Other Distinguished Alumni 

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The alumni listed here represent only a sampling of the many distinguished graduates of Emory & Henry College. In the tradition of an historic institution with a strong reputation for excellence, a wide diversity of academic and professional achievements.

Education

• Dr. Joe Kincheloe (class of 1972 ), author of six books on educational reform--including one touted by USA Today for its critique of SAT and ACT as being biased against cultural minorities, Faculty at Clemson University. Frequent guest lecturer nationwide.

 
Corporate

• Richard Joshua Reynolds (1868-1870), founder of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.

• David Parish (class of 1948), retired president of the Michie Company who led the company from a money-losing operation to a position as the world's largest publisher of law books.

• Eugene Meyung (class of 1948), CEO of GEICO; prior to his retirement, was often quoted in national newsmagazines and financial magazines as a top authority in the insurance field.

• Harold Poling, retired CEO of Ford Motor Company.

Politics

• Henry Carter Stuart (class of 1847), Governor of Virginia.
• George C. Peery (class of 1894), member of Congress from Virginia; Governor of Virginia.
• Morgan Griffith (class of 1980), member of Congress from Virginia; Majority Leader, Virginia House of Delegates.
• Toni Atkins (class of 1984), member of the California General Assembly, former interim mayor of San Diego.

Science, Health, and Medicine

• Edward C. Huffacker (class of 1880), pioneer scientist in the field of manned flight; assisted the Wright brothers with preliminary experiments at Kitty Hawk.

• Dr. Alvin J. Ciccone (class of 1959), family practitioner, Virginia Family Doctor of the Year (1988); President, Virginia Academy of Family Physicians; first chairmen of the Department of Family Practice at the Eastern Virginia Medical School. He won an Emmy for television documentaries on health issues.

Literature and Arts

• Libba Moore Gray (1955-1957), educator, actress and award-winning children's book author.

• Dr. H. Bosley Woolf (class of 1931), highly regarded lexicographer and editor-in-chief of the eighth edition of Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary.

• Lynn Pecktal (class of 1956), set designer on Broadway.

• Michael Austin (class of 1975), leading tenor for Italian operas at the Stutgart Opera House in Germany; frequent guest soloist with U.S. opera companies.

• Rebecca Phillips Abbott (class of 1973), founding director and curator of the Carnegie Arts Center in Turlock, California.

• Carole Wharton (class of 1963), director of planning for the Smithsonian.

Military

• Major General James Ewell Brown "J.E.B." Stuart (1848-1851), master of reconnaissance missions during the Civil War, and twice made daring exploits, first in the Peninsula Campaign and again at Antietam.