List of Oregon State University alumni

Corvallis College's first graduating class was in 1870, and consisted of three people.
This is an incomplete list that may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

This is a list of notable alumni of Oregon State University, a university in Corvallis, Oregon in the United States. The university traces its roots back to 1856 when Corvallis Academy was founded. It wasn't formally incorporated until 1858 when the name was changed to Corvallis College, and wasn't chartered until 1868. In 1890 the school became known as Oregon Agricultural College, in 1927 it was known as Oregon State Agricultural College, and the current name was adopted in 1961. Alumni from each of these eras may be included on the list, and more than 200,000 people have attended the university since its founding.[1]

Note that the people listed may have only attended the university at some point and have not necessarily graduated.

Science, engineering, and academics

Linus Pauling
William Oefelein
Donald Pettit
Name Attended Notability Reference
Philip Emeagwali 1974–1977 1989 Gordon Bell Prize winner [2]
Paul H. Emmett ?–1922 Manhattan Project research staff member and member of the United States National Academy of Sciences [3]
Douglas Engelbart ?–1948 Inventor of the computer mouse [1]
Wayne L. Hubbell ?–1965 Led development of site-directed spin labeling (SDSL) and member of the National Academy of Sciences [4]
Donald M. Kerr ?–1969 Wildlife biologist and founder of the High Desert Museum [5]
Ann Kiessling ?-1971 reproductive biologist and leading stem cell researcher [6]
Octave Levenspiel‡ ?–1991 Emeritus Professor of chemical engineering at Oregon State University, author of five books, and member of the National Academy of Engineering [7]
Linus Pauling‡ 1917–1922 1954 Nobel Prize in Chemistry & 1962 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, is the only person ever to win two unshared Nobel Prizes [1]
Glenn Odekirk 1923–1927 Hughes Aircraft Aerospace Engineer, helped design the H-4 Hercules [8]
William Oefelein ?–1988 NASA astronaut [9]
Donald Pettit ?–1978 NASA astronaut [10]
J. Michael Scott ?–1973 Ornithologist (research scientist), Peace Corps volunteer [11]
Michael Waterman early 70's Computational biologist . Professor of biological science, mathematics, computer science at the University of Southern California (USC).

He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1995), the National Academy of Sciences (2001) and the National Academy of Engineering (2012). He is an elected Foreign Member of the French Académie des Sciences (2005) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2013).

[12]

Politics and diplomacy

Cecil D. Andrus
John Ensign
Douglas McKay
Name Attended Notability Reference
Cecil D. Andrus 1952 Governor of Idaho (1971–1977, 1987–1995) and U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1977–1981) [1]
Earl I. Anzai ?–1964 Attorney General of Hawaii (1999–2002) [13]
Brad Avakian ?–1984 Commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (2008– ) [14]
Rod Chandler ?–1968 U.S. Representative of Washington (1983–1993) [15]
Charles Crookham 1941–1943 Attorney General of Oregon (1992–1993) [16]
John Ensign ?–1981 U.S. Representative of Nevada (1995–1999) & Nevada U.S. Senator (2001—2011) [17]
John Hubert Hall ?–1923 Governor of Oregon (1947–1949) & member of the Oregon House of Representatives (1936–1947) [1]
Julia Butler Hansen 1924–1926 U.S. Representative of Washington (1960–1974) [18]
Darlene Hooley ?–1961 U.S. Representative of Oregon (1997—2009) [19]
Hector Macpherson, Jr. 1936-1940 Oregon State Senator (1971-1974) [20]
Douglas McKay ?–1917 Governor of Oregon (1949–1952) and U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1953–1956) [1]
Paul Peek ?–? California Secretary of State (1940–1943) & Speaker of the California State Assembly (1939) [21]
Norris Poulson 1923 U.S. Representative of California (1943–1945, 1947–1955) & mayor of Los Angeles, California (1953–1961) [22]
Frederick Steiwer ?–1902 Oregon U.S. Senator (1927–1937) [23]
Lowell Stockman ?–1922 U.S. Representative of Oregon (1943–1953) [24]
Jolene Unsoeld 1949–1951 U.S. Representative of Washington (1989–1995) [25]
George Wuerch ?–1957 mayor of Anchorage, Alaska (2000–2003) [26]
Mary Carlin Yates ?–1968 U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Burundi and U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Ghana [1]
Irwandi Yusuf 1993 Governor of Indonesian province of Aceh [27]
Pou Sohtireak ?–1980s Cambodian Minister for Industry, Mines and Energy. [28]

Business

Name Attended Notability Reference
Thomas J. Autzen 1905–1909 Plywood manufacturing pioneer
Mercedes Alison Bates ?–1936 Former vice president of General Mills' Betty Crocker Cooking division. First ever female officer of General Mills. [1]
Austen S. Cargill II ? Heir and major shareholder of Cargill, received a PhD from Oregon State University [1]
Randy Conrads ?–1972 Founder of Classmates.com [29]
Jen-Hsun Huang ?–1984 Co-founder and CEO of NVIDIA [30]
Timothy S. Leatherman ?–1970 Inventor of the Leatherman tool [31]
Brian McMenamin ?–1980 Co-founder of the McMenamins chain [32]
Mike McMenamin ?–1974 Co-founder of the McMenamins chain [32]
Bernie Newcomb ?–1965 Co-founder of E*TRADE [1]
Don Robert ?–? CEO of Experian [33]
Leonard Shoen ?–? Founder of U-Haul [34]
John A. Young ?–1953 Former president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard [1]

Journalism and arts

Name Attended Notability Reference
Chris Anderson 1968–1972 Two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize [1]
John Brotherton Soap opera actor [1]
George Bruns ?–1936 Composer [1]
Pinto Colvig ?–1911 Voice actor & the original Bozo the Clown [1]
Webley Edwards ?–1927 World War II news correspondent [1]
Kevin Hagen Actor
Christopher Howell Poet
Harley Jessup ?–1976 1987 Best Visual Effects Oscar winner for the film Innerspace [1]
Chris Johns 1971-1974 Current Editor-In-Chief of National Geographic Magazine
George Oppen Winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize in poetry
Mary Oppen Poet
Meredith Phillips Star of ABC reality television show The Bachelorette
Mike Rich Screenwriter
Laurie Roth Syndicated radio talk-show host
Sebastian DeGiorgio
Shaley DeGiorgio
Travis Rush Country music singer
Bert Sperling 1968-1972 Author and Researcher
Roger Werth ?–1980 1980 Pulitzer Prize in photography winner [1]

Military

Rex T. Barber
Marion Eugene Carl
Anthony E. Van Dyke
Name Attended Notability Reference
Edward C. Allworth ?–1916 Recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor [1]
Rex T. Barber ?–1940 World War II pilot credited with killing Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto [1]
Marion Eugene Carl ?–1938 World War II flying ace, record setting test pilot, & United States Marine Corps (USMC) Major General [1]
John Noble Holcomb 1967 Recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor [1]
Anthony E. Van Dyke ?–1978 USMC Colonel and current commander of Marine forces at Henderson Hall [35]

Olympians & Historic Endeavorers

Name Attended Notability Reference
Stacy Allison ?–1984 First American woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest [1]
Dick Fosbury ?–1972 Inventor of Fosbury Flop who won gold medal in 1968 Summer Olympics
Joseph Hansen 1999–2001† 2004 Summer Olympics gold medalist in the Men's eight with coxswain rowing event [36]
Josh Inman 1998–2003 2008 Summer Olympics bronze medalist in the Men's eight with coxswain rowing event [37]
Amy Martin ? 2000 Summer Olympics competitor in the women's eight with coxswain rowing event
Keith Monohan ?–? Ultimate Players Association's 1996 Callahan Award winner [38]
Gary Payton 1986–1990† 2000 Summer Olympics gold medalist as a member of the United States men's national basketball team [1][39][40]
Selina Scoble ?-? 2000 Summer Olympics participant for the USA women's volleyball team
Willi Unsoeld ?–1951 Led the first United States climbing expedition to the summit of Mount Everest [1]
Robert Zagunis ?-? 1976 Summer Olympics participant in Men's Rowing

Athletics and sport

See List of Oregon State University athletes.

Other

Name Attended Notability Reference
Bobby Henderson ?–2003 Creator of Flying Spaghetti Monsterism [41]
Katharine Jefferts Schori ?–1983 Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church and oceanographer [42]
Jodi Ann Paterson ?–1998 2000 Playboy Playmate of the Year [43]
Katherine Ann Power ?—2001 Anti-war activist, convicted of armed robbery & manslaughter (participating as a get-away driver), 14 years on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. [44]
Sara Jean Underwood 2002–2007 July 2006 Playboy Playmate of the Month and 2007 Playmate of the Year [45]

Legend

†
   Only represents years of which individual was a letterman for one of the university's athletic teams; may have attended additional years
‡
   Individual is both an Oregon State University alumni and a current or former faculty member

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 Edmonston Jr., George. "OSU's Famous Alumni". Oregon State University Alumni Association. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
  2. ↑ "Philip Emeagwali". The Black Inventor Online Museum. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  3. ↑ "Paul H. Emmet". Oregon State University. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  4. ↑ "Wayne L. Hubbell Summary". UCLA. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
  5. ↑ "Welcome". High Desert Museum. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
  6. ↑ "Ann Kiessling". Ranker. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  7. ↑ "Octave Levenspiel". Oregon State University. Retrieved 2014-06-18.
  8. ↑ "Aerospace Engineer".
  9. ↑ "Astronaut Bio: William A. Oefelein (1/2006)". NASA. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
  10. ↑ "Astronaut Bio: Don Pettit (1/2006)". NASA. Retrieved 2006-12-10.
  11. ↑ "Senior scientist: Michael Scott". U.S. Geological Survey, University of Idaho. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  12. ↑ "Michael Waterman". Retrieved 2015-04-25.
  13. ↑ "Earl I. Anzai - a Honolulu, Hawaii (HI) Lawyer". FindLaw. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
  14. ↑ "Oregon Blue Book". Oregon State Archives. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
  15. ↑ "Alumni Fellows Recipient Biographies". Oregon State University Alumni Association. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
  16. ↑ Crookham, Berkeley (December 2004). "Living History: Charles S. Crookham (1923-2004)". Oregon State Bar Bulletin (Oregon State Bar Association). Retrieved 2006-12-18.
  17. ↑ "ENSIGN, John Eric - Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
  18. ↑ "HANSEN, Julia Butler - Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  19. ↑ "HOOLEY, Darlene - Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2006-11-11.
  20. ↑ "Hector Macpherson, Jr. -- A Service of Remembrance, April 9, 2015." Shedd, OR: Oakville Presbyterian Church, 2015, pg. 4.
  21. ↑ "Paul Peek (June 5, 1904 - April 7, 1987)". courtinfo.ca.gov. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  22. ↑ "POULSON, C. Norris - Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  23. ↑ "STEIWER, Frederick - Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  24. ↑ "STOCKMAN, Lowell - Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  25. ↑ "UNSOELD, Jolene - Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 2006-11-08.
  26. ↑ "Newsmakers". Oregon State University Alumni Association. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  27. ↑ "Visit from Governor Irwandi". Oregon State University. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  28. ↑ "Wikipedia Article".
  29. ↑ "Classmates.com founder gives to OSU". Retrieved 2007-12-09.
  30. ↑ "Jen-Hsun Huang". Oregon State University. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  31. ↑ "Timothy S. Leatherman". Oregon State University. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 "The Brews Brothers". Oregon State University Alumni Association. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  33. ↑ "Donald A. Robert". NNDB. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  34. ↑ "Leonard S. Shoen". Harvard Business School. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  35. ↑ "Commanding Officer Of HQBN, HQMC". United States Marine Corps. Retrieved 2007-03-16.
  36. ↑ "2006 Men's Rowing Media Guide - Results and History" (PDF). OSUBeavers.com. p. 7. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
  37. ↑ "Inman, U.S. Crew Win Bronze". osubeavers.com. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
  38. ↑ "Past Callahan Award Winners". callahan-mvp.com. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  39. ↑ "Beavers in the Pros" (PDF). Oregon State University. p. 6. Retrieved 2006-11-10.
  40. ↑ Edmonston Jr., George. "Oregon State: Meet the Olympians". Oregon State University Alumni Association. Retrieved 2006-10-22.
  41. ↑ "Corvallis man's parody is Internet 'monster'". The Register-Guard. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  42. ↑ "OSU Alum to Head U.S. Episcopal Church". Oregon State University. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  43. ↑ "Oregon Stater Class News". Oregon State University Alumni Association. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  44. ↑ "Highlights from the 2000-2001 Annual Report of the OSU Department of Philosophy". oregonstate.edu. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
  45. ↑ "NORM: Oops, Britney's doing it again". reviewjournal.com. Retrieved 2007-03-28.