Notable Alpha Chi Convention Speakers

Public Figures

Wolf Blitzer, American journalist, television news anchor (CNN), and author of Between Washington and Jerusalem: A Reporter's Notebook
Carlotta Walls LaNier, the youngest of nine students chosen to integrate Little Rock Central High School in 1957, authored her memoir, A Mighty Long Way: My Journey To Justice At Little Rock Central High School, founded her own real estate brokerage firm in 1977
Carol H. Rasco, CEO of Reading is Fundamental, a devoted advocate for children, youth, and families, as a professional and as a volunteer
Dan Rather, Alpha Chi alumnus and American journalist and former national evening news anchor
James L. (Skip) Rutherford III, first president of the Clinton Foundation and a former Dean of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service
Sarah Ragle Weddington, Alpha Chi alumnus from McMurry University, White House Dir. of Political Affairs in the Carter Administration, and co-counsel representing Norma McCorvey ("Jane Roe") in the U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade.

Scholars

Ed Madden, Ph.D., Alpha Chi alumnus, poet, activist, and Director of Women's and Gender Studies at the University of South Carolina, who in 2015 was named Columbia, South Carolina's inaugural Poet Laureate
Dr. Don McCabe, a professor at Rutgers University and a widely published researcher focused on academic integrity

Scientists & Physicians

Dr. John Janovy, Jr., award-winning writer, professor, and researcher with a focus on parasitology and parasite ecology
Dr. Raymond P. Onders, Chief of General Surgery at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and Professor of Surgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine who focused his research efforts on ways to help people with spinal cord injuries and other patients breathe naturally using their own diaphragm
Dr. Dennis Richardson, distinguished helminthologist and professor of biology at Quinnipiac University and cofounder of the Bawa Health Initiative

Writers

David L. Harrison, poet and author of The Boy With a Drum, and recipient of the Christopher Award for The Book of Giant Stories
Sharyn McCrumb, New York Times best-selling author famous for her Appalachian "Ballad" trilogy set in the mountains of Tennessee and her native North Carolina
Sonia Nazario, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Enrique’s Journey
Nnedi Okorafor, award-winning novelist of African-based science fiction, fantasy, and magical realism for both children and adults
Jeff VanderMeer, New York Times best-selling author of the "Southern Reach" trilogy