List of University of Arizona people

Administrators

List of presidents

Notable alumni and former students

Academia

• Martin Z. Bazant – E. G. Roos Chair Professor of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Raymond S. Brandes – professor of history and archeology, University of San Diego
• Noam Chomsky – UA Laureate Professor of Linguistics, Agnese Nelms Haury Chair
• James C. Cox – Noah Langdale Jr. Chair in Economics at Georgia State University
• Lee Giles – computer scientist, co-creator of CiteSeer, David Reese Professor of Information Sciences and Technology, Pennsylvania State University
• Ghanim Al-Jumaily – professor of engineering, Southern New Hampshire University; former Iraqi diplomat
• Alan C. Newell – UA Regents Professor of Mathematics
• Ed Renwick – political scientist and television commentator in New Orleans, Louisiana
• Shauna Shapiro – professor of psychology, Santa Clara University
• Laurene Simms – educator and hearing advocate, Chief Bilingual Officer at Gallaudet University
• David Soren – UA Regents Professor of Classics and Director of the Orvieto Institute in Umbria
• Gordon Willey – pioneer of processual archaeology, Harvard University professor
• Vladimir E. Zakharov – UA Regents Professor Emeritus of Mathematics

Arts and media

• Agha Shahid Ali – poet
• Samaire Armstrong – actress
• Denise Austin – fitness instructor
• Michael Biehn – actor, Aliens, Terminator
• Lynn Borden – actress and Miss Arizona
• Jerry Bruckheimer – film and television producer
• Jos Charles – poet
• Tom Chilton – MMORPG game developer
• Fred Christenson – television executive
• Robert D. Cocke – artist
• Joan Ganz Cooney – creator of Sesame Street
• Ann Cummins – novelist and short story writer
• Ted DeGrazia – painter, sculptor
• Louis Delsarte – artist
• Alex Flanagan – sports journalist
• George Gray – game show host and announcer
• Savannah Guthrie – co-host of The Today Show
• Earl Hindman – actor, Wilson W. Wilson, Home Improvement
• Louis Hock – independent filmmaker
• Rick Hoffman – actor
• John Hughes – film director, producer, screenwriter
• Daniel Humbarger – stand-up comedian
• J.A. Jance – mystery writer
• Nicole Randall Johnson – actress and comedian
• Kourtney Kardashian – television personality
• Kitty Kelley – author
• Barbara Kingsolver – author
• Greg Kinnear – actor
• Don Knotts – actor
• Aline Kominsky-Crumb – underground comic book creator
• Tamika Lawrence – actress and singer
• Jerry Livingston – songwriter
• Daniel Mac – internet personality
• Harvey Mason Jr. – music and film producer
• Linda McCartney – photographer
• Emily McDonald – neurologist and media personality
• James McMurtry – musician
• Dipti Mehta – actress
• Paul Moyer – Los Angeles television journalist
• Peter Murrieta – 2-time Emmy Award-winning producer and writer, Wizards of Waverly Place
• Craig T. Nelson – actor
• Lynne Olson – author and journalist
• Katie Pavlich – media
• Brian Ralston – film score composer
• Caroline Rhea – actress and comedian
• Nicole Richie – actress
• Geraldo Rivera – talk show host, television journalist
• Linda Ronstadt – 11-time Grammy Award-winning singer
• Richard Russo – Pulitzer Prize winner for his novel Empire Falls
• Rico Saccani – conductor
• Fritz Scholder – late Native American artist
• Garry Shandling – late actor and comedian
• Ron Shelton – film screenwriter and director
• Richard Siken – poet
• Stephen Spinella – actor
• Barret Swatek – actress
• Jimmy Tatro – actor
• Brandon Tatum – conservative commentator
• Vicki Lewis Thompson – author
• Jonathan Van Ness – television and media personality
• Jack Wagner – actor
• David Foster Wallace – author
• Kate Walsh – actress
• Kristen Wiig – actress, Saturday Night Live cast member
• Christine Woods – actress

Business

• Max Cutler – podcaster and entrepreneur, founder of Parcast
• Karl Eller – Arizona business leader, namesake of the Eller College of Management
• Rande Gerber – owner of Midnight Oil Bars and other nightlife businesses
• William M. Grace – real estate developer and casino owner
• R. Alexandra Keith – head of Procter & Gamble's global beauty business
• Terry Lundgren – CEO of Federated Department Stores, namesake of the Terry Lundgren Center for Retailing at the university
• Arturo Moreno – owner of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Major League Baseball team, outdoor advertising entrepreneur
• Robert Sarver – managing partner and majority owner of the Phoenix Suns basketball team, director of SkyWest Airlines
• Lisa Song Sutton – entrepreneur

Law, politics, and government

• Cisco Aguilar – 18th Secretary of State of Nevada
• Gilbert Baker – Arkansas state senator
• Ron Barber – U.S. representative
• Betsey Bayless – Arizona secretary of state 1997–2003
• Stacy Brenner – Democratic member of the Maine State Senate
• Jeffrey S. Buchanan – lieutenant general, United States Army
• Richard Carmona – former U.S. Surgeon General
• Raul Hector Castro – former governor of Arizona and ambassador to Argentina
• Gabriella Cázares-Kelly – Pima County, Arizona recorder 2021–present
• Richard Harvey Chambers – chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Eugenia Charles-Newton – member of the Navajo Nation Council
• Joseph V. Cuffari – Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security
• Frank L. Culin Jr. – U.S. Army major general
• Hayzel Burton Daniels – first African-American member of the Arizona House of Representatives
• Dennis DeConcini – former U.S. senator from Arizona
• David Dewhurst – lieutenant governor of Texas
• Bob Dole – former U.S. senator and 1996 Republican US presidential nominee
• Paul Fannin – former governor of Arizona and U.S. Senator
• Samuel Pearson Goddard, Jr. – former governor of Arizona
• Barry Goldwater – former U.S. Senator and 1964 Republican US Presidential nominee
• Howard Hart – Central Intelligence Agency officer
• Carole Hillard – former lieutenant governor of South Dakota
• Tom Hughes – former mayor of Hillsboro, Oregon
• Richard Hunziker – U.S. Air Force major general
• Robert Wood Johnson IV – US Ambassador to United Kingdom
• Neal Justin – member of the Arizona House of Representatives
• Jon Kyl – former U.S. representative and former U.S. Senator
• Bill Kimball – Arizona state senator
• Richard Kimball – Arizona state senator, member of the Arizona Corporation Commission and founder of Vote Smart
• Lorna E. Lockwood – chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court
• Edna G. Parker – United States Tax Court judge
• Robert K. Phillips – San Francisco trial attorney
• Steve Soboroff – Los Angeles police commissioner and former CEO of Playa Vista; former Los Angeles Parks Commissioner
• Nora Sun – Chinese-American diplomat, granddaughter of Sun Yatsen
• Opal Tometi – co-founder of Black Lives Matter
• Morris K. Udall – former fifteen-term U.S. Congressman
• Stewart Udall – former U.S. congressman, former Secretary of the Interior
• Evan Wallach – judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Religion

• Spencer W. Kimball – former president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• David Roseberry – Anglican priest and founder of Christ Church Plano
• Frederick Wedge – Presbyterian pastor and educator, professional boxer

Science and technology

• Joseph M. Acaba – NASA astronaut
• Daniel W. Bradley – co-discoverer of Hepatitis C
• Sarah Hörst – professor of Planetary Sciences at Johns Hopkins University
• Steve Maguire – software engineer
• Andreas Gerasimos Michalitsianos – NASA astrophysicist who contributed to the International Ultraviolet Explorer and the Hubble Space Telescope
• Don Pettit – NASA astronaut
• Elisabetta Pierazzo – PSI senior researcher
• Jane H. Rider – first female civil engineer in Arizona, state director of hospital surveys
• Brian Schmidt – physicist awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics
• Richard Scobee – NASA astronaut
• Christine Siddoway – geologist and Antarctic researcher
• Kathryn Stephenson – first American woman board-certified plastic surgeon
• Mary Stiner – Professor of Anthropology, Curator of Zooarchaeology at the Arizona State Museum
• Clifford Stoll – astronomer
• Paul Wehrle – pediatrician who helped develop vaccines for polio and smallpox

Sports

• Abdihakem Abdirahman – long-distance runner and olympian
• Hassan Adams – NBA player
• Rawle Alkins – professional basketball player
• Kadeem Allen – professional basketball player
• Brian N. Anderson – MLB center fielder
• Gilbert Arenas – NBA player
• Deandre Ayton – NBA player
• Marisa Baena – LPGA golfer
• Bob Baffert – thoroughbred race horse trainer
• Adia Barnes – former WNBA player
• Ricky Barnes – PGA Tour golfer and 2002 US Amateur Champion
• Brigetta Barrett – Olympic silver medalist in the high jump
• Jason Bates – former Major League Baseball infielder
• Michael Bates – NFL player and olympic sprinter
• Amanda Beard – swimmer, Olympic gold medalist and 2-time American Swimmer of the Year
• Mike Bell – NFL running back
• Kathryn Bertine – professional racing cyclist
• Mike Bibby – NBA point guard
• Monica Bisordi – Gymnastics
• Erica Blasberg – LPGA golfer
• Cheri Blauwet – wheelchair racing, Para-olympic gold medalist
• Steve Boadway – NFL player
• Lance Briggs – NFL linebacker
• Tedy Bruschi – NFL linebacker, analyst for ESPN
• Copeland Bryan – NFL player
• Chase Budinger – NBA player
• Kurt Busch – NASCAR driver
• Will Bynum – basketball player
• Ka'Deem Carey – NFL running back
• Antoine Cason – NFL player, Jim Thorpe Award winner
• Jenna Daniels – professional golfer
• Jack Davis – football player
• George DiCarlo – Olympic gold medal swimmer
• Sean Elliott – NBA player, number retired by the University of Arizona
• Scott Erickson – Major League Baseball pitcher
• Maryse Éwanjé-Épée – track and field athlete in the high jump and heptathlon
• Jennie Finch – Olympic women's softball pitcher
• Nick Foles – NFL quarterback, Super Bowl LII MVP
• Nick Folk – NFL kicker
• Terry Francona – MLB player and manager
• Brenda Frese – college basketball head coach
• Channing Frye – Former NBA player
• Jim Furyk – PGA Tour golfer and 2003 US Open winner
• Robert Gamez – PGA Tour golfer
• Aaron Gordon – NBA player
• Rob Gronkowski – NFL tight end
• Natalie Gulbis – LPGA golfer
• Chip Hale – Major League Baseball player and coach
• Gavin Harlien – off-road and stock car racing driver
• Herman Harris – NBA player
• Keith Hartwig – former NFL player
• Ron Hassey – Major League Baseball player and coach
• Chris Henry – NFL player
• Derek Hill – NFL player
• Ed Hochuli – NFL referee
• Trevor Hoffman – MLB pitcher
• Alicia Hollowell – national champion softball pitcher
• Jack Howell – Major League Baseball player
• Nick Hundley – MLB player
• Andre Iguodala – NBA player, NBA Finals MVP
• Don Janicki – track and field athlete
• Richard Jefferson – former NBA player, analyst
• Chase Jeter – basketball player
• Jay John – college basketball head coach
• Keshon Johnson – NFL player
• Stanley Johnson – NBA player
• Vance Johnson – NFL player
• Steve Kerr – NBA player, manager and head coach
• Scott Kingery – Major League Baseball player
• Spencer Larsen – NFL linebacker
• Rod Lewis – NFL player
• Warren Livingston – NFL player
• Kenny Lofton – Major League Baseball player
• Mark Lyons – professional basketball player
• Lauri Markkanen – NBA player
• Stan Mataele – NFL player
• Chris McAlister – NFL cornerback
• Jonathan Meloan – Major League Baseball player
• Frank Middleton – NFL football player
• Josh Miller – NFL punter
• Ryk Neethling – Olympic swimmer
• Dennis Northcutt – NFL wide receiver
• Lorena Ochoa – Hall of Fame LPGA golfer
• Josh Pastner – college basketball head coach
• Antonio Pierce – NFL linebacker
• Todd Pletcher – thoroughbred trainer; 3-time Eclipse Award winner
• Dan Pohl – PGA golfer
• DaShon Polk – NFL linebacker
• Don Pooley – PGA golfer
• Sean Rooks – NBA player
• Rory Sabbatini – PGA Tour golfer
• César Salazar – MLB catcher
• David Schipper – professional soccer player
• Paul Shields – NFL player
• Kobi Simmons – professional basketball player
• Justin Simon – professional basketball player
• J.T. Snow – MLB player, Golden Glove winner
• Annika Sörenstam – Hall of Fame LPGA golfer
• Mike Springer – PGA golfer
• Ed Stokes – professional basketball player
• Damon Stoudamire – NBA player
• Salim Stoudamire – NBA player
• Kaleb Tarczewski – basketball player
• Jason Terry – NBA player
• Ron Theobald – Major League Baseball player
• Tom Tolbert – NBA player; NBA broadcast analyst
• Mark Tollefsen – professional basketball player
• Allonzo Trier – NBA player
• Sione Tuihalamaka – Arena Football League player
• Amy Van Dyken – Olympic gold medalist swimmer
• Bobby Wade – NFL wide receiver
• Luke Walton – NBA player and head coach
• Ray Wells – NFL player
• Brian Williams – NBA player
• Derrick Williams – NBA basketball player
• Rodney Williams – football player
• Michael Wright – professional basketball player
• Gabe York – professional basketball player
• Joe Young – NFL defensive end

Other

• Laurie Dann – murderer
• Annie Dodge Wauneka – activist and former Navajo Nation Council member

Notable faculty and staff

• Alfred Atkinson – president, Montana State University and University of Arizona
• Gail Lee Bernstein – historian, one of the pioneers of Japanese women's studies
• Nicolaas Bloembergen – Nobel laureate in Physics, 1981
• Bart Bok – astronomer
• Mike Candrea – Hall of Fame softball coach
• Andrew Carnie – linguist
• Aurore Chabot – Professor of Ceramic Art
• David Chalmers – philosopher specializing in philosophy of mind
• Hsinchun Chen – McClelland Professor of Management Information Systems; founder of the Artificial Intelligence Lab
• Karletta Chief – environmental scientist
• Noam Chomsky – Laureate Professor of Linguistics
• Cedric Dempsey – executive director of the NCAA, 1993–2002
• William G. Dever – biblical archaeologist
• Xiaohui Fan – astronomer and cosmologist
• Hermann Flaschka – mathematics professor, winner of 1995 Norbert Wiener Prize in Applied Mathematics
• Frances Gillmor – folklorist, scholar, and novelist
• Kenneth L. Hale – linguist and polyglot
• Harry Harlow – experimental psychologist
• Eva Simone Hayward – author and researcher in Gender and Women's Studies
• Jenann Ismael – philosopher
• Jennie R. Joe, medical anthropologist
• Rich Jorgensen – professor of plant sciences, editor of The Plant Cell
• Samara Klar – political scientist, founder of Women Also Know Stuff
• Gerard P. Kuiper – astronomer, discovered various moons of Jovian planets and the Kuiper Belt
• Willis Lamb – Nobel laureate in Physics, 1955
• Keith Lehrer – philosophy professor, member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Fang Lizhi – physicist, helped inspire China's 1989 Pro-Democracy Movement
• Andy Lopez – baseball coach
• Eugene Mackaben – artist
• Fulvio Melia – astrophysicist
• Robert Miller – director, School of Architecture
• Charles Newman – mathematics professor, now at the Courant Institute
• Shaun Nichols – philosopher
• Peter K. Norquest – linguist
• Antxon Olarrea – professor of linguistics
• Lute Olson – hall of fame basketball coach
• Feryal Özel – astrophysicist
• Johann Rafelski – professor of physics
• Julia Rebeil – professor of music 1920–1969
• Peter M. Rhee – medical school professor and surgeon
• Aric Rindfleisch – marketing author and professor, now at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• Rich Rodriguez – football coach
• Jerzy W. Rozenblit – Raymond J. Oglethorpe Endowed Chair in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Adam Showman – planetary scientist and professor at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
• Vernon L. Smith – economics professor, Nobel laureate in Economics, 2002
• Daniel L. Stein – mathematics and physics professor, head of physics department
• Bruce Tabashnik – entomologist
• Andrew Weil – pioneer in integrative medicine
• Peter Wild – poet, author, and Professor of English
• Arthur Winfree – theoretical biologist, winner of 2000 Norbert Wiener Prize in Applied Mathematics
• Ralph Walter Graystone Wyckoff – professor of microbiology and physics, did pioneering work in X-ray crystallography
• Vladimir E. Zakharov – Regents' professor of mathematics, winner of 2003 Dirac Prize