Romulus Mitchell Saunders (1791-1867) was a student at the University from 1809 to 1811 but was expelled. A member of the NC House of Commons (1815-19, 1850-52), Saunders was elected to the US Congress (1821-27, 1841-45) and served as North Carolina's attorney general in 1828. At the time of the Hedrick affair, Saunders was a superior court judge (1835-40, 1852-67) and member of the board of trustees (1819-64).