Notable Alumni
| Name | Class year | Notability |
| Julian Abele | ca. 1896 [1] | Graduate of the Institute for Colored Youth (now Cheyney University) was a prominent African-American architect. Upon Abele's graduation in 1902 as the first black student in architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, Abele designed or contributed to the design of some 250 buildings, including Harvard’s Widener Memorial Library, Duke University, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Philadelphia Free Library, and many Gilded Age mansions in Newport and New York City. |
| Robert Bogle | 1973 | President/CEO of The Philadelphia Tribune, the oldest black newspaper in circulation today |
| Ed Bradley | Former CBS News journalist of the program 60 Minutes | |
| Octavius Catto | 1858 | Catto was the class valedictorian in 1858 at the Institute for Colored Youth (later Cheyney University). An activist, Catto was influential in getting the 15th Amendment passed in 1870 which gave black men the right to vote. Catto is also the founder of the first black baseball team in the United States (The Pythians, 1867) and the Equal Rights League (Oct. 1864). |
| Rebecca J. Cole | 1863 | Graduated from the Institute for Colored Youth in 1863 (now Cheyney University). She graduated from Women's Medical College (now the Medical College of Pennsylvania) in 1867 with a medical degree. Cole was the second African-American woman physician in the United States and the first black woman to graduate from the Women's Medical College. |
| Ronald S. Coleman | Lieutenant General, Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs for the United States Marine Corps | |
| Michael Horsey | State Representative for the 190th district in Philadelphia County | |
| Gladys Styles Johnston | Chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Kearney | |
| Thaddeus Kirkland | State Representative for the 159th district in Delaware County | |
| Joseph E. Lee | He graduated from the Institute for Colored Youth (presently Cheyney University) in the early 1860s and graduated from Howard University in law, 1873. He was admitted to the Florida bar that year and was one of the first blacks to practice in Florida. He was a member of the Florida House from 1875-1880 and the Florida Senate from 1881-82. [2] | |
| Randy Monroe | Current head coach of University of Maryland, Baltimore County men's basketball | |
| Samuel J. Patterson | CEO of Shepard Patterson Systems and Information Consulting Firm | |
| Bayard Rustin | African-American civil rights activist | |
| Josephine Silone Yates | African American writer, teacher, and civil rights advocate | |
| Joseph M. Segars | Retired Ambassador | |
| Robert Traynham | 1996 | Television Personality |
| Jim Vance | 1964 | Emmy Award-winning anchorman. Vance was inducted into the Journalists Hall of Fame. |
| Andre Waters | 1984 | Former NFL player |
| James "Big Cat" Williams | Former Chicago Bears player. He was a Pro Bowl offensive lineman. He had a 12-year career with the Bears. | |
| Robert L. Woodson | Founder and president of the National left for Neighborhood Enterprise (NCNE), Washington, D.C. | |
| Jim Ellis | 1972 | The inspiration behind the hit Hollywood movie Pride starring Terence Howard and Bernie Mac |
| Martha A. Fairbeau (Minton) | 1859 | 1st female graduate |
| Craig Welbourn | 1971 | His company owns and operates 28 McDonalds restaurants, making it the largest African American owned/owner of these restaurants in the world and puts him in the top one percent of all McDonalds owners |
| Marcus Foster | 1947 | Was a charismatic and highly esteemed African-American educator who gained a national reputation for educational excellence while serving as principal of Gratz High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as Associate Superintendent of Schools in Philadelphia, and as the first black Superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District in Oakland, California |
| William "Billy" Joe | 1970 | Coach Joe won 237 career games in 31 years of coaching at Cheyney (1972-1978), Central State of Ohio and FAMU, trailing only legendary Eddie Robinson of Grambling State in black-college football wins (408). He was the Pennsylvania State Conference Coach of the Year in 1978. Coach Joe was also the running backs coach for the Philadelphia Eagles (1979-80). He helped mentor the Eagles to the 1980 Super Bowl. Coach Joe was also AFL Rookie of the Year with the Denver Broncos in 1963, and he a was member of New York Jets' Super Bowl winning team (1969) |
| Dave Warren | 1986 | Talk Radio host and social satirist |
Source: http://wapedia.mobi/en/Cheyney_University_of_Pennsylvania
