Famous Hoosiers

Evan Bayh — B.S., business economics, 1978; honorary doctor of laws degree, 1996
Democrat Evan Bayh was elected to his second term as U.S. senator in 2004. Before serving in the Senate, Bayh served two terms as Indiana governor.

Joshua Bell — Artist Diploma in violin performance, 1989, School of Music
Bell is an internationally renowned, Grammy award-winning violinist who performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of 14. In addition to being a musical standout, Bell was named one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People.” He returned to IU last fall for two weeklong residencies as a senior lecturer with the Jacobs School of Music.

Hoagy Carmichael — Bachelor of Laws, 1926; honorary doctorate of music, 1972
Born in Bloomington, the jazz songwriter, singer and actor is best known for writing the melody to “Stardust.” He wrote “Georgia On My Mind,” which was later recorded by Ray Charles and received two Grammys.

Mark Cuban — B.S., business, 1981
Internet billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks. According to an IU Alumni Association Magazine article, Cuban made money in college by giving disco dancing lessons at sorority houses. At the age of 21, he purchased Motely’s Pub, a then-popular hangout on Kirkwood Avenue. That venture went sour, however, when several customers and participants in a wet T-shirt contest were discovered to be underage, according to the article.

Jared Fogle — B.S., business, 2000
Known as the Subway guy, Fogle was an IU student in the Kelley School of Business who went on his famous Subway-only diet for a year, losing almost 250 pounds. His famous commercials landed Fogle nationwide success, and he speaks around the country about his diet. He has visited IU several times, as well as the Subway that made him famous at 401 S. Woodlawn Ave.

Robert Gates — M.S., history, 1966
Robert Gates is the current U.S. Secretary of Defense. Before his current position, he worked in the CIA for 26 years as well as under President George H. W. Bush as Deputy National Security Adviser. He has also served as president of Texas A&M University, the seventh-largest university in the nation.
Kevin Kline — B.A., speech and theater, 1970
Though he recently played a supporting role in “Definitely, Maybe,” Kline is better known for winning two Tony Awards — one for “On Twentieth Century” (1978) and the other for “The Pirates of Penzance” (1981). He also received an Oscar as a supporting actor for “A Fish Called Wanda” (1988). He studied acting at IU before attending the Juilliard School in New York.

Jane Pauley — B.A., political science, 1971
Pauley, who was born in Indianapolis, is best known as a morning anchor for NBC’s “Today” show. She was also a cohost of NBC’s “Dateline.” In 2005, she released an autobiography detailing her experience with bipolar disorder titled “Skywriting: A Life Out of the Blue.”

Will Shortz — B.A., enigmatology, 1974
Since 1993, Shortz has been the crossword puzzle editor for the New York Times, and is the only person known to have majored in enigmatology, the study of puzzles. He was rated by Esquire magazine as one of “The 100 Best People in the World” and wrote riddles for the 1995 movie “Batman Forever.”

Isiah Thomas — B.A., criminal justice, 1987
After playing basketball at IU for Bob Knight and winning a national title in 1981, Thomas went on to play and then coach in the NBA. He became head coach of the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. Though he’s been in the news for recent controversy and was later fired from the Knicks, he has been named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.

Michael Uslan — B.A., history, 1973; M.S., education, 1975; J.D., 1976
Michael Uslan came up with the idea for the definitive “Batman” movie in 1975 while he was an IU student. His vision was finally realized in the 1989 movie “Batman.” Uslan was executive producer of the film and all of its sequels, including the “The Dark Knight,” released last summer. He taught the nation’s first accredited comic-book course at IU in 1971. His gift of more than 30,000 comic books is housed in IU’s Lilly Library.

Mark Spitz — 1972
Mark Spitz is a swimming legend who won seven gold medals in the 1972 Olympics. The record stood for more than 30 years until Michael Phelps beat it in the 2008 Olympic games.