List of Oregon State University alumni


Oregon State University is located in Corvallis, Oregon in the United States. It traces its roots to 1856, when Corvallis Academy was founded. It was not formally incorporated until 1858 when the name was changed to Corvallis College, and was not chartered until 1868. In 1890 the school became known as Oregon Agricultural College, then in 1927 as Oregon State Agricultural College. Its current name was adopted in 1961. Alumni from each of these eras may be included on the list. More than 200,000 people have attended the university since its founding.

Education

NameAttendedNotabilityReference
Holly Barnard?–2009Professor of Geography at University of Colorado Boulder and founder of the Critical Zone Laboratory
Sara HarrisClimate scientist and 3M National Teaching Fellow at the University of British Columbia
Wayne L. Hubbell?–1965Jules Stein Professor of Ophthalmology at UCLA
Octave Levenspiel?–1991Emeritus professor of chemical engineering at Oregon State University
Staci SimonichDean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University
Ann StreissguthEndowed professor emeritus and founding director of the Fetal Alcohol Drug Unit at the Washington School of Medicine
Carrie Halsell Ward1922–1926College lecturer and first Black student to graduate from OSU
Michael Watermanearly 70sComputational biologist; professor of biological science, mathematics, and computer science at the University of Southern California

Entertainment

NameAttendedNotabilityReference
Trevor BardetteActor
John BrothertonSoap opera actor
George Bruns?–1936Composer
Meghna Chakrabarti1994–1998Journalist, radio producer, and host of the NPR program On Point-
Pinto Colvig?–1911Voice actor; the original Bozo the Clown
Kevin HagenActor
Harley Jessup?–19761987 Best Visual Effects Oscar winner for the film Innerspace
Cathy MarshallNews anchor
Beau Mirchoff?-2024Actor
Roger NicholsRecording engineer for Steely Dan
Jodi Ann Paterson?–19982000 Playboy Playmate of the Year and model
Meredith PhillipsStar of ABC reality television show The Bachelorette
Mike RichScreenwriter
Laurie RothSyndicated radio talk-show host
Travis RushCountry music singer
Kendra Sunderland?Model and pornographic actress; expelled from the university for public indecency
Sara Jean Underwood2002–2007July 2006 Playboy Playmate of the Month, 2007 Playmate of the Year, actress, and model

Literature and journalism

NameAttendedNotabilityReference
Chris Anderson1968–1972Two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize
Pamela CytrynbaumJournalist and restorative justice practitioner
Geffrey DavisPoet
Webley Edwards?–1927World War II news correspondent
Christopher HowellPoet
Chris Johns1971-1974Editor-in-chief of National Geographic magazine
George OppenPoet and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
Mary OppenPoet
Bert Sperling1968-1972Author and researcher

Military

NameAttendedNotabilityReference
Edward C. Allworth?–1916Recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor
Rex T. Barber?–1940World War II pilot credited with killing Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
Marion Eugene Carl?–1938World War II flying ace; record-setting test pilot; United States Marine Corps major general
Elmer E. HallWorld War II brigadier general, USMC
John Noble Holcomb1967Recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor
Ulysses G. McAlexanderCommander of Army ROTC; earned the nickname "Rock of the Marne" during World War I
Anthony E. Van Dyke?–1978USMC colonel and current commander of Marine forces at Henderson Hall

Politics

NameAttendedNotabilityReference
Cecil D. Andrus1952Governor of Idaho and U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Earl I. Anzai?–1964Attorney general of Hawaii
Brad Avakian?–1984Commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries
Rod Chandler?–1968U.S. representative of Washington
Charles Crookham1941–1943Attorney general of Oregon
John Ensign?–1981U.S. representative of Nevada ; Nevada U.S. senator
John Hubert Hall?–1923Governor of Oregon ; member of the Oregon House of Representatives
Julia Butler Hansen1924–1926U.S. representative of Washington
Darlene Hooley?–1961U.S. representative of Oregon
Elaine Hopson1960Oregon state representative
Hector Macpherson, Jr.1936–1940Oregon state senator
Rich McCormick1976–1980Member of the US House of Representatives from Georgia
Douglas McKay?–1917Governor of Oregon and U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Paul Peek?–?California Secretary of State ; Speaker of the California State Assembly
Pou Sohtireak?–1980sCambodian Minister for Industry, Mines and Energy
Norris Poulson1923U.S. representative of California ; mayor of Los Angeles, California
Frederick Steiwer?–1902Oregon U.S. senator
Lowell Stockman?–1922U.S. representative of Oregon
Jolene Unsoeld1949–1951U.S. representative of Washington
Robert M. Veatch1868–1871Oregon representative, senator, and mayor of Cottage Grove, Oregon
James K. Weatherford1868–1872Oregon representative, Speaker of the House, senator, and mayor of Albany, Oregon
Mary Carlin Yates?–1968U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Burundi and U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Ghana
Irwandi Yusuf1993Governor of Indonesian province of Aceh

Technology

NameAttendedNotabilityReference
Philip Emeagwali1974–19771989 Gordon Bell Prize winner
Douglas Engelbart?–1948Inventor of the computer mouse and winner of the National Medal of Technology
Jensen Huang1980–1984Founder of Nvidia