Government & Military

Ali Abul Ragheb, former prime minister and minister of defense for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a 1967 graduate of UT's College of Engineering. Abul-Ragheb served as prime minister from 2000 to 2003. He is a member of Jordan’s Upper House of Parliament.

Jeff Ashby earned the master of science in aviation systems at the UT Space Institute in 1993. According to NASA, Ashby, a career Navy pilot, has traveled more than 11 million miles, flown 436 orbits around the Earth, and logged over 660 hours in space. In 1999, he piloted Space Shuttle Columbia; in 2001 he was the pilot aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour. In 2002, Ashby was the mission commander of Space Shuttle Atlantis.
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Richard Wilson Austin, an 1877 graduate of East Tennessee University (UT’s predecessor), was consul to Scotland from 1906 to 1907 and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1909 to 1919. (deceased)

Full image Howard Baker Sr. (Knoxville ’22, ’24) served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1951 to 1964. (deceased)

William M. Barker (Chattanooga ’64) is chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court. He formerly served on the Court of Criminal Appeals.

George White Baxter graduated from East Tennessee University (UT’s predecessor) in 1871. He was governor of the Wyoming Territory in 1886 and was the Democratic nominee for governor of Wyoming in the state’s first election in 1890. (deceased)

B.B. Bell ( Chattanooga ’69) was nominated in 2005 to command U.S. troops in South Korea. From 2002 to 2005 he was commanding general of the U.S. Army in Europe and the Seventh Army. He is one of only eight four-star generals in the U.S. Army. A native of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Bell graduated from UTC with a degree in business administration.

Marion Speed Boyd (Knoxville ’21) was U.S. district judge for the western district of Tennessee from 1940 to 1961 and chief judge from 1961 to 1966. (deceased)

Robert Emmet Callan attended UT Knoxville from 1888 to 1891. He was a major general in the U.S. Army and assistant chief of staff in the War Department from 1931 to 1935. (deceased)

Walter C. Chandler (Knoxville ’09) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1935 to 1940 and served as mayor of Memphis from 1940 to 1946 and in 1955. (deceased)

Clement C. Clay received one of the first degrees granted by East Tennessee College (now UT) in 1807. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives, as a U.S. senator from Alabama, and as governor of Alabama. (deceased)

Jesse Samuel Cottrell (Knoxville ’01) was U.S. minister to Bolivia and Washington correspondent and editor for the Knoxville News Sentinel and the Knoxville Journal (deceased)

John Hervey Crozier (Knoxville 1829) was president of the Knoxville and Kentucky Railroad and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1845 to 1849. (deceased)

Nancy-Ann Min DeParle (Knoxville ’78) is the former administrator of the Federal Health Care Financing Administration. She was the university’s first woman Rhodes Scholar and the first woman president of the Student Government Association at Knoxville. She was Tennessee commissioner of human services from 1987 to 1989. She is with J. P. Morgan Advisers.

Alex Dunlap, a 1996 graduate of the UT College of Medicine, was alternate payload specialist on Neurolab, a mission of NASA’s Space Shuttle program in 1998.

Joe Frank Edwards Jr. (Knoxville ’94) was selected a NASA astronaut in 1994, flew on the Space Shuttle Endeavor, and worked technical issues for the Space Shuttle and Space Station. He retired in 2000.

Barton J. Gordon (Knoxville ’73), represents Tennessee’s sixth district in the U.S. Congress.

Dominic Gorie (Knoxville ’90) is a NASA astronaut who has made three space flights. He was commander of Space Shuttle Endeavor’s flight in 2001.
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Ronnie Greer (Knoxville ’80) was appointed U.S. District judge for eastern Tennessee in 2003. He is a former Tennessee state senator.

Henry Hartsfield Jr. (Space Institute ’71), was a NASA astronaut. He made three space flights and was mission commander aboard Discovery in 1984 and Challenger in 1985. He is vice president of Raytheon Aerospace Engineering Services.

Charles O. Hobaugh (Space Institute ’94) is a NASA astronaut.

Thomas G. Hull (Knoxville ’51) was chief U.S. district judge in Greeneville, Tennessee. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1955.

Ed Jones attended UT Junior College (now UT Martin) and graduated from UT in Knoxville in 1934. He was Tennessee commissioner of agriculture from 1949 to 1952 and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1969 to 1989. (deceased)

Estes Kefauver (Knoxville ’24) served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1939 to 1949 and in the Senate from 1949 to 1963. He was the Democratic party’s vice presidential nominee in 1956.(deceased)

William L. Jenkins (Knoxville ’61) is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee’s first district. He was speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1969, is a former Tennessee commissioner of conservation, and served on the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
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William G. McAdoo Jr. attended UT in Knoxville from 1879 to 1882. He was U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1913 to 1918 and senator from California from 1933 to 1939. He was a founder of the Federal Reserve Board. (deceased)

John E. McCall (Knoxville 1881) was editor of the Tennessee Republican and served in both the Tennessee and the U.S. House of Representatives. (deceased)

Ridley McLean attended UT in Knoxville from 1888 to 1890. He was a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy and wrote the Bluejacket’s Manual, which is still used to teach naval recruits the basics of seamanship. (deceased)

Hector Ormachea-Penaranda (Knoxville ’67) became minister of national defense in Bolivia in 1989. He was a senator in the Bolivian Congress.

Donald Peterson attended the UT Space Institute in Tullahoma. He was a crew member of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983 and retired from NASA the following year.

James R. “Jim” Sasser attended UT from 1954 to 1955. He was a U.S. senator from Tennessee, serving from 1977 to 1995. He also was ambassador to China.

Ronald L. Schlicher ( Knoxville ’81) became U.S. ambassador to Cyprus in 2005. Schlicher is a veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service and formerly was coordinator for Iraq in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

Margaret Scobey (Knoxville ’71, ’73) became U.S. ambassador to Syria in 2004. She previously served in Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Kuwait.

Milton Shaw (Knoxville ’44) was a mechanical and nuclear engineer who helped develop the reactor plant system for the world's first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus, launched in 1954, as well as other nuclear-powered ships. (deceased)

Heath Shuler (Knoxville ’01) is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina. He is a former quarterback for the Tennessee Volunteers.

Andrew K. Stern (Knoxville ’01) died in Iraq in 2004, possibly the first UT graduate to give his life in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was a first lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was buried with honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

Paul Summers, a graduate of the UT College of Law, was attorney general of the state of Tennessee from 1999 to 2006. Prior to that, he was a judge on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.

John Tanner (Knoxville ’66, ‘68) has served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee’s eighth district since 1989. He served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1977 to 1989.
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David Duvall Thomas, who attended UT Knoxville in engineering in the 1930s, oversaw the U.S. air traffic control centers and retired in 1970 as deputy administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. He was in charge of the federal air tracking system in the 1950s and in the 1960s helped increase airport security in response to terrorist hijackings. He received the Distinguished Federal Service Award, the highest honor for career government employees. (deceased)

Gary R. Wade was appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2006. He previously was presiding judge of the state Court of Criminal Appeals.

Zach Wamp attended UT Knoxville. He represents Tennessee’s third district in the U.S. House of Representatives. His service began in 1995. He is the only Tennessean who serves on the House Appropriations Committee.
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James H. Williams, who graduated in 1827, was U.S. minister to Turkey from 1858 to 1861 and Confederate emissary to Britain in 1861. (deceased)

Barry Wilmore (UTSI ’94) was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2000.
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John Austin Armitage (Knoxville ’40) was chief of the European branch of Voice of America, first secretary in the U.S. Embassy in Teheran, counselor in the U.S. Embasssy in Moscow, director of the Office of United Nations Political Affairs, and assistant secretary of state for European affairs. He is a former diplomat in residence at the University of Virginia.

Victor Ashe (Knoxville ’74) was appointed in 2004 to be U.S. ambassador to Poland. He is a former mayor of Knoxville (1988-2003) and member of the Tennessee General Assembly. He was president of the National Conference of Mayors in 1994.

John Dewitt Clinton Atkins graduated from East Tennessee University (UT’s predecessor) in 1846. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Tennessee House and the Tennessee Senate. He was commissioner of Indian affairs from 1885 to 1888.

Full image Howard Baker Jr. (Knoxville ’49) was U.S. ambassador to Japan from 2001 through 2004. Baker served as both minority and majority leader during his 18 years in the U.S. Senate. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984. He was White House chief of staff from 1987 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. Throughout his career, Baker has remained an active supporter of the University of Tennessee and chaired the university’s Tennessee Tomorrow fund raising campaign in the 1990s. UT's Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, located in Knoxville, recognizes his service to the university, state, and nation located in Knoxville, recognizes his service to the university, state, and nation. Baker served as both minority and majority leader during his 18 years in the U.S. Senate. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984. He was White House chief of staff from 1987 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. Throughout his career, Baker has remained an active supporter of the University of Tennessee and chaired the university’s Tennessee Tomorrow fund raising campaign in the 1990s. Learn More

Lt. Gen. John Bradley (Knoxville ’67) is chief of the U.S. Air Force Reserve and commander of Air Force Reserve command. Learn More

Clifton B. Cates (Knoxville ’16) was an aide to President Woodrow Wilson and later commandant of the Marine Corps Schools. He was commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps from 1948 to 1955. (deceased)

Saxby Chambliss was elected in 2002 as a U.S. senator from Georgia. He is a 1968 UT law graduate.

Philander Priestly Claxton Jr. (Knoxville ’34) held high positions in the U.S. State Department, from which he retired in 1975. He was president of the World Population Society from 1975 to 1985 (deceased).

Philander P. Claxton Sr. graduated from UT in 1882. He was U.S. commissioner of education from 1911 to 1921. The Claxton Education Building at UT in Knoxville is named for him. (deceased) His son, C. Porter Claxton, also a UT graduate, was the first administrator of the University of Tennessee Junior College, forerunner of UT Martin.

Robert N “Bob” Clement (Knoxville ’67) was president of Cumberland College from 1983 to 1987 and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1988 to 2002.

Robert Corker (Knoxville ’74) is a U.S. senator from Tennessee and former mayor of Chattanooga. He also served as Tennessee commissioner of finance and administration.

James DeMint (Knoxville ’73) was elected U.S. senator from South Carolina in 2004. He formerly represented South Carolina’s fourth congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Lurita Doan (Knoxville ’83) became administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration in 2006. She is the first woman to head the federal procurement and property management agency. She is former president and CEO of New Technology Management Inc.

John J. Duncan Sr. attended UT from 1939 to 1941. He was mayor of Knoxville and served in the U.S. House of Representatives. (deceased)

John J. Duncan Jr. (Knoxville ’69) has represented Tennessee’s second district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1988.
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Winfield Dunn, a 1955 graduate of the College of Dentistry, was governor of Tennessee from 1971 to 1975.

James B. Frazier, who graduated in 1878, was governor of Tennessee from 1903 to 1905 and U.S. senator from 1905 to 1911.

Norman C. Gaddis (Knoxville ’47) is a retired Air Force brigadier general. He was deputy director of operations, Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.

Albert Gore Sr. attended UT in Knoxville from 1926 to 1928. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1939 to 1953 and the U.S. Senate from 1953 to 1971.

Chris Hadfield (Knoxville ’92) made two Space Shuttle flights as a NASA astronaut. From 2001 through 2003 Colonel Hadfield was in Star City, Russia, as NASA’s director of operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center.

William M. Hendon (Knoxville ’66, ’71) was a Congressman from North Carolina during the 97th-99th congresses.

Bruce Holloway attended UT in Knoxville from 1929 to 1931. He was commander in chief of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe from 1965 to 1966 and commander in chief of the Strategic Air Command from 1968 to 1972. (deceased)

John Chiles Houk attended UT Knoxville from 1872 to 1879. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1891 to 1895 and later served in the Tennessee Senate. (deceased)

Carl Barton Huffaker (Knoxville ’38, ’39) was president of the International Organization for Biological Control and an influential professor of entomology at the University of California. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, president of the Entomological Society of America, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. (deceased)

Scott Kelly (Space Institute ’96) is a NASA astronaut who piloted the Discovery Space Shuttle’s 1999 mission to service the Hubble space telescope.
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Thomas A.R. Nelson graduated in 1828 and served in the U.S. House of Representatives and on the Tennessee Supreme Court. He was counsel to President Andrew Johnson during his impeachment trial in 1868.

George W. Ochs, 1880, was mayor of Chattanooga and general manager of the Chattanooga Times. He was also editor and publisher of the Philadelphia Public Ledger. (deceased)

Michael C. Polt (Knoxville ’77) became U.S. ambassador to Serbia-Montenegro in 2004.

James Percy Priest attended UT in Knoxville in 1923. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1940 to 1956. (deceased)

Mercer Reynolds III, an MBA graduate of UT Chattanooga, is former U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein (2001 to 2003). He is co-chairman of the Cincinnati-based investment firm Reynolds, DeWitt & Co. and chairman and CEO of Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Georgia. He was national finance chairman for President George Bush’s re-election campaign in 2004.

Kathryn Dee Robinson (Knoxville ’71) of Dayton, Tennessee, is a former U.S. ambassador to Ghana. She began her diplomatic career in 1975 with an assignment in India and also served in China, Indonesia, and Korea.

Kenneth Rush (Knoxville ’30) was U.S. ambassador to West Germany and France. He also served as deputy secretary of defense from 1972 to 1973 and deputy secretary of state from 1973 to 1974. (deceased)

Edward Terry Sanford, who graduated in 1883, was a U.S. Supreme Court justice from 1923 to 1930. (deceased)

Margaret Rhea Seddon (Health Science Center ’73) was one of the first six women astronauts. She flew on the Discovery missions in 1985 and 1991 and on the Columbia space shuttle mission in 1993.

Austin C. Shofner (Knoxville ’37) was a general in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was captured by the Japanese during World War II on the island of Corregidor but gained his freedom when he led a prison escape. (deceased)

Deborah Taylor Tate was sworn in as a member of the Federal Communications Commission in 2006. She is a former director of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. She holds bachelor’s and law degrees from UT Knoxville.

George Caldwell Taylor (Knoxville ’08) was U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Tennessee and U.S. district judge. The UT College of Law is named for him. (deceased)

Lawrence D. Tyson graduated from UT in Knoxville in 1894. He was a brigadier general, speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, and U.S. senator from 1925 to 1929. (deceased)

Herbert S. “Hub” Walters, who attended UTK from 1915 to 1918, served in the Tennessee House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate from 1963 to 1964. He endowed the Walters Scholarships at UT. Walters Life Science Building on the Knoxville campus is named for him, as is Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tennessee. (deceased)
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Maurice F. Weisner, who attended UTK in 1956, is a retired admiral who commanded the Pacific fleet during the Vietnam War. He was vice chief of naval operations from 1972 to 1973 and commander in chief of Unified Pacific Command from 1976 to 1979.

Washington Curran Whitthorne (Knoxville 1843) was a U.S. senator from Tennessee in 1886-87 and a U.S. representative. He also was speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives. (deceased)