Virginia State University: A Legacy of Notable Alumni

Virginia State University (VSU), a historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia, has fostered a rich legacy of alumni who have made significant contributions across various fields. From civil rights to entertainment and business, VSU graduates have consistently demonstrated excellence and leadership. Founded on March 6, 1882, VSU stands as the first fully state-supported four-year institution of higher learning for Black Americans, embodying its motto, "Greater Happens Here."

Arts and Entertainment

VSU boasts a remarkable array of alumni who have excelled in the arts and entertainment industries.

James LaRue Avery

James LaRue Avery was an American actor and poet. He was best known for his roles as Philip Banks in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Judge Michael Conover on L.A. Law, Steve Yeager in The Brady Bunch Movie, Haroud Hazi Bin in Aladdin and

2 Chainz

Tauheed K. Epps, known professionally as 2 Chainz, is an American rapper, songwriter, media personality, and basketball player. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition for being one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, alongside his longtime friend and fellow rapper Earl "Dolla Boy" Conyers.

Wale

Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, known as Wale, is an American rapper. He gained recognition for his song "Dig Dug (Shake It)" in 2006 and later signed with Mark Ronson's Allido Records in 2007.

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Thomas Miller

Thomas Miller was a prolific graphic designer and visual artist whose best-known publicly accessible work is the collection of mosaics of the founders of the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, Illinois. The mosaics are a prominent feature of the museum lobby, the original portion of which was designed c.1915 by D.H. Burnham and Company to serve as the South Park Administration Building in Washington Park on the city's south side.

Camilla Williams

Camilla Ella Williams was an American operatic soprano who performed nationally and internationally. After studying with renowned teachers in New York City, she was the first African American to receive a regular contract with a major American opera company, the New York City Opera.

Black Cobain

Marcus Gloster, known professionally as Black Cobain, is an independent American rapper signed with Jet Life Recordings.

Billy Taylor

Billy Taylor was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the artistic director for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Trailblazers in Politics and Law

VSU has produced numerous alumni who have made significant strides in the fields of politics and law, breaking barriers and shaping policies.

Justice Coleman

Justice Coleman was the first African-American to serve on the (N.J.) Supreme Court. He was nominated by Gov. Christine Todd Whitman on Oct. 3, 1994, and sworn in by Chief Justice Robert N. Wilentz on Dec. 16, 1994. Justice Coleman began his judicial career in May 1973 when he was appointed a judge of the Union County Court. He served in that capacity until December 1978, when he became a Superior Court judge. In March 1981, he was elevated by Chief Justice Wilentz to the Appellate Division. Justice Coleman was born in Lawrenceville, Va, on May 4, 1933. He graduated 1952 from James S. Russell High School in Lawrenceville, Va. He is a 1956 cum laude graduate of Virginia State University. He received his law degree in 1959 from Howard University School of Law, Washington, D. C., and was admitted to the bar in New Jersey the following year.

The Honorable Jean Cunningham

Perhaps best known for her advocacy of gun control legislation and public education, the Honorable Jean Cunningham, VSU Class of 1968, served as a Virginia House of Delegates member from 1986 until she retired in 1997.

Rosalyn Dance

Rosalyn Dance, VSU Class of 1986, is a member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing the 63rd district southeast of Richmond, which is made up of the city of Petersburg; and part of Hopewell plus parts of Dinwiddie, Chesterfield, and Prince George Counties.

Jennifer Denise Carroll Foy

Jennifer Denise Carroll Foy is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she is a public defender by occupation. Carroll Foy was elected to represent Virginia's 2nd House of Delegates district in 2017, which covers parts of Prince William County and Stafford County in Northern Virginia.

Lucy McBath

Lucia Kay McBath is an American politician who has served in the United States House of Representatives from a district in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, since 2019.

Yvonne Bond Miller

Yvonne Bond Miller was a Virginia educator and American politician who became the first African-American woman to serve in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly.

Lashrecse Aird

Lashrecse Dianna Aird is an American Democratic politician who represented the 63rd District in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2016 to 2022.

Delores Goodwin Kelley

Delores Goodwin Kelley is an American politician from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party.

Antwan McClellan

Antwan McClellan is an American Republican Party politician who has represented the 1st Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since January 14, 2020.

Bobby Orrock

Robert Dickson Orrock, Sr. is an American politician. Since 1990 he has been a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 54th District in the east-central part of the state, including (since 2002) parts of Caroline and Spotsylvania Counties, a county included in the Washington metropolitan area.

Roger Gregory

Roger Lee Gregory is an American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Pioneers in STEM and Academia

VSU alumni have also made significant contributions to science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), and academia.

Dr. Christine Darden

In addition to her stellar career as an educator, Dr. Christine Darden was an American mathematician, data analyst, and aeronautical engineer who devoted much of her 40-year career in aerodynamics at NASA to researching supersonic flight and sonic booms. She had an M.S. in mathematics and had been teaching at Virginia State University before starting to work at the Langley Research Center in 1967. She earned a Ph.D. in engineering at George Washington University in 1983 and has published numerous articles in her field.

Gladys West

Gladys Mae West is an American mathematician. She is known for her contributions to mathematical modeling of the shape of the Earth, and her work on the development of satellite geodesy models, that were later incorporated into the Global Positioning System (GPS). West was inducted into the United States Air Force Hall of Fame in 2018. West was awarded the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award for the development of satellite geodesy models.

Dr. James H. Stith

Dr. James H. Stith is a product of Brunswick County, Virginia. The son of tobacco farmers, he obtained his early education at the three-room Oak Grove Elementary School. Stith earned his BS and MS degrees in physics from Virginia State College in 1963 and 1965, respectively. His Doctorate in Physics Education was earned at The Pennsylvania State University (PSU) in 1972. He was the first African American to earn tenure at the United States Military Academy and the first African American elected president of the American Association of Physics Teachers, then an 11,000 international society of physics educators. Dr. Stith received the Doctor of Humane Letters from Virginia State University and received the Presidential Citation from the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education in recognition of exemplary experiences that honored VSU.

Herman Branson

Herman Russell Branson was an American physicist, chemist, best known for his research on the Î± protein structure, and was also the president of two colleges.

Daryl Cumber Dance

Dance attended Ruthville High School in Ruthville, Virginia, and earned a bachelor's degree in English from Virginia State College in 1957. She then taught at Armstrong High School in Richmond until 1962, when she returned to Virginia State College as an instructor. The following year, she completed a master's degree from Virginia State. In 1971, Dance graduated from the University of Virginia with a doctorate in English and was named an assistant professor at Virginia State. She taught at Virginia Commonwealth University between 1972 and 1993, when she joined the University of Richmond faculty. 2013 Dance was appointed Sterling A. Brown Professor of English at Howard University.

Success in Business and Entrepreneurship

VSU has also cultivated leaders in the business world.

Reginald Lewis

Reginald Lewis, VSU Class of 1965, was the wealthiest African-American man in the 1980s. He won a football scholarship to VSU, graduating with a degree in economics. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1968 and was the first African American to build a billion-dollar company, Beatrice Foods.

Dzigbordi Dosoo

Dzigbordi Dosoo is a Ghanaian businesswoman, speaker, and consultant who owns a talk show called The Dzigbordi Show which airs in 46 countries in Africa, the UK, and Europe. She is the co-creator of African skin and body care aromatherapy and spa line product called Kanshi. She is Allure Africa's founder and Chief Executive officer, a brand she has successfully marketed in Ghana and beyond.

William R. Harvey

William Robert Harvey is an American educator, academic administrator, and businessman who served as president of Hampton University from 1978 to 2022.

Athletics

VSU has a proud tradition of athletic excellence, with alumni making their mark in professional sports.

Alonza "Al" Bumbry

Known affectionately as the "Bumblebee" by Baltimore Orioles Fans, Alonza "Al" Bumbry, VSU Class of '69, played 13 of his 14 Major League seasons as a star outfielder with the Baltimore Orioles. His speed made him one of the Orioles' all-time stolen base leaders. In 1973 he won the American League Rookie of the Year Award. He was an All-Star and made two World Series trips with the Orioles in 1979 and 1983, winning it in '83.

Clayton Anthony Rapada

Clayton Anthony Rapada is a Filipino American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, and Cleveland Indians.

Larry Brooks

Lawrence Lee Brooks Sr. is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL).

Avis Wyatt

Avis Wyatt is an American retired basketball player.

Johnny Borican

Track star and painter of Virginia State University portraits of Presidents, Johnny Borican, VSU Class of 1938, would have been the Jesse Owens of middle distances in track & field. During the 1938 Penn Relays, he was the only representative of a black school to win an individual medal. He became a national and international figure, setting many records. He won the National Pentathlon in â38, â39, and â41 and the National Decathlon in â41 and was set to compete in the 1940 Olympics if it was not canceled due to World War II. Tragically, his death in 1942 ended his promising career as a world-class athlete.

Military Service

VSU has a strong connection to military service, with many alumni serving their country with distinction.

Deshauna Barber

Deshauna Barber is an American motivational speaker, beauty pageant titleholder, and United States Army Reserve captain. On June 5, 2016, she was crowned Miss USA 2016 by outgoing titleholder Olivia Jordan of Oklahoma.

Dennis L. Via

Dennis L. Via is a retired United States Army four-star general who last served as the 18th commanding general of the United States Army Materiel Command from 7 August 2012 to 30 September 2016.

Charles R. Hamilton

Charles R. Hamilton is a former United States Army general who last served as the commanding general of United States Army Materiel Command from 16 March 2023 to 22 March 2024.

Ruppert L. Sargent

Ruppert Leon Sargent was a United States Army officer and a recipient of America's highest military decorationâthe Medal of Honorâfor his actions in the Vietnam War.

Captain William E. Bailey

Captain William E. Bailey, RET was inducted into the Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society's Aviation Hall of Fame in 2016.

Education and Community Service

VSU alumni have also dedicated their lives to education and community service.

Mary Alice Franklin Hatwood Futrell

Mary Alice Franklin Hatwood Futrell was born in Altavista, Virginia; her mother was a domestic and factory worker, and her father worked in construction. In 1962, Futrell received her degree in business education from Virginia State College.

Rodney Robinson

Rodney Robinson has been published three times by Yale University and has received numerous awards for his accomplishments in and out of the classroom, most notably the R.E.B. Award for Teaching Excellence.

Amaza Lee Meredith

Amaza Lee Meredith was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, on August 14, 1895. She was the eldest daughter of Emma P. Kenney and Samuel P. Meredith, a respected carpenter.

ABilly S. Jones-Hennin

ABilly S. Jones-Hennin was an American LGBT rights activist based in Washington, D.C.

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