Notable Alumni of Kentucky State University

Yingluck Shinawatra 1967–

Former Prime Minister of Thailand, first woman in the role

Master in Public Administration

Sibling: Thaksin Shinawatra (Eastern Kentucky University, Sam Houston State University)

Lho Shin-yong 1930–2019

Former prime minister of South Korea

Whitney Young 1921–1971

American civil rights leader

Also attended: Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Spouse: Margaret Buckner Young (Kentucky State University, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities)

Joe B. Bates 1893–1965

Former U.S. Representative from Kentucky

Attended until 1916

Anna Mac Clarke 1919–1944

WWII Women's Army Corps officer

Gerald Neal 1945–

Kentucky state senator

Also attended: University of Louisville

Jesse Crenshaw 1946–2026

Kentucky state legislator and lawyer

Bachelor of Science

Also attended: University of Kentucky

Tom Colbert 1949–

First Black justice of Oklahoma Supreme Court

Also attended: Eastern Kentucky University, University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus

Arnold Simpson 1952–

Former Kentucky state representative and lawyer

Also attended: University of Kentucky

Alice Allison Dunnigan 1906–1983

Journalist; first Black woman with White House credentials

Moneta Sleet, Jr. 1926–1996

Press photographer for Ebony magazine

Bob Atcher 1914–1993

Country musician

Ellis Wilson 1899–1977

Painter associated with the Harlem Renaissance

Attended until 1918

Also attended: School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Margaret Buckner Young 1921–2009

Educator and author

Also attended: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Spouse: Whitney Young (Kentucky State University, Harvard University)

Charles Dazey 1855–1938

Writer and playwright

Also attended: Harvard University

Effie Waller Smith 1879–1960

African-American poet from Kentucky

Billy Ray Bates 1956–

Former professional basketball player

Travis Grant 1950–

Former NBA forward for the Lakers

Jayjay Helterbrand 1976–

Filipino-American basketball player

Herb Trawick 1921–1985

First African American pro Canadian football player

Hamil Grimes 1956–

Barbadian sprinter

Also attended: University of Kentucky

Rod Hill 1959–

Former NFL and CFL cornerback

Bill Farrow 1918–2003

American professional basketball player

Kenny Jones 1984–

American professional basketball player