Accomplished Alumni

There are an estimated 217,311 living Stanford alumni, including 85,687 undergraduate alumni, 110,540 graduate alumni, and 21,084 dual-degree holders. Stanford alumni can be found in 141 countries, 10 territories, and all 50 states and the District of Columbia. All Stanford undergraduates come into contact with H&S during their time on campus through general requirements that must be fulfilled to graduate.

H&S alumni include astronauts, Supreme Court justices, football quarterbacks, poet laureates, CEOs, actors, Olympians, and presidents. Here are some former students who made their mark during and after their years on the Farm.

Stephen Breyer, Philosophy ’59
Anthony Kennedy, Political Science ’58
Sandra Day O’Connor, Economics ’50, JD ’52
William Rehnquist, Political Science BA and MA ’48, JD ’52*

Max Baucus, Economics ’64, JD ’67. U.S. Ambassador to China, former U.S. senator, Montana
Xavier Becerra, Economics ‘80 and JD ‘84. U.S. representative, California
Cory Booker, Political Science ’91, MA Sociology ’92. U.S. senator, New Jersey
Julian Castro, Communications ‘96, secretary of Housing and Urban Development; former mayor, San Antonio, Texas
Joaquin Castro, Political Science, Communications ‘96, U.S. representative, Texas
Gray Davis, History ’64. Former governor, California
Dianne Feinstein, History ’55. U.S. senator, California
John Gardner, Psychology ’33 and MA ’36. Former secretary of U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare; founder, Common Cause*
Valerie Bowman Jarrett, Psychology ’78. Senior advisor to President Barack Obama
Ted Lieu, Political Science, Computer Science ‘91. U.S. representative, California
Zoe Lofgren, Political Science ‘70, U.S. representative, California
Ricardo Maduro, Economics ’69. Former president of Honduras
Guillermo Ortiz Martinez, Economics MA ’74 and PhD ’77. Former governor of Bank of Mexico
Michael McFaul, International Relations and Slavic Languages BA ‘86, Russian and East European Studies MA ‘86, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Stanford professor
Jeff Merkley, International Relations ‘79, U.S. senator, Oregon
William Perry, Mathematics ’49, MA ’50, and PhD ’55. Former secretary of defense
Susan Rice, History ’86. U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
Adam Schiff, Political Science ‘82, U.S. representative, California
Jim Sensenbrenner, Political Science ‘65, U.S. representative, Wisconsin
Alejandro Toledo, Education MA ’72, Economics MA ’74, Education PhD ’93. Former president of Peru
Olene Smith Walker, Political Science MA ’08. Former governor of Utah
Ron Wyden, Political Science ’71. U.S. senator, Oregon

Derek Bok, Political Science ’51. Former president, Harvard University
Nancy Cantor, Psychology PhD ’78. Chancellor and president, Syracuse University
France Córdova, English ’69. President, Purdue University
Vartan Gregorian, History ’58 and PhD ’64. Former president, Brown University; president, Carnegie Corporation of New York
Clark Kerr, Economics MA ’33. President emeritus, University of California*
Rev. William P. Leahy, History PhD ’86. President, Boston College
Richard Levin, History ’68. President, Yale University
Peter Salovey, Psychology ’80, Sociology MA ’80. Provost, Yale University
Robert Shelton, Physics ’70. Former president, University of Arizona

Vinton Cerf, Mathematics ’65. “Father of the Internet”; coauthor, Internet Protocol; chief Internet evangelist, Google
Eric Cornell, Physics ’85. 2001 Nobel Prize, Physics
Dudley Herschbach, Mathematics ’54, Chemistry MA ’55. 1986 Nobel Prize, Chemistry
Roger Kornberg, Chemical Physics PhD ’72. 1996 Nobel Prize, Chemistry

William Fisher, Psychology ’68
. NASA tour: 1981–’91
Mae Jemison, African American Studies and Chemical Engineering ’77. NASA tour: 1987–’93
Tamara Jernigan, Physics ’81, Engineering Science MS ’83. 
NASA tour: 1986–2001
Edward Lu, Applied Physics PhD ’89
.
 NASA tour: 1994–2007
Scott Parazynski, Biological Sciences ’83, MD ’89. NASA tour: 1992–2009 (only person to have both flown in space and reached the summit of Mount Everest)
Sally Ride, Physics ’73, MA ’75, and PhD ’78. NASA tour: 1979–’87*
Jeff Wisoff, Applied Physics MS ’82 and PhD ’86.
 NASA tour: 1991–2001

Gina Bianchini, Political Science ’94, MBA ’00. Cofounder and former CEO, Ning, the world’s largest platform for creating social websites
Patrick M. Byrne, Philosophy PhD ’95. Founder and CEO, Overstock.com
Tracey Edmonds, Psychology ’87. President and CEO, Edmonds Entertainment
Randy Fields, Political Science ’68 and MA ’70. Cofounder, Mrs. Fields Cookies, Inc.
Doris Fisher, Economics ’53. Cofounder, Gap, Inc.
Sandy Lerner, Statistics and Computer Science MA ’81. Cofounder Cisco Systems, Urban Decay cosmetics, Ayrshire Farm
Alfred Lin, Statistics MA ’96. Former COO/CFO, Zappos online shoe retailer
Lorry Lokey, Journalism ’49. Founder and CEO, Business Wire
Robert Mondavi, Economics ’37. Founder, Robert Mondavi Wines*
Charles Schwab, Economics ’59 and MBA ’61. CEO and chairman, Charles Schwab Corp.
Peter Thiel, Biological Sciences and Philosophy ’89, JD ’92. Cofounder, PayPal

Andre Braugher, Speech and Drama ’84. Emmy Award–winning actor, Gideon’s Crossing, Homicide, Men of a Certain Age
Jennifer Connelly, Acting (attended early 1990s). Academy Award–winning actor, A Beautiful Mind
Ted Danson (attended 1966–’68). Emmy Award–winning actor, Cheers
Richard Diebenkorn, Art ’49. Painter, recipient of the National Medal of Arts*
Edith Head, French MA ’20. Eight-time Oscar-winning costume designer*
Gale Anne Hurd, Communication and Economics ’77. Movie producer, Terminator, Armageddon, Incredible Hulk
David Lang, Music ’78. 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Composer; cofounder, Bang on a Can, Inc.
Robert Motherwell, Philosophy ’37. Painter, recipient of the National Medal of Arts*
Jon Nakamatsu, German Studies ’91, Education MA ’92. Pianist, 1997 Van Cliburn gold medal winner
Jack Palance, ’49 (left one credit shy of graduating; Drama degree conferred in ’95). Academy Award–winning actor, City Slickers*
Alexander Payne, History and Spanish ’84. Movie producer, About Schmidt, Sideways
Edward Pressman, Philosophy ’65. Movie producer, Conan the Barbarian, Talk Radio, Wall Street
Jay Roach, Economics ’80. Movie director, Austin Powers, Meet the Parents
Fred Savage, English ’99. Actor, The Princess Bride, The Wonder Years
Christopher Tin, English ‘98, Humanities specialization MA ‘99. Two-time Grammy winner in 2011.
Sigourney Weaver, English ’72. Actor, Alien, Ghostbusters, Working Girl, Avatar
Reese Witherspoon, English (attended 1994–95). Academy Award–winning actor, Legally Blonde, Walk the Line
Richard Zanuck, Sociology ’56. Movie producer, The Sound of Music, Jaws, Alice in Wonderland*

Maxwell Anderson, English MA ’14. Journalist, Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright, Both Your Houses*
David Chase, Film and Broadcasting MA ’71. Emmy Award–winning writer, creator of Northern Exposure, The Sopranos
Michael Cunningham, English ’75. Pulitzer Prize–winning author, The Hours, By Nightfall
Harriet Doerr, History ’31 (left in junior year; returned to earn degree in ’77). Author, Stones for Ibarra*
Jeffrey Eugenides, English MA ’86. Pulitzer Prize–winning author, The Virgin Suicides, Middlesex
Elizabeth Farnsworth, History MA ’66. Cohost, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer
Atul Gawande, Biological Science and Political Science BAS ’87. Author, Complications, The Checklist Manifesto; surgeon, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston
Robert Hass, English PhD ’76. 1996 U.S. poet laureate
David Henry Hwang, English ’79. Tony Award–winning playwright, M. Butterfly
Ken Kesey, Stegner Fellow. Author, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest*
Ted Koppel, Speech and Drama MA ’62. Former anchor, Nightline
Nicole Krauss, English MA ’96. Author, The History of Love, Great House
Bill Lane, Jr., Communication ’42. Former publisher, Sunset Publishing Corp.; diplomat*
Mel Lane, Economics ’45. Former publisher, Sunset Publishing Corp.*
Warren Leight, Communication ’77. Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright, Side Man
Rachel Maddow, Public Policy ’94. Political commentator, television host, The Rachel Maddow Show
N. Scott Momaday, English MA ’60 and PhD ’63. Pulitzer Prize–winning author, House Made of Dawn
Henry Muller, History ’68. Former editorial director, Time Inc.
Maynard Parker, History ’62. Former editor, Newsweek*
Daniel Pearl, Communication ’85. Journalist, The Wall Street Journal*
Robert Pinsky, Stegner Fellow ’64, English MA ’65 and PhD ’67. 1997 U.S. poet laureate
John Steinbeck, Communication (attended 1919–25). Pulitzer Prize–winning author, Of Mice and Men, Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden*
Scott Turow, English MA ’74. Author, Presumed Innocent, Burden of Proof
Tobias Wolff, English MA ’78. Author, professor, This Boy’s Life, Old School

Tonya Antonucci, Political Science ’90. Founding commissioner, Women’s Professional Soccer League
Ruben Amaro, Jr., Human Biology ’87. General manager, Philadelphia Phillies
Jennifer Azzi, Economics ’90. Head coach, women’s basketball, University of San Francisco
Bob Boone, Psychology ’69. Assistant general manager, Washington Nationals
Jarron Collins, Urban Studies ’01. Basketball player, Los Angeles Clippers
Jason Collins, Communication ’02. Basketball player, Boston Celtics
Trent Edwards, Political Science ’07. Football player, Philadelphia Eagles
John Elway, Economics ’83. Former football player, Denver Broncos
Janet Evans (attended in 1993). 1988, 1992 four Olympic gold medals, swimming
Julie Foudy, Biological Sciences ’94. 1996, 2004 two Olympic gold medals, soccer
Chryste Gaines, Psychology ’92. 1996 Olympic gold medal, track and field
Eric Heiden, Biological Sciences ’84, MD ’91. 1980 five Olympic gold medals, speed skating
Misty Hyman, International Relations ’02. 2000 Olympic gold medal, swimming
Kerri Walsh Jennings, American Studies ’00. 2004, 2008, 2012 Olympic gold medals, beach volleyball
Brevin Knight, Sociology ’97. Former basketball player, Utah Jazz
Brook Lopez (attended 2006–08). Basketball player, New Jersey Nets
Jair Lynch, Urban Studies and Civil Engineering ’94. 1996 Olympic silver medal, gymnastics
Hank Luisetti, Social Science and Social Thought ’38. Basketball*
Mark Madsen, Economics ’00. Former NBA basketball player and current assistant coach
Peter Magowan, English ’64. Former managing general partner, San Francisco Giants
Bob Mathias, Physical Education ’54. 1948 Olympic Gold Medal, decathlon; former U.S. congressman*
Ed McCaffrey, Economics ’91. Former NFL football player
Jack McDowell, Communication ’89. Former Major League Baseball player
John McEnroe (attended late 1970s). World No. 1 professional tennis player
Jessica Mendoza, American Studies ’03. 2004 Olympic gold medal, softball
Pablo Morales, English ’87. 1984, 1992 Olympic gold medal, swimming
Mike Mussina, Economics ’91. Former major League Baseball player
Jim Plunkett, Political Science ’71. Football, Stanford’s only Heisman Trophy winner
Nicole Powell, Urban Studies ’05. WNBA basketball player
Summer Sanders, Communication ’95. 1992 three Olympic gold medals, swimming
Kerri Strug, Communication ’01, Sociology MA ’02. 1996 Olympic gold medal, gymnastics
Jenny Thompson, Human Biology ’96. 12-time Olympic medalist, swimming
Logan Tom, International Relations ’03. 2008 Olympic silver medal, beach volleyball
Tom Watson, Psychology ’71. Golf, five-time winner of the British Open
Candice Wiggins, Communications ’08. WNBA basketball player
Tiger Woods (attended 1994–96). Former world No. 1 professional golfer

* denotes deceased