1. Carl Albert: BA in Political Science, Kappa Alpha Order, and former Speaker of the US House of Representatives (D-OK). Albert held the highest political office of any Oklahoman in American History. Albert is from McAlester, Oklahoma. At five foot four, he was known as the “Little Giant from Little Dixie.” He started at OU in 1927 and was an accomplished writer and amateur wrestler. He had a private law practice in Oklahoma City until the start of World War II. Albert joined the US Army as a private in 1941, eventually earning a Bronze Star and leaving the Army as a lieutenant colonel in 1946. That same year, Albert was elected to Congress as a Cold War liberal. In 1955, he was appointed the House Majority Whip and became House Majority Leader in 1961. During his time in Washington, Albert played key roles in several movements including the passage of the Medicare bill and dealing with issues related to the Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassinations, Watergate, and the Vietnam War. Albert retired in 1977 and passed away in 2000.
2. Susana Martinez: J.D. from OU Law, current governor of New Mexico, and first Hispanic woman (Latina) governor in the US. Martinez. Martinez was raised in El Paso. Her father was a boxer for the U.S. Marines during the Korean War, winning three straight Golden Gloves. She met her husband while studying at OU Law. After climbing the ranks in New Mexico, Martinez eventually was elected Governor of New Mexico, becoming the first woman governor of the state. In 2008, Heart Magazine named Martinez “Woman of the Year” and in 2013, she was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.
3. Tom Colbert: J.D. from OU Law and first African-American Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice. Colbert was born in Oklahoma City and got his bachelor’s degree from East Central University. Before his time at OU, he served in the Criminal Investigation Division of the United States Army. After serving as the Assistant Dean to the Marquette University Law School, he returned to Oklahoma and alternated his service between private practices and serving as an attorney with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. From 1999 to 2004, he served as the first African-American judge on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals. He was appointed to the Court’s 6 seat in 2004.
4. Dick Armey: PhD in Economics from OU, Pi Kapa Alpha, and former US House Majority Leader (R-TX). Armey was raised in Cando, North Dakota. After achieving his PhD, Armey was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1984 as one of the “Texas Six Pack” — six freshmen Republican Party congressmen elected that year. In 2002, Armey announced his retirement. That year, he was named the chairman of the US House Committee on Homeland Security and was primarily responsible for the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Since retirement, Armey worked on the hill as an advisor and lobbyist against the Obama administration’s health care reform proposals until 2009.
5. Henry T. Lynch: BA from OU and the “father of cancer genetics.” Lynch was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts and grew up in New York City. He dropped out of school at 14 to illegally join the US Navy at age 16, serving as a gunner during World War II. After being discharged, he became a professional boxer under the name “Hammering Hank” while obtaining his high school equivalency. He then got his bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma, master’s degree from the University of Denver and studied for his PhD. at the University of Texas at Austin. Although at the time, the American Cancer Society frequently stated that cancer was not hereditary, Lynch had a hunch that it was. After years of research and results, Lynch’s theory of genetically based cancers was eventually accepted. He laid the ground work for the identification of specific genes responsible for breast and ovarian cancers.
6. Jess Larson: BA from OU, J.D. from OU Law, US Air Force Major General, and first administrator of the General Services Administration. Larson was born in 1904 in Mill Creek, Oklahoma and died in 1987 in Washington, D.C. Larson grew up in Chickasha where he helped run his family’s ranching and dairy farm. While attending the Missouri Military Academy, he enrolled in the Oklahoma National Guard at age 16. After receiving his degrees from OU and OU Law while serving in the ROTC, Larson was elected the mayor of Chickasha. Because of his role in the National Guard, Larson was called to action during World War II and received the Legion of Merit and Purple Heart medals. Upon returning to the States, he served as the first administrator of the General Services Administration of the War Assets Administration and was the chairman and president of the Air Force Association. He died at age 82.
7. Robert Harlan Henry, B.A. from OU and J.D. from OU Law, US Court of Appeals Judge and former Oklahoma Attorney General. Henry was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma in 1953 and went on to earn degrees from both OU and OU Law. Shortly after graduating from law school, Henry was elected to fill his uncle’s seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. He served there until 1986 when he was elected Attorney General of Oklahoma. Although he was re-elected, Henry resigned in 1991 to serve as the dean of the Oklahoma City University School of Law for two years. In 1994 President Bill Clinton appointed Henry for the lifetime position as a federal judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. In 2008, Henry became the chief judge of the Tenth Circuit, and just one year later he became the president and CEO of Oklahoma City University, a position he still carries today.
8. Fernando Chui Sai On, PhD in Public Health from OU, current Chief Executive and the former Secretary for Social and Cultural Affairs of the Macau Special Administrative Region of China. Chui was born in 1957 to a local construction tycoon in Macau, China. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in City Hygine Administration from California State University, Chui got his PhD in Public Health from OU. Chui is heavily involved in youth and education in China, from tutoring to serving as headmaster of the Kiang Ping School. In 2009 Chui declared himself the sole candidate for Macau’s chief executive position and was nominated by 286 of 300 members of the election committee. Chui has made sizable changes to his home state; Macau is currently number one in the world by PPP per capita and number five by GDP growth rate (12%).
9. Steve Lamb, BA Radio Television News. Dallas radio legend and longest uninterrupted weekday tenure of any radio sports figure in Texas history. Lamb was born and raised a Cardinals fan in St. Louis, Missouri. His family moved to Oklahoma, leading Lamb to earn his diploma from OU. Lamb moved to Texas in 1986 and has earned several awards there in his 23 years of airtime. These days Lamb joins Hal Jay, Brian Estridge, Brad Barton and Marlee McCormick every morning with the latest update from the sports world as part of the WBAP Morning News in North Texas. His wife, Deborah, is the morning anchor at NBC-5.
10. Dennis Weaver, BA in Acting from OU, Emmy award-winning actor. Weaver was born in Joplin, Missouri in 1924 and died in Colorado in 2006. He transferred to OU to study acting while he became a track star, setting several school records in multiple events. Weaver even tried out for the Olympic team but didn’t make the cut- so he went back to acting. Weaver is best known for his role as Chester on the longest-running live action series in US history- Gunsmoke (1952-1961). In 1959, Weaver received in Emmy Award fro Best Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Series. He later played Marshal Sam McCloud on the NBC drama McCloud (1970-1977) and appeared in Steven Spielberg’s first film – Duel (1971). Amidst his dozens of TV and film roles, Weaver served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1973 to 1975. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, has been inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame with a Bronze Wrangler Award at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. He was known as an avid environmentalist.
