List of Catholic University of America people

The following is a list of notable alumni of the Catholic University of America, the national university of Roman Catholic Church in the United States, located in Washington, D.C..

There are several names that could appear on this list twice, but will only appear in the area for which they are best known. For example, several in the Arts category could appear in more than one subcategory. Others could appear in several categories but have been relegated to one.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Alumni

Religion

Cardinals

• Joseph Bernardin, Archbishop of Chicago
• Raymond Leo Burke, Patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and Emeritus Archbishop of Saint Louis
• Terence Cooke, M.A., 1949 and M.S.W., 1949, Servant of God, Archbishop of New York
• Daniel DiNardo, B.A., M.A., Archbishop of Galveston-Houston
• Timothy Dolan, Ph. D, 1985, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York
• Francis George, M.A., 1966, Archbishop of Chicago
• Patrick Joseph Hayes, S.T.L., 1894, Archbishop of New York
• James Hickey, S.T.L., 1946, Archbishop of Washington
• Lubomyr Husar, Ukrainian Greek Major Archbishop of Kiev and Halych
• John Krol, J.C.D., 1942, Archbishop of Philadelphia
• Roger Mahony, M.S.W., 1964, Archbishop of Los Angeles
• Theodore McCarrick, Ph.D., 1963, Archbishop of Washington
• Humberto Sousa Medeiros, M.A., 1942, S.T.L., 1946. Archbishop of Boston
• Sean O'Malley, O.F.M.Cap., Ph.D., 1978, Archbishop of Boston
• Justin Rigali, S.T.B. 1961, Archbishop of Philadelphia
• Jan Pieter Schotte, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops and President of the Labour Office of the Apostolic See
• Luis Antonio Tagle, S.T.L. 1987, S.T.D. 1991 Archbishop of Manila, Philippines
• Donald Wuerl, M.Div., 1963, Archbishop of Washington

Bishops

• Gerald Barbarito, J.C.L. 1983, Bishop of Palm Beach
• J. Kevin Boland, Bishop of Savannah
• Earl A. Boyea, Jr., Ph.D. 1987, Bishop of Lansing
• Michael J. Bransfield, M.Phil. 1973, Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston
• Robert J. Carlson, J.C.L. 1979, Archbishop of St. Louis, Missouri
• Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia
• David R. Choby, Bishop of Nashville
• John Bosco Manat Chuabsamai, M.A. 1977, Bishop of Ratchaburi, Thailand
• Robert J. Cunningham, J.C.L. 1978, Bishop of Ogdensburg, New York
• Blase J. Cupich, S.T.L. 1979, S.T.D. 1987, Archbishop of Chicago
• Bohdan Danylo, 1996, Bishop of Saint Josaphat in Parma
• Frank J. Dewane, M.A. 1975, Bishop of Venice in Florida
• Pierre DuMaine, D.Ed 1961, Bishop of San Jose
• Raphael M. Fliss, S.T.L., former Bishop of Superior
• Roger J. Foys, Bishop of Covington, Kentucky
• John Mark Gannon, S.T.B. 1900, S.T.L. 1901, Archbishop of Erie
• Francis Joseph Gossman, J.C.D. 1959, Bishop of Raleigh
• Francis J. Haas, Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids, 1943–1953
• Bernard J. Harrington, Ed.M. 1958, Bishop of Winona
• Charles M. Jarrell, B.A. 1962, M.A. 1963, Bishop of Lafayette, Louisiana
• James Vann Johnston, Jr., J.C.L. 1996, Bishop of Springfield – Cape Girardeau
• Donald Joseph Kettler, J.C.L. 1982, Bishop of Fairbanks
• John J. Leibrecht, Ph.D. 1961, Bishop Emeritus of Springfield – Cape Giradeau
• Oscar Hugh Lipscomb, Ph.D. 1963, Archbishop Emeritus of Mobile
• Martin N. Lohmuller, J.C.D. 1947, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia
• William E. Lori, S.T.D. 1982, Archbishop of Baltimore
• Paul Loverde, J.C.L. 1982, Bishop of Arlington
• Henry J. Mansell, Archbishop of Hartford
• John Joseph Mitty, S.T.B., 1907, Archbishop of San Francisco
• Robert F. Morneau, Auxiliary Bishop of Green Bay
• Robert W. Muench, Ed.M. 1968, Bishop of Baton Rouge
• Michael Joseph Murphy, S.T.L. 1942, Bishop of Erie
• James A. Murray, J.C.L. 1964, Bishop Emeritus of Kalamazoo
• George H. Niederauer, S.T.B. 1960, Archbishop of San Francisco
• David M. O'Connell, J.C.L. 1987, J.C.D. 1990, Bishop of Trenton
• Stuart France O'Connell SM, MA 1984, Fifth Catholic Bishop of Rarotonga, Cook Islands (1996–present)
• Wolodymyr Paska, J.C.D. 1975, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia (Ukrainian)
• Joseph Perry, J.C.L. 1981, Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago
• John C. Reiss, J.C.D. 1954, Bishop of Trenton
• John H. Ricard, Ph.D., Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee
• Thomas J. Rodi, J.C.L. 1986, Archbishop of Mobile
• Dennis Schnurr, J.C.D. 1980, Coadjutor Archbishop of Cincinnati
• John Mortimer Smith, S.T.B. 1961, J.C.D. 1966, Bishop of Trenton
• Stefan Soroka, B.S.T. 1982, D.S.W., 1985, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in the United States
• John J. Ward, J.C.L. 1952, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles
• Thomas Jerome Welsh, Bishop of the Diocese of Arlington and Diocese of Allentown
• Aloysius John Wycislo, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay
• Gabino Zavala, J.C.L., Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles

Beati and other Servants of God

• Rev. Theodore Foley, CP, Servant of God, Passionist priest and Superior General; STL, 1943 and STD, 1944
• Rev. Captain Emil J. Kapaun, Servant of God, priest, World War II and Korean War US Army chaplain, US Medal of Honor recipient; Master of Education, 1948
• Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, J.C.B., 1920, Auxiliary Bishop of New York and Bishop of Rochester, host of Life is Worth Living, faculty from 1926-50 in theology and philosophy

Public service and politics

Federal

• Charlene Barshefsky, J.D.1975, Ambassador, United States Trade Representative under Bill Clinton
• Robert Patrick Casey, Jr., J.D. 1988, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
• Jeffrey Chiesa, J.D., 1990, U.S. Senator from New Jersey
• Thomas E. Donilon, B.A., 1977, National Security Advisor
• Edward W. Gillespie, B.A. 1983, former Chairman of the Republican National Committee
• Camille Gravel, giant in Louisiana and national Democratic politics for more than six decades
• Patrick Guerriero, B.A. 1990, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans
• Luis Guinot, former United States Ambassador to Costa Rica
• Thomas R. Harkin, J.D. 1972, U.S. Senator from Iowa
• John P. Hart, president and CEO of the American Democracy Institute
• Kathy Hochul, J.D., 1984, U.S. Representative and lieutenant governor of New York
• Thomas P. Melady, Ph.D. 1955, former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, Burundi, and Uganda
• Jack Miller, United States Senator from Iowa
• Samuel Mok, M.A. 1982, former CFO for the U.S. Department of Labor
• Richard G. Renzi, J.D. 2002, U.S. Congressman from Arizona
• Kathleen Rice, B.A. 1987, U.S. Congressman from New York State
• Robert Francis Anthony Studds, B.S. 1917, United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps admiral and engineer, fourth Director of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey
• Gwendolyn Sykes, B.S. 1987, former NASA’s chief financial officer
• Robert Tiernan, J.D. 1956, U.S. Congressman from Rhode Island
• Genevievette Walker-Lightfoot, former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission attorney

State

• Forrest H. Anderson, J.D. 1938, former Governor of Montana
• Martin Connor, B.A., J.D., former New York State Senate Minority Leader
• Bob Duckworth, B.A., Clerk of the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, Maryland
• Ryan Fecteau, B.A., 2014, Maine House of Representatives
• Reed Gusciora, B.A., New Jersey General Assemblyman
• Mitchell J. Landrieu, B.A. 1982, Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana; candidate for the Mayor of New Orleans in 1993 and 2006
• Agnes Mary Mansour, president of Mercy College of Detroit 1971–1983, director of the Michigan Department of Community Health 1983–1987
• Terence R. McAuliffe, B.A. 1979, governor of Virginia and former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee
• Jim McGreevey, attended but did not graduate, former Governor of New Jersey
• Daniel O'Donnell, New York State Assembly Member
• Martin O'Malley, B.A. 1985, former mayor of Baltimore, Maryland and former Governor of Maryland
• Brian E. Rumpf, B.A., New Jersey General Assemblyman
• Holly Schepisi, B.A. New Jersey General Assemblywoman
• Henry P. Sullivan (1916-2003), B.A., Democratic state representative and senator in New Hampshire.

Local

• Joseph Alioto, 1940, mayor of San Francisco
• Daniel G. Birmingham, B.A 1990, J.D. 1995, County Legislator of Putnam County, New York
• Joseph H. Gainer 1902, 26th mayor of Providence, Rhode Island

Other (public service and politics)

• Thomasina Jordan, Ed. D, American Indian activist
• Hani Miletski, Israeli Senior Representative of the Defense Mission to the U.S. for Strategic Defense Initiative Programs
• Jerome G. Miller, D.S.W., 1965, advocate for alternatives to incarceration and the deinstitutionalization of persons with developmental disabilities
• Tom G. Palmer, M.A., Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute and director of the Institute's educational division
• Timothy Perry Shriver, M.A. 1989, CEO of the Special Olympics
• James Soong, M.S. 1971, Taiwanese politician and founder of the People First Party

Arts and letters

Film and television

• Susan Anspach, 1961, did not graduate, actress
• Norma Candal, actress and comedian
• Pat Carroll, B.A. 1989, Emmy Award-winning actress, voice of Ursula in Disney’s The Little Mermaid
• Marc Gervais, M.F.A. 1960, Jesuit, writer, film consultant, film professor at Concordia University 1967-2003
• Henry Gibson, cast member of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In
• Saeed Jaffrey, Indian actor and Fulbright scholar
• Laurence Luckinbill, M.F.A. 1958, Emmy Award-winning producer, writer, actor
• John Carroll Lynch, actor, played Drew Carey's brother on The Drew Carey Show
• Ed McMahon, B.A. 1949, announcer on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and host of Star Search
• David L. Paterson, B.A., 1989, producer and screenwriter of Disney’s Bridge to Terabithia
• Colleen Zenk Pinter, Emmy Award-winning actress, known for her role on As the World Turns
• Chris Sarandon, M.F.A., actor
• Susan Sarandon, B.A. 1968, Academy Award-winning actress
• John Slattery, B.F.A. 1984, actor
• Veronica Taylor, voice actress, Ash Ketchum seasons 1-8 on Pokemon
• Jon Voight, B.A. 1960, Academy Award-winning actor

Media

• Maureen B. Dowd, B.A. 1973, columnist for The New York Times
• Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin, M.F.A. 1967, CEO, Procter & Gamble Productions (producers of As the World Turns and Guiding Light)
• Julie Nixon Eisenhower, M.A. 1972, author
• Alfred Gough, B.A. 1989, Executive Producer of WB’s Smallville, co-wrote screenplay for Spider-Man 2
• John Harrington, photographer, author
• Michael J. Hurd, M.A. 1985, radio commentator
• Kathryn Jean Lopez, B.A. 1997, editor-at-large, National Review Online
• Scott P. Richert, M.A. 1992, Executive Editor, Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture
• Rosanna Scotto, B.F.A. 1980, co-anchor of FOX-5 News (New York)
• Brian Williams, attended briefly but did not graduate, anchor, NBC Nightly News
• Dennis Wholey, B.A. 1959, host of This is America with Dennis Wholey

Theatre

• John Aler, B.M. 1971, M.M. 1972, tenor, eight-time Grammy winner
• Harolyn M. Blackwell, B.M. 1977, M.M. 1980, soprano, Metropolitan Opera
• Walter Bobbie, dancer, choreographer, director and actor
• Philip Bosco, B.A. 1957, Tony Award-winning actor
• Fabiana Bravo, Argentine operatic soprano, Metropolitan Opera
• Mart Crowley, playwright
• Rose Hemingway, stage actress, How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying on Broadway
• George Herman, M.F.A 1954, playwright
• Jean Kerr, M.F.A., Pulitzer-winning playwright and author
• Jason Miller, playwright
• Donn B. Murphy, M.F.A. 1954, President of National Theatre Washington, DC; Distinguished Professor of Theatre Georgetown University
• Michael Murray, B.A. 1954, co-founder and Artistic Director of Charles Playhouse (Boston); Artistic Director of Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Chair of Department of Theatre Arts, Brandeis University
• Joe Plummer, B.A. 1954, actor and playwright
• Gerome Ragni, musical writer and actor
• Frances Sternhagen, Broadway, film and television actress
• Paula Vogel, B.A. 1974, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright

Other (arts)

• Mark Adamo, B.M., 1990, composer
• Yazmany Arboleda, School of Architecture and Planning, 2005, installation artist
• Joseph Fitzmartin, composer, conductor and arranger
• Elizabeth Hand, B.A., author
• John Harrington, B.A. 1990, photographer, author
• Hank Levy, M.M., composer, notable for composition used in the 2014 film Whiplash
• Nick Lowe, comic book editor
• Paul Neebe, Ph.D., classical trumpeter
• Father Norman O'Connor (1921–2003), priest, jazz music aficionado, writer, radio and TV show host
• Martin Puryear, B.A. 1963, sculptor
• Janet M. Stenftenagel, author
• John Vachon, photographer

Business

• Robert Craves, B.A. 1965, co-founder of Costco and College Success Foundation
• Nessa Feddis, J.D., lobbyist, vice president and senior counsel to the American Bankers Association
• Edward M. Liddy, B.A. 1968, CEO of American Insurance Group.
• Tarek Saab, B.E.E. 2001, contestant on the 5th season of NBC's The Apprentice
• Joseph A. Unanue, B.M.E. 1950, CEO of Goya Foods

Education

• Sanford Berman, M.S. 1961, radical librarian
• Mary Daly, M.A., radical feminist theologian and advocate of parthenogenesis
• Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A., M.A. 1983, President, Villanova University
• Brother Patrick Ellis, F.S.C., President, La Salle University
• Andrew Gonzalez, M.A., President of De La Salle University
• Mark A. Heckler, M.F.A 1979, President, Valparaiso University
• Theodore Hesburgh, CSC, S.T.D. 1945, President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame
• Joseph L. Levesque, S.T.D. 1977, President of Niagara University
• Kenneth Ozmon, M.A. 1963, President of Mount Allison University
• Judith C. Russell, M.L.S. Current Dean of the University of Florida Library System
• Charles C. Tansill (1890-1964), Professor of History.
• Gary Vena, M.A., Professor of English and Drama at Manhattan College
• W. Wesley McDonald, author of Russell Kirk and the Age of Ideology
• Spiro Zavos, M.A. 1967, Australasian historian, journalist and writer

Law

• Kathleen Abernathy, J.D. 1983, Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission
• Alice S. Fisher, J.D. Assistant Attorney General and head, United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
• Arthur J. Gajarsa, M.A. 1964, Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, B.A. 1965, J.D. 1968, Judge, United States District Court for the District of Columbia and presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
• John T. Noonan, Jr., M.A. 1948, Ph.D. 1951, Senior Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Peggy Quince, J.D. 1975, Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court and first African-American woman to sit on that bench

Science and engineering

• Hugh Everett, 1953, physicist who first proposed the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics
• Michael D. Griffin, NASA Administrator
• Charles Kaman, B.A. 1940, aviation pioneer and founder of Kaman Aircraft
• Daniel R. Mulville, Ph.D. Structural Engineering 1974, NASA’s Chief Engineer and Acting Administrator of NASA in 2001
• Rev. Julius Nieuwland, C.S.C., Ph.D. 1904, discoverer of synthetic rubber
• Marguerite Thomas Williams, Ph.D. 1942, first African American to earn a Ph.D. in geology
• Joseph Weber, Ph.D. 1951, developed the first gravitational wave detectors and first suggested the use of laser interferometry in the field
• Norman L. Crabill, BAE, 1949, developed patents for rocket vehicle control system and automated weather systems for pilots.

Athletics

• Bill Adamaitis, player for the Washington Redskins
• Michael Bidwill, President of the Arizona Cardinals
• Brian Cashman, B.A. 1989, Senior Vice-President and General Manager, New York Yankees
• Tim Connelly, B.A. 1999, General Manager of the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association
• Frank Coonelly, J.D., President of the Pittsburgh Pirates*Marty Hurney, General Manager of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League
• Bill Lajousky, NFL player
• Mike Lonergan, B.A. 1988, Head Men's Basketball Coach, George Washington University
• Jimmy Patsos, B.A. 1989, men's basketball head coach, Siena College
• Wally Pipp, A.B. 1914, first baseman, New York Yankees

Other

• Carl Amery, German writer
• Thomas Berry, Ph. D., cultural historian and ecotheologian
• Thea Bowman, Roman Catholic nun, teacher and scholar
• Francis P. Duffy, Ph. D., military chaplain, war hero, and namesake of Time Square's Duffy Square
• Patrick Fahey, OSA, Prior Provincial of the Australian Province of the Order of St Augustine
• Charles Kekumano, Ph.D.
• Robert McCulloch, missionary in Pakistan for 33 years
• John T. Tozzi, Ph. D., U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral

Faculty

• Clyde Cowan, co-discoverer of the neutrino
• Cardinal Avery Dulles, taught theology 1974-1988
• Msgr. Joseph Clifford Fenton, peritus to Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani at the Second Vatican Council
• Father Gilbert Hartke, O.P.
• Theo Holm, botanist
• Oleg Kalugin, former KGB spy
• Walter Kerr, dramatist and theater critic
• Frederick Joseph Kinsman, ecclesiastical historian
• Douglas Kmiec, Legal Counsel to President Ronald Reagan; United States Ambassador to Malta; faith advisor to President Barack Obama; served as Dean and St. Thomas More Professor, Columbus School of Law
• Theodore Litovitz, physicist and inventor
• Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, JCB, 1920, Auxiliary Bishop of New York and Bishop of Rochester, host of Life is Worth Living, faculty from 1926-50 in theology and philosophy
• George P. Smith II, bioethics scholar, prolific writer
• Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila
• Andreas Widmer, former Swiss Guard and CEO