List of University of South Carolina people

This list of University of South Carolina people includes alumni that are graduates or non-matriculating students, and former professors and administrators of the University of South Carolina, with its primary campus located in the American city of Columbia, South Carolina.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Alumni

Arts, entertainment, and media

Toro y Moi

Leeza Gibbons

Darius Rucker of the Hootie and the Blowfish

Name	Class year	Notes	Reference
Amanda Baker	2001	actress on General Hospital soap opera	[1]
Chazwick Bundick	2009	a.k.a. Toro Y Moi, musician	[2]
Mel Byars	1960	book author, journalist, professor, and Besterman/McColvin Gold Medal winner	[3]
Wilson Casey	1977	syndicated columnist, book author, and Guinness World Record holder	[4]
Mike Colter	1998	actor	[5]
Rita Cosby	1989	host of MSNBC's Rita Cosby Live and three-time Emmy Award winner	[6]
James McBride Dabbs	1916	regional author and civil rights activist	[7]
Alex Daniels	1978	stunt coordinator and actor, Borat, The Guardian, Dodgeball	[citation needed]
Harry Dent	1975	economist and writer	[citation needed]
Ainsley Earhardt	1999	anchor for Fox News Weekend TV program	[8]
Lynette Eason	1989	award-winning Christian novelist	[9]
Charles Frazier	1986	author of the best-selling novel Cold Mountain	[10]
Lilian Garcia	1988	singer and WWE ring announcer	[11]
Leeza Gibbons	1978	actress and former host of Entertainment Tonight TV program, three-time Emmy winner	[12]
Ernest Greene	2009	musician; 2009 graduate with a Master's of Library and Information Science	[13]
Lauren Michelle Hill	2000	actress; February 2001 Playboy Playmate of the Month	[citation needed]
Jim Hoagland	1961	columnist and former chief foreign correspondent of The Washington Post; two-time Pulitzer Prize winner	[14]
Hootie and the Blowfish		all four band members attended the University; drummer Jim Sonefeld played on the UofSC soccer team	[15]
Jesse Hughes		musician in Eagles of Death Metal group	[16]
Jasper Johns		artist; attended 1947–48; did not graduate	[17]
Cheslie Kryst		attorney, journalist, Miss USA 2019 winner; also played the UofSC track team	[18]
Amos Lee	1999	singer, songwriter, and folk guitarist	[19]
Alicia Leeke	before 1995	artist, journalist	[20]
Bruce Littlefield	1989	author, lifestyle expert	[21]
Blue Sky	1964	painter and sculptor responsible for the mural Tunnelvision	[22]
W. Thomas Smith, Jr.	1982	author and columnist	[23]
E. Lee Spence	1976	author, editor, and pioneer underwater archaeologist who discovered the wreck of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley in 1970	[24]
Stephen Towns	2004	artist	[25]
Patrick Tyler	1974	chief foreign correspondent for The New York Times	[26]
Matt Watson	1996	Youtube, Supermega, Kids with Problems, Cyndago	[citation needed]
Van Earl Wright	1984	anchor for Fox Sports TV programs	[27]

Athletics

Name	Class year	Notes	Reference
Dick Sheridan	1964	former head football coach at North Carolina State University and Furman University	[28]
Dale Steele	1976	former head football coach at Campbell University	[29]
Charlie Weis	M.A. 1989	head football coach at the University of Kansas; former head coach of the University of Notre Dame	[30]

Baseball

Jackie Bradley Jr.

Justin Smoak

Mookie Wilson

Name	Letter years	Notes	Reference
Kent Anderson	1982–1984	retired MLB infielder	[31]
Jackie Bradley Jr.	2009–2011	outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays	[32]
Billy Buckner	2004	retired right-handed pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks	[33]
Brian Buscher	2002–2003	retired infielder for the Minnesota Twins; assistant coach for Gamecock baseball team (2011–)	[34]
Jon Coutlangus	2002–2003	retired left-handed pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks	[35]
Tripp Cromer	1987–1989	retired MLB infielder	[36]
Adam Everett	1997–1998	retired shortstop for the Cleveland Indians; member of gold medal-winning 2000 United States Olympic baseball team	[37]
Lee Gronkiewicz	1999–2001	retired pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays	[38]
Ed Lynch	1974–1977	retired pitcher for the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs; general manager for the Cubs	[39]
Marcus McBeth	1999–2001	retired MLB pitcher	[40]
Kevin Melillo	2002–2004	retired infielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	[41]
Whit Merrifield	2008–2012	second baseman and outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays	[42]
Drew Meyer	2000–2002	retired shortstop for the Texas Rangers	[43]
Steve Pearce	2004–2005	first baseman for the Boston Red Sox	[44]
Brian Roberts	1999	retired infielder for the Baltimore Orioles	[45]
Justin Smoak	2006–2008	first baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays	[46]
Christian Walker	2010–2012	first baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks	[47]
Mookie Wilson	1977	retired center fielder for the New York Mets	[48]

Men's basketball

Name	Letter years	Notes	Reference
Renaldo Balkman	2004–2006	NBA player	[49]
Tom Boswell	1975	former NBA player	[50]
Mike Brittain	1982–1985	former NBA player	[51]
Bobby Cremins	1968–1970	former Georgia Tech and current College of Charleston head basketball coach	[52]
Mike Dunleavy, Sr.	1973–1976	former NBA player, head coach and general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers	[53]
Chuck Eidson	1999–2003	former MVP of the German Basketball Bundesliga and player in Eurocup	[54]
Alex English	1973–1976	NBA Hall of Famer (highest scorer in the 1980s and seventh all-time scorer with 25,343 points)	[55]
Jo Jo English	1989–1992	former NBA player, top scorer in the 1999–2000 Israel Basketball League	[56]
Jim Fox	1964–1965	former NBA player	[57]
Gary Gregor	1965, 1967–1968	former NBA player	[58]
Skip Harlicka	1965–1968	former NBA player	[59]
Kevin Joyce	1971–1973	former ABA player	[60]
Tre' Kelley	2004–2007	player in the Croatian league	[61]
Tarence Kinsey	2003–2006	NBA player, now plays for Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Premier League	[62]
BJ McKie	1996–1999	three-time All-SEC basketball player; the school's all-time leading scorer	[63]
Tom Owens	1969–1971	former NBA player	[64]
Brent Price	1988–1989	former NBA player	[65]
Tom Riker	1970–1972	former NBA player	[66]
John Roche	1969–1971	former NBA player	[67]
Scott Sanderson	1981–1984	head basketball coach at Lipscomb University	[68]
Chris Silva		played in the NBA, now plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Ryan Stack	1995–1998	former NBA player	[69]
Brandon Wallace	2004–2007	former NBA player	[70]
Jamie Watson	1991–1994	former NBA player	[71]
Brian Winters	1972–1974	former NBA player, coach of WNBA's Indiana Fever	[citation needed]

Football

Alshon Jeffery

Johnathan Joseph

Dunta Robinson

Travelle Wharton

Name	Letter years	Notes	Reference
John Abraham	1996–1999	NFL player	[72]
Tom Addison	1955–1957	American Football League All-Star (Boston Patriots) and founder of American Football League Players Association	[73]
Ronald Edwin Bass	1973–1977	former USC football player and member of the 1971 T. C. Williams High School from Remember the Titans	[74]
Sheldon Brown	1998–2001	former NFL player	[75]
Jadeveon Clowney	2011–2013	NFL player	[76]
Chris Culliver	2007–2010	NFL player	[77]
Justice Cunningham	2009–2012	2013 Mr. Irrelevant	[78]
Mark Dantonio	1976–1978	current Michigan State University head football coach	[79]
Zola Davis	1995–1998	NFL and XFL player	[80]
Patrick DiMarco	2007–2010	former NFL player	[81]
Brad Edwards	1984–1987	former NFL player and athletic director of George Mason University	[82]
Kalimba Edwards	1998–2001	former NFL player	[83]
Stephon Gilmore	2009–2011	NFL player	[84]
Harold Green	1986–1989	former NFL player	[85]
Tori Gurley	2009–2010	NFL player	[86]
Darren Hambrick	1996–1997	former NFL player	[87]
Alex Hawkins	1956–1958	former NFL player and ACC Player of the Year in 1958	[88]
DeVonte Holloman	2009–2012	NFL player	[89]
Melvin Ingram	2009–2011	NFL player	[90]
Alshon Jeffery	2009–2011	NFL player	[91]
Corey Jenkins	2001–2002	former NFL player	[92]
Johnathan Joseph	2004–2005	NFL player	[93]
Cliff Matthews	2009–2010	NFL player	[94]
Kenny McKinley	2005–2008	former NFL player	[95]
Langston Moore	1999–2002	former NFL player	[96]
Eric Norwood	2006–2009	NFL player	[97]
Willie Offord	1998–2001	former NFL player	[98]
Andrew Provence	1979–1982	former NFL player
Dan Reeves	1962–1964	former NFL player and head coach	[99]
Sidney Rice	2005–2006	NFL player	[100]
Dunta Robinson	2001–2003	NFL player	[101]
Marcus Robinson	1993–1994, 1996	former NFL player	[102]
George Rogers	1977–1980	former No. 1 draft pick in the NFL, 1980 Heisman Trophy winner	[103]
Weslye Saunders	2009–2010	NFL player	[104]
Sterling Sharpe	1983, 1985–1987	former NFL player and ESPN football analyst	[105]
Ko Simpson	2004–2005	NFL player	[106]
Duce Staley	1995–1996	former NFL player and Gamecock Radio Network sideline reporter	[107]
Ryan Succop	2005–2008	kicker, 2009 Mr. Irrelevant	[108]
Rod Trafford	1999–2001	NFL player	[109]
Travelle Wharton	2000–2003	NFL player	[110]
Troy Williamson	2002–2004	NFL player	[111]

Men's soccer

Josh Wolff

Name	Letter years	Notes	Reference
Brad Guzan	2003–2004	goalkeeper for Middlesbrough in the Premier League	[112]
Tim Hankinson	1973–1977	head coach of the San Antonio Scorpions in the North American Soccer League	[citation needed]
Clint Mathis	1994–1997	retired forward for Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer	[113]
Josh Wolff	1995–1997	forward for D.C. United in Major League Soccer	[114]

Other sports

Aleen Bailey

Name	Letter years	Notes	Reference
Aleen Bailey	2002–2003	Olympic gold medalist	[115]
Dawn Ellerbe	1993–1997	track-and-field champion, United States Olympian	[116]
Otis Harris	2001–2004	Olympic gold and silver medalist	[117]
Shannon Johnson	1992–1996	second all-time leading scorer in women's basketball history (2,230 points), member of gold medal-winning 2004 U.S. Olympic basketball team, and four-time WNBA all-star	[118]
Terrence Trammell	1998–2000	Olympic silver medalist in 2000 and 2004; world champion in 60-meter hurdles	[119]
Tonique Williams-Darling	1997–1998	Olympic gold medalist in 2004 in the 400 meters for the Bahamian team	[120]

Business, education, and sciences

David F. Houston

David A. King

Amy Leventer

Drew Van Horn

Name	Class year	Notes	Reference
Rick Brewer	Ph.D. in educational administration	President of Louisiana College in Pineville, Louisiana, since 2015; administrator at Charleston Southern University in North Charleston, 1987–2015	[121]
Joseph Burckhalter	1934	retired as Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan and member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame	[122]
Bryan Coker	YM.Ed. in higher education	12th president of Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee	[123]
Charles Dallara	1970	international economist and managing director for the Institute of International Finance	[124]
Mohammed Dajani Daoudi	Ph.D. in government, 1981	Palestinian professor and peace activist	[125]
David F. Houston	1887	president of Texas A&M and the University of Texas; chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis	[126]
William "Hootie" Johnson	1953	chairman of the executive committee of Bank of America; former chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club	[127]
Carol Keehan	1980	president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association of the United States	[128]
Larry Kellner	1981	chairman of the board and CEO of Continental Airlines	[129]
David A. King	1983	director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center	[130]
Amy Leventer	1982	marine biologist, micropaleontologist, Antarctic researcher	[131]
Robert C. McNair	1958	owner of NFL franchise Houston Texans	[132]
Darla Moore	1975	financier, philanthropist, namesake of the Moore School of Business	[133]
Simona Hunyadi Murph	Ph.D. in Chemistry Nanotechnology 2007	scientist, engineer, and inventor at Savannah River National Laboratory; adjunct professor at University of Georgia	[134]
Lois Privor-Dumm	1988	Director of Alliances and Information for PneumoADIP, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health	[citation needed]
Jacob Shuford	1974	admiral and current president of the United States Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, 2004–present	[135]
E. Lee Spence	1976	underwater archaeologist; discovered the wreck of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, 1970	[citation needed]
Glenn Tilton	1970	chairman, president, and CEO of United Airlines	[136]
Drew Van Horn	Ph.D. in educational administration	president of Young Harris College in Young Harris, Georgia since 2017; former president at Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina, 2002–2011	[137]
Samuel Phillips Verner	1892	American missionary and African explorer who brought Ota Benga the human exhibit from the Congo to the US	[138]
John Kenneth Waddell	1988	president of Denmark Technical College	[citation needed]
Howard A. "Humpy" Wheeler, Jr.	1961	president of Charlotte Motor Speedway	[139]

Government, law, and politics

Stephen K. Benjamin

Name	Class	Notes	Reference
Weston Adams	1960	U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Malawi; member of the South Carolina House of Representatives	[140]
Lee Atwater	1977	political consultant/strategist	[citation needed]
André Bauer		Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina	[citation needed]
Stephen K. Benjamin		Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina	[141]
Solomon Blatt, Sr.	1917	former longtime Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives	[142]
Solomon Blatt, Jr.	1941	former District Court judge	[143]
C. Marshall Cain		member of the South Carolina House of Representatives	[144]
Lawrence Cain	1876 Law	member of the South Carolina House of Representatives and the South Carolina Senate	[145]
Andrew Card	1971	former White House chief of staff for President George W. Bush	[146]
Wilbur Cave		former member of the South Carolina House of Representatives	[147]
Joseph W. Coker		member of the South Carolina House of Representatives	[148]
John E. Courson		Republican member, South Carolina Senate	[149]
W. Paul Culbertson		member of the South Carolina House of Representatives	[150]
Allison Dahle		Democratic member, North Carolina House of Representatives	[151]
Katon Dawson	1979	South Carolina Republican Party chairman	[152]
Julie Emerson		Republican member, Louisiana House of Representatives, beginning 2016	[153]
Tom Ervin	1977	Republican member, South Carolina House of Representatives	[154]
James E. Gonzales		member of the South Carolina House of Representatives	[155]
Alvin Greene		Democratic nominee, United States Senate, 2010	[156]
Terry Haskins	1981 Law	member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1986 until his death in 2000	[157]
Richard M. Kenan		member of the South Carolina House of Representatives	[158]
Robert E. Kneece		member of the South Carolina House of Representatives and chairman of the South Carolina Department of Social Services	[159]
Toney J. Lister		member of the South Carolina House of Representatives	[160]
Glenn F. McConnell	1972	South Carolina Senate president pro tempore	[161]
Edgar L. McGowan	1961	Commissioner of Labor of South Carolina	[162]
Hugh R. Miller	1833	member of the Mississippi House of Representatives 1842–1844; mortally wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg	[163]
Melvin Purvis	1925	FBI agent who helped capture 1930s gangsters John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Baby Face Nelson	[164]
Charles V. Pyle Jr.		member of the South Carolina House of Representatives	[165]
Bakari Sellers	2008 Law	member of the South Carolina House of Representatives (2006–2014)	[166]
Paris Simkins	1876	lawyer, minister, and member of the South Carolina House of Representatives (1872–1876)	[167]
Harry A. Slattery	1944	Undersecretary of the United States Department of the Interior, 1938–39, the so-called Slattery Report	[citation needed]
Jean H. Toal	1968	chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court	[168]
William Henry Wallace	1849	Speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives, Confederate States Army brigadier general, Circuit Judge (1877–1893)	[169]
Charles S. West	1848	Texas jurist and politician	[170]
Knox H. White	Law	Mayor of Greenville, 1995 –	[171]

United States senators from South Carolina

Andrew Butler

Lindsey Graham

Ernest Hollings

Name	Class year	Term in office	Notes	Reference
Christie Benet	1902	1918	also coach of the Gamecock football team	[172]
Coleman Livingston Blease		1925–1931	expelled for plagiarism in 1888, did not graduate; also governor of South Carolina	[citation needed]
Andrew Butler	1817	1846–1857	also an author of the Kansas-Nebraska Act	[173]
Matthew Butler	1856	1877–1895	attended in the late 1850s	[174]
Franklin H. Elmore	1819	1850	also United States Representative	[175]
Josiah J. Evans	1808	1853–1858		[176]
Lindsey Graham	1977	2003–present	also United States Representative	[177]
James Henry Hammond	1825	1857–1860	also governor of South Carolina and United States Representative	[178]
Wade Hampton III	1836	1879–1891	also governor of South Carolina	[179]
William Harper	1808	1826	also a jurist and social and political theorist	[180]
Ernest Hollings	1947	1966–2005	also governor of South Carolina	[181]
John W. Johnston	1836	1870–1883	also served in Virginia State Senate	[182]
Olin D. Johnston	1924	1945–1965	also governor of South Carolina	[183]
Alva M. Lumpkin	1908	1941		[184]
George McDuffie	1813	1842–1846	also governor of South Carolina and United States Representative	[185]
Stephen Decatur Miller	1808	1831–1833	also governor of South Carolina and United States Representative	[186]
William P. Pollock	1891	1918–1919		[187]
William C. Preston	1812	1833–1842		[188]
Thomas J. Robertson	1843	1868–1877		[189]
Donald S. Russell	1925	1965–1966	also governor of South Carolina, United States assistant secretary of state for Administration, and president of the University of South Carolina	[190]
Ellison D. Smith		1909–1944	failed freshman year; did not graduate	[191]
Thomas A. Wofford	1928	1956	also graduate of the Harvard University Law School, 1931	[192]

United States representatives from South Carolina

D. Wyatt Aiken

William Aiken

Mendel Jackson Davis

Laurence M. Keitt

George McDuffie

Thomas S. McMillan

Floyd Spence

Joe Wilson

Name	Class year	Term in office	Notes	Reference
D. Wyatt Aiken	1849	1877–1887		[193]
William Aiken Jr.	1825	1851–1857	also governor of South Carolina	[194]
Milledge Luke Bonham	1834	1857–1860	also governor of South Carolina	[195]
William Waters Boyce		1853–1860	attended in the late 1830s; did not graduate	[196]
John Bratton	1850	1884–1885		[197]
William H. Brawley	1860	1891–1894		[198]
Preston Brooks		1853–1857	expelled in 1839 for attempting to free his brother from prison; did not graduate	[199]
Joseph R. Bryson	1920	1939–1953		[200]
Sampson H. Butler		1839–1842	attended in the early 1820s; did not graduate	[201]
William Butler	1810	1841–1843		[202]
Patrick C. Caldwell	1820	1841–1843		[203]
Carroll A. Campbell, Jr.		1979–1987	attended in the late 1950s; did not graduate	[204]
John Campbell	1819	1837–1845		[205]
Robert B. Campbell	1809	1823–1825 1834–1837		[206]
John Carter	1811	1822–1829		[207]
William K. Clowney	1818	1833–1835 1837–1839		[208]
William F. Colcock	1823	1849–1853		[209]
Theodore G. Croft	1897	1904–1905		[210]
Mendel Jackson Davis	1970	1971–1981		[211]
Warren R. Davis	1810	1827–1835		[211]
Butler Derrick		1975–1995		[212]
Frederick H. Dominick		1917–1933		[213]
J. Edwin Ellerbe		1905–1913		[214]
Franklin H. Elmore	1819	1836–1839	also United States senator	[215]
John H. Evins	1853	1877–1884		[216]
David E. Finley	1885	1899–1917		[217]
Allard H. Gasque	1901	1923–1938		[218]
Andrew R. Govan	1813	1822–1827		[219]
Lindsey Graham	1977	1995–2003	also United States senator	[220]
William J. Grayson	1809	1833–1837		[221]
James Henry Hammond	1825	1835–1836	also United States senator and governor of South Carolina	[222]
James Butler Hare	1947	1949–1951		[citation needed]
John J. Hemphill	1869	1883–1893		[223]
Robert W. Hemphill	1936	1957–1964		[224]
Kenneth Lamar Holland	1960	1975–1983		[225]
John Jenrette	1962	1975–1980		[226]
Laurence M. Keitt	1843	1853–1860		[227]
George Swinton Legaré		1903–1913		[228]
Hugh S. Legaré	1814	1837–1839		[229]
Edward C. Mann	1906	1919–1921		[230]
James Robert Mann	1947	1969–1979		[231]
Richard Irvine Manning I	1811	1834–1836	also governor of South Carolina	[232]
George McDuffie	1813	1821–1834	also United States senator and governor of South Carolina	[233]
John L. McMillan		1939–1973		[234]
Thomas S. McMillan	1912	1925–1939		[235]
John J. McSwain	1897	1921–1936		[236]
Stephen Decatur Miller	1808	1817–1819	also United States senator and governor of South Carolina	[237]
George W. Murray		1893–1895 1896–1897	attended in the early 1870s; did not graduate	[238]
John Light Napier	1972	1981–1983		[239]
Wilson Nesbitt		1817–1819	left after freshman year in 1805; did not graduate	[240]
William T. Nuckolls	1820	1827–1833		[241]
Liz J. Patterson		1987–1993	attended in the early 1960s; did not graduate	[242]
William H. Perry		1885–1891	attended in the late 1850s; did not graduate	[243]
Francis Wilkinson Pickens		1834–1841	attended in the late 1820s; did not graduate; also governor of South Carolina	[244]
Henry L. Pinckney	1812	1833–1837		[245]
J. Willard Ragsdale		1913–1919		[246]
James P. Richards	1921	1933–1957		[247]
John Peter Richardson II	1819	1836–1839	also governor of South Carolina	[248]
John S. Richardson	1850	1879–1883		[249]
L. Mendel Rivers		1941–1970	attended in the late 1920s; did not graduate	[250]
James Rogers	1813	1835–1837 1839–1843		[251]
Eldred Simkins	1802 (approx.)	1818–1821	also lieutenant governor of South Carolina (1812-1814); also member of the South Carolina State Senate (1810-1812) and South Carolina House of Representatives	[252]
Richard F. Simpson	1816	1843–1849		[253]
Hugo S. Sims, Jr.	1947	1949–1951		[254]
Floyd Spence	1952	1971–2001		[255]
Robin Tallon	1966	1987–1993		[256]
John C. Taylor	1919	1933–1939		[257]
Waddy Thompson, Jr.	1814	1835–1841		[258]
Samuel W. Trotti	1832	1842–1843		[259]
Albert Watson	1950	1963–1971		[260]
Joe Wilson	1972	2001–present		[261]
Joseph A. Woodward		1843–1853	attended in the mid-1820s; did not graduate	[262]

United States representatives and senators from other states

Dixon Hall Lewis

Name	Class year	Term in office	Notes	Reference
Mark Anthony Cooper	1819	1839–1841 1842–1843	United States Representative from Georgia	[263]
David Funderburk	1974	1995–1997	United States Representative from North Carolina	[264]
Henry Washington Hilliard	1826	1845–1851	United States Representative from Alabama	[265]
John W. Johnston		1870–1883	United States Senator from Virginia	[266]
Lewis Charles Levin	1828	1845–1851	United States Representative from Pennsylvania; first Jew elected to the United States Congress	[267]
Dixon Hall Lewis	1820	1829–1844 H 1844–1848 S	United States Representative and United States Senator from Alabama	[268]
Louis Wigfall	1837	1859–1861	United States Senator from Texas	[269]

Governors of South Carolina

Olin D. Johnston

Richard Irvine Manning I

Richard Riley

Donald S. Russell

Name	Class year	Term in office	Notes	Reference
William Aiken Jr.	1825	1844–1846	also United States representative	[270]
David Beasley	1979	1995–1999		[271]
Coleman Livingston Blease		1911–1915	expelled for plagiarism in 1888; did not graduate; also United States senator	[272]
Milledge Luke Bonham	1834	1862–1864	also United States Representative	[273]
Carroll A. Campbell, Jr.		1987–1995	attended in the late 1950s, did not graduate	[274]
John Drayton		1800–1802, 1808–1810	also United States federal judge	[275]
John Geddes		1818–1820	attended in the mid-1810s; did not graduate	[276]
William Henry Gist		1858–1860	expelled in 1827; did not graduate	[277]
James Henry Hammond	1825	1842–1844	also a United States Senator and a United States Representative	[278]
Wade Hampton III	1836	1877–1879	also a United States Senator	[279]
Joseph Emile Harley	1902	1941–1942		[280]
Jim Hodges	1979	1999–2003		[281]
Ernest Hollings	1947	1959–1963	also United States Senator	[282]
Richard Manning Jefferies	1910	1942–1943		[283]
Thomas Bothwell Jeter	1846	1880		[284]
David Johnson		1846–1848	attended in the late 1820s; did not graduate	[285]
Olin D. Johnston	1924	1935–1939 1943–1945	also United States Senator	[286]
Andrew Gordon Magrath	1831	1864–1865		[287]
John Lawrence Manning	1836	1852–1854		[288]
Richard Irvine Manning I	1811	1824–1826	also United States Representative	[289]
George McDuffie	1813	1834–1836	also United States Senator and a United States Representative	[290]
Henry McMaster	1973	2017–incumbent	also South Carolina Attorney General and lieutenant governor of South Carolina
Robert Evander McNair	1947	1965–1971		[291]
John Hugh Means	1832	1850–1852		[292]
Stephen Decatur Miller	1808	1828–1830	also United States Senator and United States Representative	[293]
Franklin J. Moses, Jr.		1872–1874	dismissed from freshman class in 1855; did not graduate	[294]
Francis Wilkinson Pickens		1860–1862	attended in the late 1820s; did not graduate; also United States Representative	[295]
John Peter Richardson II	1819	1840–1842	also United States Representative	[296]
John Peter Richardson III	1849	1886–1890		[297]
Richard Riley	1959	1979–1987	also U.S. Secretary of Education	[298]
Donald S. Russell	1925	1963–1965	also United States Senator	[299]
William Dunlap Simpson	1843	1879–1880		[300]
George Bell Timmerman, Jr.	1937	1955–1959		[301]
John C. West	1946	1971–1975		[302]

Governors of other states

Name	Class year	Term in office	Notes	Reference
John B. Floyd	1829	1849–1852	Governor of Virginia	[303]
John Gayle	1815	1831–1835	Governor of Alabama	[304]
Charles James McDonald	1816	1839–1843	Governor of Georgia	[305]
William McWillie	1817	1857–1859	Governor of Mississippi	[306]
John Murphy	1808	1825–1829	Governor of Alabama	[307]

Military

Wade Hampton III, commander of Hampton's Legion in the Civil War

Name	Class year	Notes	Reference
John Bratton	1850	Confederate general during the American Civil War
Matthew Butler		attended in the late 1850s; did not graduate; Confederate general during the American Civil War
James Ronald Chalmers	1851	Confederate general during the American Civil War
John B. Floyd	1829	Confederate general during the American Civil War and Governor of Virginia
Kathryn Frost	1970	major general in the U.S. Army, at the time the highest-ranked woman in the Army, retired 2005
Martin Witherspoon Gary		attended in the early 1850s; did not graduate; Confederate general during the American Civil War
John W. Goodwin	1975	rear admiral, United States Navy, retired
Maxcy Gregg	1835	Confederate general during the American Civil War
Wade Hampton III	1836	Confederate general during the American Civil War, governor of South Carolina and United States senator
Alexander Cheves Haskell	1860	Confederate colonel during the American Civil War
Samuel McGowan	1841	Confederate general during the American Civil War
Jacob L. Shuford	1974	admiral and president of the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, 2004–2008
John A. Wharton	1850	Confederate general during the American Civil War
Knox H. White	Law school	mayor of Greenville, 1995–	[171]

Religion and ministry

Name	Class year	Notes	Reference
Stephen Elliott	1825	first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia	[308]
Terrell Glenn	1980	bishop in the Anglican Church in North America	[309]
Bryant Wright	1974	president of the Southern Baptist Convention	[citation needed]

Presidents of the University of South Carolina

Main article: Presidents of the University of South Carolina

Faculty and administrators

Name	Years	Notes	Reference
Charles Bierbauer	2002–present	former CNN senior Washington correspondent	[310]
Claire Jiménez		author, McCausland Faculty Fellow	[311]

Former faculty and administrators

Richard Theodore Greener

Name	Years	Notes	Reference
Edward Porter Alexander	1867–1870	also chief of artillery in the Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee and mathematics professor	[312]
Augusta Braxton Baker	1980–1994	librarian and storyteller	[313]
Robby Benson	1988–1990	actor	[314]
W. Lewis Burke		professor of law, historian of American race relations, and Black studies	[315]
Roger A. Coate	2001–2008	political scientist	[316]
Thomas Cooper	1819–1834	educator, philosopher, and political leader	[317]
John Mark Dean	1977–2002	conservationist and marine biologist	[318]
James Dickey	1969–1997	poet and novelist; author of Deliverance	[319]
Walter Edgar	1972–2012	South Carolina historian	[320]
Donald Fowler	1966–1968 1971–2020	former chairman of the Democratic National Committee	[321]
Lawrence B. Glickman	1992–2014	historian of American consumerism	[322]
Richard Theodore Greener	1873–1877	first Black person to graduate from Harvard University and first to teach at the University of South Carolina	[323]
Alexander Cheves Haskell	1867–1868	professor of law	[324]
John LeConte	1856–1869	geologist	[325]
Joseph LeConte	1856–1870	geologist	[326]
Francis Lieber	1835–1856	jurist and political philosopher	[327]
John McLaren McBryde	1882–1888	Virginia Tech president	[328]
Abioseh Nicol	1990–1991	author, diplomat from Sierra Leone; former under-secretary general of the United Nations	[329]
Barry Preedom	1976–2006	physicist	[330]
Jihan Sadat	1985–1986	widow of Anwar Sadat	[citation needed]
Emory M. Sneeden	1978–1982	United States Court of Appeals Judge	[331]
Richard L. Walker	1957–1981	former United States ambassador to South Korea	[332]

Honorary degree recipients

John Drayton

Name	Year issued	Notes	Reference
John Drayton	1807	Governor of South Carolina; pushed for the foundation of South Carolina College to unite the state	[275]
Moses Waddel	1807	educator in South Carolina and Georgia	[333]
Thomas Cooper	1833	President of the University of South Carolina	[334]
Robert Woodward Barnwell	1842	President of the University of South Carolina	[335]
Thomas Green Clemson	1886	agriculturalist	[336]
Ellison Capers	1888	Confederate general during the American Civil War	[citation needed]
Joseph B. Kershaw	1893	Confederate general during the American Civil War	[337]
Hugh Smith Thompson	1900	Governor of South Carolina	[citation needed]
James F. Byrnes		Governor of South Carolina	[338]
Helen Hayes	1979	actress	[339]

See also

• Biography portal
• Lists portal
• United States portal