communication and Theatre major from Central College, Pella, Iowa

The late comedian Chris Farley, theater, Marquette University

David Franz (NYPD Blue), theater, Southern Illinois University

Aristotle tested out of several core courses for the major, plus submitted an impressive portfolio; and therefore, with very little further complication, was awarded a B.A. in communication and rhetoric from University of Phoenix. Strengthening his case was the fact that, as a high school senior, he had taken A.P. public speaking at the local community college. He also completed a summer internship as an administrative assistant in Plato's cave; but because university policy placed strict limits on study-abroad credit, this particular accomplishment never showed up on his transcript

Dennis Kucinich became mayor of Cleveland

James Earl Jones was a communication student at the University of Michigan in the early 1970s there. One of the profs was legendary for having told him, in a theatre class, not to quit his day job.

At the University of Miami Sylvester Stallone was enrolled in Communication. One of our the faculty members had given Stallone, it was said, the same 'day job' advice given to Jones at Michigan.

Dwayne Johnson was a comm student at U. Miami. He graduated around 1997.He is currently known as "The Rock," and is one of the nicest people you could meet.

Mary Beth Hurt, Linda Carlson (seen in some TV sitcoms), and Bruce French (often seen in character parts on both TV and in movies) were students at the Univ . of Iowa, majoring in speech and theatre. Also Greg Morris (in the original Mission Impossible series and later on another TV cop show set in Las Vegas) was a UI speech and theatre student.

Singer and actor Chris Isaak has a degree in Communication from the University of the Pacific.
Homeboy Chris was also California National Forensics League champion in Humorous Interp in 1973.
He did a cutting from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" as Nixon, Kissinger, and the other Watergate
players.

Brian Lamb, CEO of C-SPAN, was a Communication major at Purdue

Jay Leno is a graduate in some kind of communication field from Emerson College in Boston.

William Safire is a communication graduate of Syracuse University.

The Attorney General of the State of Washington, Christine Gregoire, earned her bachelor's degree in Speech Communication from the University of Washington in the 60s, candidate for Governor of the state.

Paula Abdul (the choreographer, vocalist, judge on American Idol, etc)-CSU-Northridge.

Gene Wilder: comedic actor. BA 1955, Communication Arts and Theatre. University of Iowa.

Richard Maibaum: screenwriter & producer who wrote 13 James Bond scripts/films. BA 1931, MA 1937, Communication Arts & Theatre, University of Iowa.

BJ Armstrong: basketball player, Chicago Bulls, won three championships. BA 1989, Communication Studies, University of Iowa.

Robert Olen Butler, Jr.: 1993 Pultizer Prize for Fiction. MA 1969, Communication Arts & Theatre, University of Iowa.

Kenny Mayne, ESPN Sports Anchor, BA, Communication Studies, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Barry Kemp: Executuve Producer for several TV shows including "Coach" and "Newhart." BA, 1971, Communication Arts and Theatre, University of Iowa.