UF alumni: 10 Governors, 35 US Congressmen, 8 US Senators, numerous Ambassadors

<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Florida_alumni%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Florida_alumni&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The University of Florida has more than 320,000 alumni. The university has produced two Nobel prize-winners, eight members of the United States Senate, almost thirty-five members of the U.S. House of Representatives, ten Governors, and multiple United States Ambassadors. UF graduates have served at the head of such diverse and important institutions as the United States Environmental Protection Agency, American Bar Association, the United States Marine Corps, the National Organization for Women, Burger King, NASCAR, the University of Central Florida, Florida State University, and Florida International University, also the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the New York Yankees, Barnett Bank, and the Jim Walter Company. Major corporations run by graduates include Merrill Lynch, Northwest Airlines, Gartner, Deloitte & Touche, JC Penney, Reebok, Macy’s, Scripps, Golin Harris International, Darden Restaurants, Avaya, The Richards Group, Torano Cigars, James B. Beam Distilling, and City Furniture. Major regulatory bodies such as the Federal Communications Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Public Relations Society of America have had University of Florida alumni at the helm in recent years. It is also important to note that UF boasts a history of 12 Rhodes Scholars.[29]</p>

<p>Among the individuals who have attended or graduated from the University of Florida are actress Faye Dunaway, author Michael Connelly, pilot Paul Tibbets, zoologist Archie Carr, astronaut William Frederick Fisher, reporter Stephanie Abrams, poet C. Dale Young, director Hugh Wilson, comedian Darrell Hammond, activist Rita Mae Brown, actor Stephen Root, TV personality Bob Vila, novelist Carl Hiaasen, inventor John Atanasoff, two Heisman Trophy Winners, numerous NFL Pro Bowlers & NBA Basketball players. The University of Florida has also been home to several top Olympians throughout the years. Nearly 100 former UF players have gone on to play for the National Football League, including the all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith and the legendary coach Steve Spurrier.</p>

<p>Good luck to all of us as we strive to make that list :p</p>

<p>Next to the University of Michigan, I do not think any other public university comes close to the amount of high profile public servants as UF.</p>

<p>Well UGA has more Governors, but has way less Congressmen/Senators</p>

<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Georgia_people%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Georgia_people&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>UF has a lot to be proud of, and is getting better all the time, but it stands to reason that the biggest public schools in the biggest states are naturally going to produce the most leaders, just based on the numbers of graduates and congressional seats available. A more meaningul number would be senators or governors or astronauts per graduate or something like that. Florida gets 27 congressmen to Georgia's 15 so the comparison is unfair even if UF and UGA had the same number of grads. Plus UGA is not even the top public school in Georgia, just the biggest.</p>

<p>Wow, this is an interesting conversation.</p>

<p>Keep in perspective that UGA was founded in 1790, whereas UF was founded in 1853. This might help to explain why UGA has more Governors. The reason that UF has so many Congressmen & Senators is because they were an all-male institution until the 1950's. Never the less UF & UGA have alot to be proud of in terms of public servants that have ultimately served in their legislatures. I would imagine UTexas, UVirginia, UMichigan, UWisconsin, and UIowa would also have a pipeline into leadership positions within their Assemblies & Legislatures.</p>

<p>Good deal considering my political aspirations. </p>

<p>I would like to break what seems to be the monopoly the Ivy League has over the presidency.</p>

<p>Good luck to you, Sean, and keep us posted.
The link below is getting off topic, but is from the archives of the NYT, 1894 to be exact, about the college educations of the first 23 presidents. I found it fascinating and thought some of you might like to see it, too.</p>

<p><a href="http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9502EFDE143EEF33A25751C0A96F9C94659ED7CF%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9502EFDE143EEF33A25751C0A96F9C94659ED7CF&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I think in the years to come the best public universities will extremely well represented in most fields. The sheer number of graduates that we produce will make this happen</p>

<p>"I would like to break what seems to be the monopoly the Ivy League has over the presidency."</p>

<p>I know those institutions had Presidencies on lockdown. In the future look for that to change some, but they will always be well represented.</p>

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<li> Bump -</li>
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