Noteworthy alumni

Meg and Mia
Meg Cabot (1991) Born and raised in Bloomington, Cabot is an internationally successful young adult author and is best known for her romantic comedy series “The Princess Diaries.” The books were adapted into two feature films by Walt Disney Pictures in 2001 and 2004. Cabot graduated from IU in 1991 with a degree in studio arts. She has published more than 50 books and sold more than 15 million copies worldwide.

IU’s place in politics
Robert M. Gates (1966) It’s no secret that the current Secretary of Defense pursued a master’s degree in history at IU. Gates’s distinguished 26-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Council gained the attention of the last three presidents, culminating in his appointment as defense secretary in 2006. He also served as the president of Texas A&M University from 2002 until 2006. Gates returned to IU on Dec. 19, 2009, to speak at winter commencement.
Birch Bayh (1960) The three-term U.S. senator graduated from the IU School of Law in 1960. Bayh also made a short run for the White House in 1976. Bayh lost the 1980 senatorial race to Dan Quayle.
Evan Bayh (1978) The former Indiana governor and current U.S. senator graduated from IU in 1978 with a degree in business economics. The son of Birch Bayh, Evan Bayh announced his retirement from the Senate in February.

The invention of voicemail
Scott A. Jones (1984) What can you do with a degree in computer science from IU? Invent modern voicemail. Jones did in 1986 with his start-up company Boston Technology. And, as if that weren’t enough, in 2005 Jones became the mastermind behind the ChaCha search engine. His Indiana-based company Gracenote also became one of the first to develop the music recognition software that is now at the heart of several Internet music products, including Apple’s iPod and iTunes.

‘The Today Show’
Jane Pauley (1972) Born in Indianapolis, Pauley is best known for her 13-year stint as an anchor on NBC’s “Today Show” with co-hosts Tom Brokaw and Bryant Gumbel. In 2005, Pauley released an autobiography titled “Skywriting: A Life Out of the Blue,” which described her personal experiences with bipolar disorder. Pauley, who studied political science at IU, is among the 2009 inductees into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame.

Batman Begins
Michael Uslan (1973, 1975, 1976) Enthusiast for everything Batman, Uslan was the executive producer of the 1989 film “Batman” and all of its sequels. Most recently, the 2008 “The Dark Knight” has become one of the highest-grossing films of all time. Uslan graduated from IU’s School of Law in 1976 and also taught the nation’s first accredited comic book course at IU in 1971. His 30,000-count comic collection is in IU’s Lilly Library.

‘Star Trek’
Jeri Taylor (1959) Producer of “Star Trek,” Taylor graduated from IU with a bachelor of arts in English. She became the supervising producer of the TV series “Star Trek: The Next Generation” in 1990 and eventually became the executive producer. She was also the co-creator and executive producer of “Star Trek: Voyager.”

Covered in ‘Stardust’
Hoagy Carmichael (1925, 1926) After graduating from IU with a law degree, Carmichael went on to write “Stardust,” regarded by some as the greatest tune in American songwriting history. His other popular songs include “Georgia on My Mind,” “Heart and Soul,” “Rockin’ Chair,” and “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening,” for which he shared a 1951 Academy Award.

Documenting history
Will Counts (1954) Counts, who received a master’s degree in education from IU, was a photographer for the Arkansas Democrat when he photographed the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School and took what would eventually become one of the 100 best photos of the 20th century.

The business of burgers
E.W. “Ed” Kelley (1939) Kelley, for whom the IU business school is named, received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from IU. Among his other accomplishments, Kelley is credited with being the “modern-day” founder of Steak ’n Shake.

Oscars at IU
Kevin Kline (1970) The actor earned a bachelor of arts degree from IU in 1970. He received an Academy Award for his role in “A Fish Called Wanda.”
Howard Ashman (1974) The lyricist earned a master of fine arts degree from IU and went on to win two Best Song Oscars for his work on the Disney movies “The Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast.”

Puzzled
Will Shortz (1974) Shortz, the current crossword editor for the New York Times, designed his own major at IU and graduated in 1974 with a one-of-a-kind degree in enigmatology.