Today IU boasts more than 600,000 living alumni. Some names are more familiar than others. Here are a few, past and present, you might recognize.
EVAN BAYH
Evan is the son of former United States Senator Birch Bayh, and he followed in his father’s political footsteps.
After serving as governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997, the 1978 Kelley School of Business graduate was a U.S. Senator from 1999 to 2011.
BOOKER T. JONES
The leader of Stax’s house band Booker T. & the MGs spent much of his IU career driving between Bloomington and Memphis, Tenn., to play with his band on the weekends.
The award-winning composer of “Green Onions” was IU’s 2012 spring commencement speaker, where he also received an honorary doctorate degree from the Jacobs School of Music.
HOAGY CARMICHAEL
This famous jazz pianist and composer attended IU’s Maurer School of Law and earned his degree in 1926. Carmichael worked with the likes of Louis Armstrong. His most notable works are “Stardust” and “Georgia On My Mind.” A statue of the musician can be found near the entrance to the IU Cinema.
RYAN MURPHY
Murphy has been at the helm of hit TV shows such as “Nip/Tuck,” “Glee” and “American Horror Story.” While at IU, he wrote for the Indiana Daily Student and was a member of the Singing Hoosiers.
JOSHUA BELL
A Bloomington native, Bell is a Grammy award-winning violinist. In 2007, the Jacobs School of Music alumnus joined the faculty as a senior lecturer.
MARK SPITZ
This Olympic gold medalist swimmer, who won seven medals in 1972, has only been surpassed by Michael Phelps, who won eight in 2008. While at IU, Spitz trained with legendary coach James “Doc” Counsilman and won eight individual NCAA titles.
MICHAEL USLAN
Uslan is a producer of the Batman movies. An avid comic book collector, he donated his entire collection of more than 30,000 comics to the Lilly Library in 2005.
SUZANNE COLLINS
After graduating from IU with a double major in drama and telecommunications, Collins worked on several Nickelodeon shows, including “Clarissa Explains It All.” Recently, she’s seen major success as the author of “The Hunger Games” series.
