10 celebrities you didn't know went to Indiana University

Imagine a world where you couldn't look up information on Wikipedia ; a world where Batman was a comedic superhero instead of the jaded " Dark Knight ." Worst of all: imagine a world without " Glee ."

Without Indiana University , those worlds could very well exist.

IU has been educating Hoosiers for more than 200 years, and with 774,000 alumni and counting , it's given birth to some legendary alumni. From the author of the " Hunger Games " to the current president of Ireland , IU has been home to celebrities, historic firsts and changemakers. Here are 10 alumni you might not know once called IU home.

The author behind “The Hunger Games”

Suzanne Collins is widely recognized as one of the most important young adult writers of the modern age for her “The Hunger Games” trilogy and prequel novel, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” both of which have been turned into blockbuster movie adaptations .

Before she made it big with the release of “Hunger Games” in 2008, Collins began her professional career studying theatre and telecommunications at IU in the early '80s. Collins seemed to get the idea for “Hunger Games” years after her time at IU – after receiving an MFA in dramatic writing from New York University, she spent a decade writing for children’s books and television like “Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!”

However, she reportedly appeared in an IU production of “Forest Game,” a play which examined the “violent, natural justice of the forest versus the violent, unnatural injustice of the world.” And during a tour for “Hunger Games,” Collins cited Hoosier author Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse Five” as one of the books she enjoyed reading most as a teen – or, so it goes.

The producer behind “Glee” and “American Horror Story”

One of the most prolific television producers of the 21st century, Indianapolis native Ryan Murphy is credited with creating some of the most binge-worthy television shows of the modern age like “Glee,” “American Horror Story,” “9-1-1: Lone Star” and “Pose.”

Murphy started his career in the media world as a journalism student at IU in the mid-80s, interning for publications like the Washington Post and Miami Herald . He started scriptwriting in the late '90s and achieved moderate success on the WB and FX with shows like “Nip/Tuck” before striking gold in the late 2000s with “Glee,” which went on to win countless Emmys and Teen Choice Awards and air for six seasons.

“Glee” broke barriers for its depictions of out gay and lesbian characters, as well as characters with mental and physical disabilities, and its setting of Lima, Ohio, was inspired by Murphy’s own midwestern upbringing.

The editor who made crosswords fun again

Crawfordsville native Will Shortz is best known as the man behind the New York Times daily crossword, serving as editor of the puzzle since 1993.

Through IU’s Individualized Major Program (IMP) in the early '70s, Shortz became the only person in history (as far as we know) to receive a degree in “enigmatology,” the study of puzzles.

Shortz is often credited with revitalizing the crossword for modern consumers by adding current events and contemporary pop culture and trying to scale back some “crosswordese” – crossword-specific language not often used in daily conversation – from the puzzle.

The sound engineer behind Taylor Swift’s biggest hits

You might not know Jacobs School of Music alumna Laura Sisk by name, but unless you’ve avoided pop radio like the plague for the past five years, you’ve no doubt heard some of her work.

Since graduating from the Jacobs School in 2010, Sisk has grown into one of the music industry’s most trusted sound engineers, working with the likes of Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Shakira, Fall Out Boy, Florence + the Machine, P!nk and more in just over 10 years.

A close friend of powerhouse producer Jack Antonoff (Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Lorde), Sisk is recognized for engineering recordings to artists’ specific vocal strengths and layering electronic and organic production elements into rich “textures” of sound .

Sisk has worked with Swift since the original “1989” album in 2014, including “Lover,” “Reputation,” and Swift’s most recent album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” Earlier this year, Sisk helped Swift take home her history-making fourth Album of the Year win with “Midnights,” for which she served as recording engineer.

The CEO who helped Disney through the pandemic

IU Class of ‘81 alumnus Bob Chapek had the unenviable position of serving as CEO of The Walt Disney Company from 2020 to 2022, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Originally studying microbiology at IU in the late '70s and early '80s , Chapek went on to receive a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Michigan State University and joined Disney in 1993 as marketing director of the company's Buena Vista Home Entertainment division (the team responsible for putting Disney movies and TV shows onto VHS and DVD). Chapek wore several hats over the next three decades at Disney, serving as president of consumer products from 2011 to 2015 and chairman of parks and resorts from 2015 to 2020.

Coming into the role of Disney’s CEO during the early pandemic, Chapek oversaw the growth of the recently-launched Disney streaming service and prioritized investment in Disney’s theme parks during an uncertain time.

While his tenure as Disney’s CEO was brief, lasting only through November of 2022, Chapek still made time to speak to IU’s graduating class during the 2022 commencement ceremony .

The guy who founded Wikipedia

While not a proper IU alumnus — he dropped out of IU’s Ph.D. finance program before completing his dissertation — Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, both taught and studied at IU Bloomington in the '90s .

An Alabama native, Wales studied finance at Auburn University (bachelor's) and the University of Alabama (master's) before coming to IU. Wales left IU prior to completing his doctoral dissertation to take a job at Chicago Options Associates, just years before he and co-founder Larry Sanger launched Wikipedia in 2001 .

The president of Ireland (yes, really)

Turns out Notre Dame isn’t the only Indiana college that produces some “fighting Irish.”

Michael D. Higgins, Ireland’s president since 2011, came to the U.S. in the 1960s to pursue a master's degree in sociology from IU Bloomington. Though an Ireland native, Higgins sought higher education across the globe, receiving his master's from IU in 1967 and pursuing postgraduate studies at the University of Manchester from 1968 to 1971 .

Higgins rose to political prominence in Ireland as the two-time mayor of Galway and the president of Ireland’s Labor Party from 2003 to 2010. As president, Higgins has emphasized matters of social justice and anti-sectarianism, becoming the first Irish president to visit the United Kingdom .

The father of jazz studies

Indianapolis native David Baker was a legendary jazz composer and conductor who received both his bachelor's and master's degrees from IU Bloomington in the mid 1950s.

Though Baker was a notable performer on trombone and cello, a 1953 car accident injured his jaw, hindering his ability to play brass instruments. Following his injury, Baker turned toward education, founding the Jacobs School’s acclaimed jazz studies department and elevating the national reputation of the music school.

Baker is heralded as a foundational leader in jazz education, and during his decades-long career also co-founded the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and created more than 2,000 compositions. Baker, a dedicated member of the IU community, died peacefully in Bloomington in 2016 .

The first Black man to be drafted to the NFL

George Taliaferro, a talented quarterback, halfback, defensive back and kicker for the Hoosiers in the late 1940s, had a career marked by breaking down barriers for Black students and athletes during a time of strict social segregation.

Hailing from Roosevelt High School in Gary , Taliaferro joined the Hoosiers in 1945 and helped to break down barriers, like sitting in restaurants and common halls with white students, by gaining the respect of his teammates and the greater IU community . In 1949, Taliaferro made history as the first Black man to be drafted to the National Football League, playing with the New York Yanks, Dallas Texans, Baltimore Colts and Philadelphia Eagles.

Taliaferro was dedicated to social justice causes, receiving his master's in social work from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and serving as the dean of students at Morgan State University. He and his wife returned to Bloomington in the 1970s, and Taliaferro served as IUPUI (now IUI) chancellor and dean of the School of Social Work during the remainder of his decades-long service career.

The guy who made Batman modern

Michael Uslan is the unsung hero of the “Batman” franchise we know today. A graduate of IU’s Maurer School of Law and a next-level comic book collector, Uslan grew up reading thousands of gritty Batman comics, and was mortified when the kitschy, comedic 1960s Batman TV series premiered. In the '80s, he and filmmaker Benjamin Melniker bought the film rights for a Batman adaptation and, in 1989, with the guiding vision of Tim Burton, debuted the first film adaptation of the franchise to cast Batman in his now-classic dark, jaded style.

Uslan is a powerhouse for the Batman franchise, with producer credits on 2024’s “The Batman,” as well as “Joker,” “Batman Begins,” “The Lego Batman Movie” and more. And he’s still around at IU; a professor of practice in the Media School, Ulsan will be in attendance at a 35th anniversary screening of the 1989 “Batman” on Aug. 30 at the IU Cinema .

Reach Brian Rosenzweig at brian@heraldt.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: 10 celebrities you didn't know went to Indiana University