Arts, film, theatre, and broadcasting

• Bob Faw, NBC national news correspondent
• Herb Jackson, contemporary artist
• Joseph Robinson, oboist, Principal Oboe of the New York Philharmonic (1978-2005)
• Jana Sampson, singer
• Tony Snow, White House Press Secretary (2006-2007), syndicated talk radio host and pundit featured on the Fox News Channel
• Lester Strong, Boston-area television news anchor; the first African-American in the nation to join the Phi Delta Theta fraternity

Athletics

• Mikio Aoki, Baseball Head Coach of Boston College (2006-current), Columbia University (1999-2003)
• Brian Akin, professional baseball player (2004-current)
• Brett Boretti, Baseball Head Coach of Columbia University (2005-current), Franklin & Marshall (2000-2005)
• Alex Gibbs, Assistant Head Coach / Offense of the Houston Texans (2008-current)
• Fred Hetzel, NBA basketball player (1965-71)
• Richard Howell, Assistant Strength Coach of the Indianapolis Colts (2000-current)
• Peter Hughes, Baseball Head Coach of Virginia Tech (2006-current), Boston College (1998-2006), Trinity University (1997-1998)
• Terry Holland, Athletics Director of Davidson College (1990-1995), The University of Virginia (1995-2001), East Carolina University (2004-current); Mens Basketball Head Coach of Davidson College (1969-1974), The University of Virginia (1974-1990)
• Chris Pollard, Baseball Head Coach of Appalachian State University (2004-current), Pfeiffer University (2000-2004)
• Dick Snyder, NBA basketball player (1966-1979)
• Ryan Alexander, (German Football League) Quarterback for the Darmstadt Diamonds (Starting April of 2009)

Business

• James Batten, CEO, Knight-Ridder (1989-1995)
• John Belk, head of Belk, Inc.
• John Chidsey, CEO, Burger King, Inc. (2006-current)
• S. Mark Williams, CEO and founder, Modality, Inc.

Education

• Graham T. Allison, professor at Harvard and author of Essence of Decision (did not graduate)
• Elizabeth Kiss, President at Agnes Scott College (2006-current)
• W. Kendrick Pritchett, Professor Emeritus of Classics at the University of California, Berkeley
• Woodrow Wilson, President at Princeton University (1902-1910) (did not graduate)
• Benjamin Young, Professor of Biology at UNC Arden (2008-Current)

Law

• Kenneth B. Bell, Justice of the Florida Supreme Court (2003-current)
• Vincent Foster, Deputy White House Counsel in the Bill Clinton administration (1993)
• William J. Haynes, II, General Counsel, U.S. Department of Defense

Politics (Elected Office)

• John Belk, Mayor of Charlotte (1969-1977)
• John M. Faison, United States Congressman representing North Carolina (1911-1915)
• Jim Hodges, Governor of South Carolina (1999-2003)
• James Holshouser, Governor of North Carolina (1973-1977)
• James G. Martin, Governor of North Carolina (1985-1993)
• Larry McDonald, United States Congressman representing Georgia (1975-1983); died 1983 when the Soviets shot down Korean Air Flight 007
• George Osborne, Conservative Member of Parliament and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom; studied at Davidson as a Dean Rusk Scholar
• John Spratt, United States Congressman representing South Carolina (1982-current), ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, member of the House Armed Services Committee, and Assistant to the Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives
• Mary Verner, Mayor of Spokane, Washington (2007-current)
• Woodrow Wilson, United States President (1913-1921), attended Davidson College (1873-1874) (did not graduate)

Politics and Activism (Non-Elected Office)

• Kenneth L. Brown, US Ambassador to Ghana (1992-1995)
• William R. Ferris, Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities (1997-2001)
• Wyche Fowler, Jr., US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (1996-2001)
• Vincent W. Foster, Jr., Deputy White House Counsel (1993)
• David H. Gambrell, United States Senator representing Georgia (1971-1972) (appointed)
• Leonidas L. Polk, American agrarian leader
• Dean Rusk, United States Secretary of State (1961-1969)
• Tony Snow, White House Press Secretary (2006-2007), syndicated talk radio host and pundit featured on the Fox News Channel
• Anne Stanback, Executive Director, Love Makes a Family; Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame inductee

Religion

• Paul B. Freeland, Presbyterian minister from Louisiana, genealogist, historian, philanthropist

Writers, Journalists, & Publishers

• Vereen Bell, journalist and author
• Patricia Cornwell, author
• McKendree Long, artist, preacher, poet, gained recent national notoriety as "picture painter of the apocalypse"
• Sheri Reynolds, author, playwright
• William Styron, author; attended in 1942, dropped out to join the Marines
• Charles Wright, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, chancellor of The Academy of American Poets, winner of the Library of Congress' lifetime achievement Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry award

(Source: Wikipedia)