Notable people This list contains people associated with Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois, including current and former college presidents, as well as notable alumni and faculty members.
Alumni
Academia Richard J. Ablin, class of 1961, professor of pathology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Hill, Walter A., class of 1968, professor and Dean of the College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences at Tuskegee University Sig Gissler, class of 1956, professor of journalism at Columbia University Philip Klinkner, class of 1985, James S. Sherman professor of government at Hamilton College William Mather Lewis, class of 1900, former president of George Washington University and Lafayette College Ralph J. Mills Jr., class of 1954, professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago Edward Wingenbach, class of 1991, president of Hampshire College, former acting president and dean of faculty at Ripon College
Arts and entertainment Richard Armstrong, class of 1971, director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation Blair Butler, class of 1999, stand-up comedian and television host Allan Carr, class of 1958, producer of the film Grease and Broadway's La Cage aux Folles, Tony Award winner Kahil El'Zabar, class of 1977, musician and composer Shea Farrell, class of 1980, actor (known for 1980s soap opera, Hotel) and producer Scott Goldstein, class of 1971, Emmy Award-winning producer, writer, and director (L.A. Law, Doogie Howser, M.D., Today Show) Steve Goodman, class of 1970, Grammy Award-winning folk singer, writer of "Go, Cubs, Go" and "City of New Orleans" Kelly Leonard, class of 1988, producer at Second City Colin McComb, class of 1991, writer and game designer Natalia Nogulich, class of 1971, actress, writer, professor, and director Ian Punnett, class of 1982, broadcaster, author, and Episcopal deacon Penelope Rosemont, class of 1964, surrealist movement visual artist, writer, and publisher Win Stracke, ex-class of 1931, folk musician and co-founder of the Old Town School of Folk Music Richard Widmark, class of 1936, popular post-WWII era actor, "the face of film noir"Owens, p. 219.
Athletics Herb Alward, football player and football coach John Biolo, class of 1938, NFL player and football coach Mush Crawford, professional football, basketball, and baseball player, football coach Ernie Krueger, class of 1915, professional baseball player E. J. Mather, class of 1910, football and basketball player, football coach Diana Nyad, class of 1973, world-record distance swimmer, national squash player, author, journalist, and motivational speaker John H. Rice, class of 1895, football and baseball player, football coach, and athletic director Andy Russo, class of 1970, basketball player and coach Casey Urlacher, class of 2003, professional football player and mayor of Mettawa, Illinois Robbie Ventura, class of 1992, professional racing cyclist, hockey player Joe Zemaitis, class of 2002, professional triathlete
Business Dave Beran, class of 2003, James Beard award-winning chef, owner of Dialogue in Santa Monica, California Nate Berkus, class of 1994, award-winning interior designer and decorator, New York Times bestselling author, movie producer, and host of The Nate Berkus Show Chester R. Davis, class of 1917, businessman, assistant secretary to the U.S. Army, Vice-President of the Association of the U.S. Army James C. Foster, class of 1972, chairman, CEO, and President of Charles River Laboratories, Inc., 2003 Forbes Entrepreneur of the Year Grace Groner, class of 1931, philanthropist and secretary at Abbott Laboratories Rob Mermin, class of 1971, author, founder of award-winning international touring company Circus Smirkus Nicholas J. Pritzker, class of 1969, Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Hyatt Development Corporation, co-founder and co-chair of Clean Energy Trust, member of the Pritzker family
Engineering and science Richard J. Ablin, class of 1961, notable for his work on tests for prostate cancer screening Walter A. Hill, class of 1968, agricultural scientist, notable for his work on sweet potato crops William Mather Lewis, class of 1900, American teacher, university president, local politician, and state and national government official William Duncan MacMillan, attended Lake Forest College in 1889, made notable contributions in astronomy and mathematics Aaron Swartz, computer programmer, entrepreneur, writer, political organizer, and Internet hacktivist
Government and politics Marsha E. Barnes, class of 1969, U.S. Ambassador to Suriname and U.S. State Department official Victor deGrazia, class of 1954, political strategist, former campaign manager and deputy to Illinois governor Dan Walker, successful jury consultant Edward J. FitzSimons, class of 1962, Mayor of Mettawa, Illinois and lawyer Homer Galpin, Illinois State Senator and lawyer Susan Garrett, class of 1994, former Illinois State Senator for the 29th District and 59th district in the House of Representatives George E.Q. Johnson, class of 1900, United States Attorney who successfully prosecuted Al Capone for tax evasion, Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Otto Kerner Sr., class of 1905, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Attorney General of Illinois Rick Kolowski, class of 1966, Nebraska State Senator and educator Peg Lautenschlager, class of 1977, attorney, former Attorney General of Wisconsin, first woman elected to be Attorney General in Wisconsin Haig Paravonian, class of 1956, mayor of Waukegan from 1989 to 1993 Frank Richman, class of 1904, Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, judge at the Nuremberg trials Adolph J. Sabath, class of 1891, attorney, member of the U.S. House of Representatives Edward J. Smejkal, class of 1895, Illinois State Representative and lawyer Trent Van Haaften, class of 1987, Indiana State Representative, 2010 Democratic nominee for Congress in Indiana's 8th district
Religion John Wilbur Chapman, class of 1879, Presbyterian evangelist Lloyd John Ogilvie, class of 1952, Presbyterian minister, former United States Senate Chaplain
Writers, journalists and publishers Herbert Block, ex-class of 1932, political cartoonist and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Jacqueline Carey, class of 1986, New York Times bestselling fantasy fiction author Carolyn Crimi, class of 1982, children's book writer Andrea Day, class of 1987, reporter at WNYW-FOX 5 New York City until 2011, winner of three Emmy Awards John Thomson Faris, class of 1892, author, editor, and clergyman Sig Gissler, class of 1956, professor, administrator of the Pulitzer Prize from 2002-2014, former editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Ed Janus, class of 1968, independent audio producer, interviewer, and journalist Ralph J. Mills, class of 1954, acclaimed American poet, scholar, and professor Delavan Smith, Trustee 1897-1906, publisher of the Indianapolis News from 1899-1922 Bob Verdi, class of 1967, Chicago Blackhawks historian, Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award winner
Coaches John W. Breen Ira T. Carrithers Sylvester Derby Ralph Glaze Clarence Herschberger Ed Hughes Ralph Jones Wally Lemm Ralph Thacker
Faculty
Warder Clyde Allee Robert Archambeau Alan Axelrod James Mark Baldwin Joseph Carens Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Elizabeth Teter Lunn Rebecca Makkai, writer and author of The Great Believers, which was shortlisted for the National Book Award Elizabeth Marquardt Janet McCracken Charles A. Miller Ronald Miller Ahmad Sadri Fernando Sanford Davis Schneiderman Lawrence M. Schoen Stephen D. Schutt Robert Pelton Sibley David Spadafora Holly Swyers, author of Wrigley Regulars: Finding Community in the Bleachers. Gerald Vizenor, Native American writer, activist, academic, and literary critic
Presidents
Source: Robert Wilson Patterson Sr., 1857–1878 Daniel Gregory, 1878–1886 William C. Roberts, 1886–1892 John M. Coulter, 1893–1896 James Gore King McClure, 1897–1901 Richard D. Harlan, 1901–1906 John S. Nollen, 1907–1917 Herbert M. Moore, 1920–1942 Ernest A. Johnson, 1942–1959 William Graham Cole, 1960–1970 Eugene Hotchkiss III, 1970–1993 David Spadafora, 1993–2001 Stephen D. Schutt, 2001–2022 Jill M. Baren, 2022–2024 Robert Krebs, 2024-2025 (interim) Michael J. Sosulski, 2025-present
Fictional Bree Van de Kamp and her husband Rex in Desperate Housewives both attended Lake Forest College
References