List of Portland State University alumni

Established as Vanport College in 1946, Portland State University is a public university officiated as a state institution in 1969. Located in the southwest Portland, Oregon, it is the only public university in the state that is located within a major metropolitan city, and is one of Oregon's largest universities.^[1] Its academic programs are organized in nine constituent schools and colleges, and have produced alumni across professions in the arts, sciences, business, academia, politics, and sports. As of 2019^[update], the university claimed over 180,000 alumni worldwide.^[2]

Portland State University sign near Epler Hall

Legend

Notes and abbreviations used

• Individuals who may belong in multiple sections appear only in one.
• An empty class year or school/degree box indicates only that this information is unknown or unconfirmed.
• "DNG" indicates the alumnus or alumna attended but did not graduate; known year(s) of attendance accompany this if available. "N/A" will be present in the degree box for these individuals, as it is confirmed they did not receive degrees.

Colleges and schools CA – College of Arts CLAS – College of Liberal Arts and Sciences CE – College of Education CECS – Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science CUPA – College of Urban and Public Affairs GSBP – Graduate School of Book Publishing SB – School of Business SSW – School of Social Work Defunct schools PSC – Portland State College (predecessor to Portland State University; dissolved 1969) VC – Vanport College (predecessor to Portland State College; dissolved 1955)

Degrees and certificates B.A. – Bachelor of Arts B.F.A. – Bachelor of Fine Arts B.S. – Bachelor of Science B.B.A. – Bachelor of Business Administration B.S.A. – Bachelor of Arts and Science M.A. – Master of Arts M.F.A. – Master of Fine Arts M.S. – Master of Science M.B.A. – Master of Business Administration M.Ed. – Master of Education M.S.W. – Master of Social Work PhD – Doctorate Ed.D. – Doctor of Education

Academia

Name	Class	School	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Lee D. Baker	1989	CLAS	B.S.	Professor of anthropology, Duke University	[3]
Jacob Biamonte			B.S.	Professor of quantum computing, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology	[4]
Hans G. Furth	1960	CLAS	PhD	Professor emeritus of philosophy, The Catholic University of America	[5]
Peter A. Griffin			B.S.	Professor of mathematics, California State University–Sacramento	[6]
George Guthridge	1970	CLAS	B.A.	Professor emeritus of English, University of Alaska Fairbanks; professor of English, University of Maryland Global College	[7]
Mitchell S. Jackson		CLAS	B.A., M.A.	Associate professor of English, New York University	[8][9]
Michael Kazin		CLAS	M.A.	Professor of history, Georgetown University	[10]
Bonnie McCay	1969	CLAS	B.A.	Professor emerita of anthropology, Rutgers University	[11]
David McDowall	1973	CLAS	B.S.	Professor of criminology, University at Albany, SUNY	[12]
Roberta Rudnick	1980	CLAS	B.S.	Assistant professor of geology, Harvard University; University of California, Santa Barbara	[13]
Thomas Talbott			B.S.	Professor emeritus of philosophy, Willamette University	[14][15]
Jack Ernest Vincent	1957	PSC	B.S.	Professor emeritus of political science, University of Idaho	[16]
Dali Yang	1988	CLAS	M.A.	Professor of political science, University of Chicago	[17]

Architecture and design

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Sergio Palleroni				Architect and co-founder of BASIC Initiative	[18]

Art and literature

Francisco Laguna Correa, poet

Travis Knight, animator

Bill Plympton, animator

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Holly Andres	2004	CA	M.F.A.	Photographer	[19][20]
Damali Ayo	2006	CA	M.F.A.	Conceptual artist	[21]
Cal Barnes	DNG		—	Novelist and playwright	[22]
John Callahan	DNG		—	Cartoonist, creator of Pelswick	[23]
Francisco Laguna Correa		CLAS	B.A.	Poet, professor of Latinx studies at University of Denver	[24]
Walt Curtis				Poet and painter	[25]
Carolyn Davidson	1971	CLAS	B.A.	Graphic designer; creator of the Nike swoosh	[26]
Gwen M. Davidson	1987	CA	M.F.A.	Contemporary artist	[27]
Michael Dickman	DNG		—	Poet, recipient of Alfred Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University	[28][29]
David James Duncan	1973	CLAS	B.A.	Novelist and essayist	[30]
Ann Gardner	1974	CA	M.F.A.	Glass artist	[31]
Larry Harvey	DNG		—	Artist, co-founder of Burning Man festival	[32]
Michael Hornburg	DNG		—	Novelist, journalist	[33]
Christopher Howell	1971	CLAS	M.A.	Poet, two-time National Endowment Fellowship winner	[34]
Anne Hughes				Art patron, gallery owner
Ariana Jacob	2010	CA	M.F.A.	Contemporary artist	[35]
Lee Kelly		VC		Sculptor	[36]
Richard Kennedy	1958	PSC	B.A.	Children's author, proponent of Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship	[37]
Travis Knight	1998	CLAS	B.S.	Animator; CEO of LAIKA	[38]
Jack Ohman		CLAS	B.A.	Editorial cartoonist of The Oregonian	[39]
Pierre Ouellette				Science fiction author
Bill Plympton	1968	PSC	B.A.	Animator	[40]
Mike Richardson	1977	CA	B.A.	Publisher, founder of Dark Horse Comics	[41]
Deborah J. Ross	1973	CLAS	M.S.	Science fiction and fantasy author	[42]
Laura Ross-Paul	1976	CA	M.F.A.	Painter	[43]
Roland Smith	DNG		—	Young adult fiction author	[citation needed]
Howard Ben Tré	1978	CLAS	B.S.A.	Glass artist	[44][45]
Celeste West		CLAS	B.A.	Librarian and author	[46][47]
John Sibley Williams		GSBP	M.A.	Poet and publisher	[48]

Business and finance

Sho Dozono, businessman

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Rachel Christenson		SB	M.S.	Entrepreneur, co-founder of Selling Energy	[49]
D. Scott Davis			B.S.	Chairman and CEO of UPS	[50]
Sho Dozono	1968	CE	M.Ed.	Businessman, CEO of Azumano Travel	[51]
Mike Erickson	1988	SB	B.S.	Entrepreneur	[52]
Judi Hofer				Executive CEO, The May Department Stores Company	[53]
Darren Kimura	DNG		—	Inventor of MicroCSP	[54]
Steven Smith	DNG		—	Entrepreneur, founder of Tazo Tea Company	[55]
Norm Winningstad	1973	SB	M.B.A.	Businessperson, engineer	[56]

Civil society

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Arthur Honeyman	1965, 1974	CLAS	B.S., M.A.	Disability rights activist, writer	[57]
Ashley Gjøvik	2012		B.S.	Activist and Apple Inc. whistleblower	[58]
Musse Olol	1991			Social activist FBI's 2011 Director's Community Leadership Award (DCLA)
Richard Pimentel				Disability rights activist	[57]
Paul Popham		PSC		Founder of the Gay Men's Health Crisis; Vietnam War veteran	[59]
Robert Robideau		CLAS	B.S.	Native American activist; acquitted in 1975 shooting deaths of two FBI agents in South Dakota	[60]

Entertainment

Film, television, and performing arts

Mark Dacascos, actor and martial artist

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Bruce Abbott	DNG		—	Film and television actor	[61]
Cal Barnes	DNG		—	Film actor and filmmaker	[62]
Mark Dacascos				Film actor and martial artist	[63]
Karl Glusman	DNG		—	Film actor	[64]
Katie Harman	2003	CLAS	B.S.	2002 Miss America	[65][66]
Ian Karmel	2009		B.S.	Stand-up comedian	[67]
Terence Knox		CA	M.F.A.	Film actor	[68]
Jennifer Lyon	DNG		—	Competitor on Survivor: Palau	[69]
Holly Madison	DNG		—	Playboy model, reality television star	[70]
Kari Ann Peniche				Miss Teen USA winner
Rick Reynolds	1976	CLAS	B.S.	Comedian	[71][72]
Sara Jean Underwood				Playboy model, actress	[73]
Erin Way				Actress	[74]

Music

Aminé, rapper

Courtney Love, frontwoman of Hole

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Aminé	DNG		—	Hip-hop artist	[75]
Mel Brown				Jazz drummer, collaborator of Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye	[76]
Ken Butler	1977	CA	M.F.A.	Experimental musician	[77]
Dave Carter		CLAS	B.S.	Folk musician	[78]
Jack Ely				Musician, singer of The Kingsmen	[79]
Eric Funk	1972, 1978	CLAS	B.A., M.A.	Contemporary classical composer and conductor	[80]
Haley Heynderickx				Singer-songwriter	[81]
Issa	2008	SB	B.S.	Singer and songwriter	[82][83]
Courtney Love	DNG; att. c. 1983	CLAS	—	Musician and actress; frontwoman of Grammy-nominated rock band Hole	[84]
Audrey Luna	2001	CLAS	B.A.	Grammy-winning soprano; hit highest note ever sung at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 2017	[85]
Rob Simonsen				Film composer	[86]
Lawrence Leighton Smith	1957	CLAS	B.A.	Conductor and pianist	[87]
Esperanza Spalding	DNG; att. 2000–2001		—	Four-time Grammy-winning jazz musician	[88][89]
Nancy Wilson	DNG; att. 1973		—	Singer and guitarist of Heart	[90]

Humanities

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Chet Orloff		CLAS	M.A.	Historian, director emeritus of Oregon Historical Society	[91]
Mark Weber		CLAS	B.A.	Historian, director of Institute for Historical Review	[92]
Amos Yong				Pentecostal theologian	[93]

Media and communications

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Kambiz Hosseini				Political satirist, radio host	[94]
Paul Linnman		CLAS	B.A.	Television journalist, radio host	[95]
Lana Lokteff				Alt-right YouTube personality
Michael Moynihan	2000	CLAS	B.A.	Journalist, author of Lords of Chaos	[96]

Government and politics

Heads of state and government

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Casten Nemra	2000	SB	B.B.A.	7th president of the Republic of the Marshall Islands	[97]

Governors of the United States

Barbara Roberts, 34th governor of Oregon

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Barbara Roberts	1964	CLAS	B.A.	34th governor of Oregon	[98]

Margaret Carter, Oregon senator

Deborah Boone, Democratic member of Oregon House of Representatives

Joe Gallegos, Democratic member of Oregon House of Representatives

Teresa Alonso Leon, Democratic member of Oregon House of Representatives

State senators

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Margaret Carter	1972	CE	B.A.	Democratic member of Oregon State Senate	[99]
Avel Gordly	1974	CLAS	B.S.	First African American woman elected to the Oregon State Senate	[100]
Rod Monroe	1965, 1969	CLAS	B.S., M.A.	Democratic member of Oregon State Senate	[101]
Chuck Riley				Democratic member of Oregon State Senate, 15th district	[102]
Martha Schrader		CE, CUPA	M.A.	Democratic member of Oregon State Senate, 20th district	[103]
Chip Shields		SSW	M.S.W.	Democratic member of Oregon State Senate, 22nd district	[104]
Rob Wagner		CLAS	B.S.	Democratic member of Oregon State Senate, 19th district	[105]

State representatives

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Jeff Barker		CLAS	B.S.	Democratic member of Oregon House of Representatives, 28th district	[106]
Rick Bauman				Democratic member of Oregon House of Representatives, 11th/13th district	[107]
Deborah Boone		CLAS	B.S.	Democratic member of Oregon House of Representatives, 32nd district	[108]
Scott Bruun		SB	M.B.A.	Republican member of Oregon House of Representatives, 37th district	[109]
Albert H. Densmore	1968	CLAS	B.S.	Democratic member Oregon House of Representatives, 50th district	[110]
Richard Devlin	1976	CLAS	B.S.	Democratic member of Oregon House of Representatives and Senate	[111]
Margaret Doherty		CLAS	B.A.	Democratic member of the Oregon House of Representatives, 35th district	[112]
Larry Galizio		CUPA	PhD	Democratic member of the Oregon House of Representatives, 35th district	[113]
Joe Gallegos		CLAS, SSW	B.S., M.S.W.	Democratic member of the Oregon House of Representatives, 13th district	[114]
Chris Gorsek	2004	CLAS	PhD	Democratic member of the Oregon House of Representatives, 49th district	[115]
Gary Hansen				Democratic member of the Oregon House of Representatives, 44th district	[116]
Diego Hernandez		SSW	M.S.W.	Democratic member of the Oregon House of Representatives, 47th district	[117]
Nick Kahl	2000	CA	B.A.	Democratic member of the Oregon House of Representatives, 49th district	[118]
Teresa Alonso Leon	2013	CUPA	M.A.	Democratic member of the Oregon House of Representatives, 22nd district	[119]
Thomas Lockhart		SB	M.B.A.	Republican member of the Wyoming House of Representatives, 57th district	[120]
Steve March 1997	Urban Studies	M.A., PhD	Democratic Member of the Oregon House of Representatives, 46th district	[121]
Jim Moeller	DNG	SSW	—	Democratic member of the Washington House of Representatives, 49th district	[122]
Ron Packard	DNG		—	Republican member of the California House of Representatives, 43rd district	[123]
Tawna Sanchez	2012	SSW	M.S.W.	Democratic member of Oregon House of Representatives, 43rd district	[124]
Bruce Starr	1991	CLAS	B.S.	Republican member of Oregon House of Representatives and State Senate	[125]
Carolyn Tomei		SSW	M.S.W.	Democratic member of Oregon House of Representatives, 41st district	[126]
Matt Wand	1997	CLAS	B.S.	Republican member of Oregon House of Representatives, 49th district	[127]

Other U.S. political figures

Charles Moose, police officer

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Joe DeLaCruz	DNG			Native American program leader, elected president of National Congress of American Indians	[128]
Susan Eggman	2002	SSW	PhD	Member of California State Assembly, 13th district	[129]
Joseph LeBaron	1969	CLAS	B.S.	U.S. ambassador to Qatar	[130][131]
Marisa Lino	1971	CLAS	B.S.	U.S. ambassador to Albania	[132]
Gladys McCoy	1967	SSW	M.S.W.	First African American woman elected to public office in Oregon	[133]
Charles Moose		CUPA	M.A., PhD	Former police chief for Montgomery County, Maryland, one of the sites of the Beltway Sniper attacks	[134]

Judges

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Anna J. Brown	1975	CLAS	B.S.	U.S. federal judge	[135]
Paul De Muniz	1972	CLAS	B.S.	Oregon Supreme Court chief justice	[136]
R. William Riggs	1961	CLAS	B.A.	Oregon Supreme Court justice	[137]
Betty Roberts	1958	PSC	B.S. Education	First woman to serve on the Oregon Supreme Court and Oregon Court of Appeals	[138][139]

International political figures

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Anas Khalid Al Saleh	1997	B.S.	SB	Deputy prime minister of Kuwait	[140]

Sciences and technology

Jill Mikucki, microbiologist

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Chad Cary		CLAS	M.S. in Geography	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commissioned Officer Corps rear admiral; Director, NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps (2024–present)	[141]
John Hughes		SSW	M.S.W.	Pioneer in school-based alcohol and drug prevention efforts
Fariborz Maseeh		CLAS	B.S., M.S.	Pioneer in the field of micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS); founder of IntelliSense	[142]
Jill Mikucki	2001	CLAS	M.S.	Microbiologist and Antarctic researcher; professor of microbiology at University of Tennessee, Knoxville	[143]
Bruce Ogilvie		CLAS	M.S.	Sports psychologist and professor, San Jose State University
Sage Sharp		CLAS	B.S.	Programmer who contributed to Linux kernel	[144]

Sports

Evan Jager, distance runner

Rick Sanders, folkstyle and freestyle wrestler

DeShawn Shead, Seattle Seahawks cornerback

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Shaun Bodiford				Football wide receiver, New York Giants; Oakland Raiders	[145]
Kameron Canaday				NFL player	[146]
Tony Curtis				Football backup tight end, Dallas Cowboys	[147]
Clint Didier				NFL tight end, Super Bowl XVII Champion	[148]
Dan Frantz				Football player, Chicago Rush	[149]
Adam Hayward	2006			Linebacker, Tampa Bay Buccaneers	[150]
Darick Holmes				NFL running back, Buffalo Bills	[151]
Evan Jager	2015	CLAS	B.S.	Distance runner	[152]
Dave Jansen				Wrestler, mixed martial artist	[153]
Joe Kraemer				Major League Baseball player, Chicago Cubs	[154]
Jeff Lahti				Retired Major League Baseball pitcher; 1982 World Series Champion	[155]
Neil Lomax	1981	CLAS	B.S.	National Football League quarterback, St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals (1981–89)	[156]
Steve Olin	1988			Major League Baseball pitcher	[157]
Andre Murray	2009	CLAS	B.S.	Basketball player, Tokio Marine Nichido Big Blue	[158]
Shannon O'Keefe				Professional bowler, coach	[159]
Mike Pierce				Two-time All-American wrestler; professional mixed martial artist, formerly competed in the UFC	[160]
Gordon Riese	1964			Portland State pitcher, Pac-10 referee	[161]
Richard Sanders				Wrestler, NCAA, FILA and Summer Olympics	[162]
Bree Schaaf	2002	CLAS	B.A.	U.S. Olympic bobsledder, 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver	[163]
Paul Schrieber				Major League Baseball umpire	[164]
Jordan Senn				Linebacker, Carolina Panthers	[165]
DeShawn Shead	2011	CLAS	B.S.	Safety for the 2014 Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks	[166][167]
Dave Stief				Football wide receiver, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Redskins	[168]
Julius Thomas				Tight end for the Jacksonville Jaguars	[169]
Tom Trebelhorn	1970	CLAS	B.S.	Major League Baseball manager	[170]
Ime Udoka				Head coach for the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association	[171]
Dominic Waters				Israel Basketball Premier League basketball player	[172]
Freeman Williams				Retired National Basketball Association guard	[173]

Miscellaneous

Name	Class year	School(s)	Degree(s)	Notability	Ref.
Julienne Bušić		CLAS	M.A.	Widow of Zvonko Bušić; convicted in hijacking of TWA Flight 355	[174]
Patrice Lumumba Ford		CLAS	B.A.	Convicted member of the terrorist group, the Portland Seven	[175]
Randall Woodfield	DNG; att. 1970–1974		—	Green Bay Packers draftee; later convicted serial killer	[176]