Honestly, when you think of small private universities in Pennsylvania, you probably don’t immediately picture a 1970s TV star, a Mr. Olympia winner, and a Man Booker Prize novelist all hanging out on the same quad. But that’s the weird, brilliant reality of the Wilkes University notable alumni list.
People tend to underestimate Wilkes. They think it’s just this quiet spot in Wilkes-Barre where students go for nursing or pharmacy—and yeah, they do that incredibly well—but the sheer variety of humans that have come out of those old converted mansions on South River Street is actually kind of wild. It’s not just a "local" school; it's a place that somehow produces people who end up running the national intelligence community or coaching the Wisconsin Badgers to the Final Four.
The Faces You’ve Definitely Seen (Even If You Didn’t Know It)
If you grew up watching Welcome Back, Kotter, you know Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington. That’s Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs. Before he was a staple of 1970s television and later a huge part of the Roots miniseries, he was a student at Wilkes. It’s a bit of a trip to imagine a Hollywood icon walking through the Stark Learning Center, but that’s the Wilkes vibe.
Then there’s Frank Zane. If you’re even slightly into bodybuilding, Zane is basically a god. He didn’t just win Mr. Olympia once; he won it three times. He’s often cited as having the most "aesthetic" physique in the history of the sport. He graduated from Wilkes in 1964 with a degree in Secondary Education. Imagine being a high schooler in a math class and your teacher is literally the most perfectly built human on the planet.
And for the sports fans who live and breathe March Madness, Bo Ryan is a name that carries some serious weight. Before he was the legendary head coach at the University of Wisconsin, leading the Badgers to back-to-back Final Fours, he was a Colonel. He played basketball at Wilkes and graduated in 1969.
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The "Quiet" Power Players
Not every famous alum is on a movie poster. Some of the most influential Wilkes University notable alumni operate in the shadows—or at least in the high-stakes world of global intelligence and heavy-duty science.
Take William Evanina. Most people couldn't pick him out of a lineup, but for years, he was the Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. Basically, he was the guy in charge of stopping foreign spies from stealing U.S. secrets. He’s a 1989 Wilkes grad. It’s a long way from the Susquehanna River to the situation room in D.C.
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Then you have Catherine D. DeAngelis. She’s a pioneer. She was the first woman—and the first pediatrician—to be the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). That’s not just a "nice job"; that’s being one of the most powerful voices in global medicine for over a decade.
A Quick Look at the Heavy Hitters
- Marlon James: He didn't just write a book; he won the Man Booker Prize for A Brief History of Seven Killings. He's a product of the Wilkes Master of Fine Arts program.
- Marty Blake: Often called the "Father of Modern Scouting," he was a GM for the Atlanta Hawks and basically invented the way the NBA looks for talent.
- Robert Bruggeworth: The CEO of Qorvo, a massive semiconductor company. If you have a smartphone, there’s a good chance his company’s tech is inside it.
- Jesse Choper: One of the most cited constitutional law scholars in the country and former Dean of UC Berkeley School of Law.
Why the "Small School" Label is Misleading
You’ll hear people say Wilkes is a "small" school, and physically, yeah, the campus is tight. But the impact is massive. It’s actually categorized as a "Doctoral/Professional University" now. That’s a big deal. It means they aren't just teaching; they’re doing high-level research.
I think the reason the Wilkes University notable alumni list is so eclectic is because the school started as a "junior college" for Bucknell back in 1933. It was meant for people who were often the first in their families to go to college—kids of coal miners and local workers. That "grit" seems to have stayed in the DNA of the place. Whether it’s Eddie Day Pashinski fighting for local residents in the PA House of Representatives or Ann Bartuska becoming a world-renowned ecologist, there’s a certain "get it done" attitude that seems to follow Wilkes grads.
What You Can Actually Do With This Information
If you’re a student or a parent looking at the Wilkes University notable alumni and wondering what it means for you, it’s pretty simple: don't let the size of the school dictate the size of your career.
- Network specifically. If you’re in the creative writing MFA program, you’re in the same lineage as a Man Booker winner. Reach out to the alumni office; Wilkes is small enough that the "Colonel" connection actually means something when you call a grad.
- Look at the specialized schools. The Sidhu School of Business and the Passan School of Nursing aren't just local training grounds. They have produced CEOs and national medical leaders.
- Use the Kirby Center. If you have an entrepreneurial itch, the Allan P. Kirby Center for Free Enterprise is where a lot of the business-minded alumni got their start. It’s a resource that’s punched way above its weight class for decades.
Wilkes-Barre might not be New York or LA, but clearly, it’s a pretty good place to start if you’re planning on heading to either of those places—or to the top of your field.
Next Steps for You:
If you're researching Wilkes for your own career path, your best move is to check out the Alumni Spotlight section on the official Wilkes website. It's updated frequently with more recent success stories that don't always make it to Wikipedia, like the 2020 grads who are already making waves in the sports industry at NBC and Fox Sports.