The following is a list of notable persons (students, alumni, faculty or academic affiliates) associated with San José State University, located in the American city of San Jose, California.
Artists and musicians
Bernd Behr — artist
Mary Blair — artist and illustrator who helped create Disney's Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953)
Lindsey Buckingham — musician best known for Fleetwood Mac (attended SJSU, but did not graduate)
Doug Clifford — rock drummer best known for his work as a founding member of Creedence Clearwater Revival
Stu Cook — bass guitarist best known for his work with Creedence Clearwater Revival (attended SJSU, but did not graduate)
Irene Dalis — New York Metropolitan Opera star and founder of Opera San Jose
Allan Graham — visual artist (studied at SJSU; graduated from University of New Mexico)
Robert Graham — internationally acclaimed sculptor whose work includes the Olympic Gateway in Los Angeles (attended SJSU before transferring to San Francisco Art Institute)
Tom Johnston — rock guitarist and vocalist best known for his work as a founding member of The Doobie Brothers
Paul Kantner — rock guitarist best known for his work as a founding member of Jefferson Airplane
David Kuraoka — ceramic artist
Sal Maccarone — nationally acclaimed woodworker and sculptor whose work includes "The Spirit of Tenaya" in Yosemite National Park
Bryan "Brain" Mantia — drummer, Primus, Guns N' Roses, Tom Waits, Buckethead
Ann Millikan — musician and composer
Stevie Nicks — musician best known for Fleetwood Mac (attended SJSU, but did not graduate)
Larry Norman — Christian rock musician, singer and songwriter; founding member of the '60s rock band People! (attended SJSU, but did not graduate)
Anacleto Rapping — photographer and pedagogue; Pulitzer Prize winner (1978)
Fred H. Roster — sculptor
Patrick Simmons — rock guitarist and vocalist best known for his work as a founding member of The Doobie Brothers
Wayne Thiebaud — painter (studied at SJSU from 1949–1950; graduated from Sacramento State University)
Cal Tjader — Grammy Award-winning jazz musician (studied at SJSU; graduated from San Francisco State University)
Michael Whelan — artist and illustrator specializing in imaginative realism; Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductee
Lorna Dee Cervantes — poet, Pulitzer Prize nominee
William J. Craddock — novelist, author of Be Not Content and Twilight Candelabra
Carmen Giménez Smith — poet, American Book Award winner
James D. Houston — co-author of Farewell to Manzanar; author of Continental Drift, Snow Mountain Passage, and others; Lurie Distinguished Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at SJSU in Spring 2006
Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston — co-author of Farewell to Manzanar
Jayne Ann Krentz — New York Times bestselling author
Ella Leffland — novelist (Rumors of Peace) and short story writer (Last Courtesies and Other Stories)
Edwin Markham — poet
Patricia A. McKillip — novelist
Sandra McPherson — poet
Robert Scoble — blogger, author, and social media pioneer
Amy Tan — novelist; author of The Joy Luck Club
Jason Dahl — airline pilot and United Airlines Flight 93 captain who died in the September 11 attacks
Terry Alderete — businesswoman
Helder Antunes — Senior Director, Cisco Systems; Chairman of the Board, OpenFog Consortium
James F. Boccardo — trial lawyer, businessman, and philanthropist
Finis Conner — founder, Conner Peripherals and co-founder of Seagate Technology
Ron Conway — angel investor, co-founder and former CEO of Altos Computer Systems
Robert Frankenberg — former CEO, Novell
Carl Guardino — President and CEO, Silicon Valley Leadership Group
Omid Kordestani — Senior Vice President, Google
Brian Krzanich — CEO, Intel Corporation
Jenny Ming — CEO, Charlotte Russe; former CEO of Old Navy
Gordon Moore — co-founder, Intel Corporation (studied two years at SJSU; graduated from U.C. Berkeley)
Ed Oates — co-founder, Oracle Corporation
Daniel R. Scoggin — founder and CEO, TGI Fridays
Mike Sinyard — founder and CEO, Specialized Bicycle Components
James E. Thompson — founder and chairman, Crown Worldwide Group
Film, theatre, and TV
Coby Bell — actor; best known for his role as NYPD officer Tyrone Davis, Jr. on the NBC drama Third Watch
Danny Lee Clark — actor, writer and producer; played Nitro on American Gladiators
Debrah Farentino — film and television actress; model (attended SJSU; transferred to UCLA)
Jerry Juhl — head writer and producer for The Muppets and Fraggle Rock
Omar Benson Miller — actor
Steve Silver — founder of Beach Blanket Babylon, a popular cabaret show in San Francisco
Kurtwood Smith — actor, best known for the role of Red Forman on That '70s Show
The Smothers Brothers — comedians
Bobbi Starr — pornographic actress
Luis Valdez — playwright and director
Chauncey Bailey — Oakland Post editor-in-chief; murdered in 2007
Jim Bunner— Multiple Emmy-Award winning TV Producer, Exec. Producer
Aftab Iqbal — Pakistani columnist and television journalist
Tony Kovaleski — broadcast journalist (KNTV-TV); multiple Emmy awards; winner of the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award (2010)
Steve Lopez — newspaper columnist, Los Angeles Times; novelist
Dave Meltzer —editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Steve Starr — photojournalist; Pulitzer Prize winner (1970)
David Willman — reporter; Pulitzer Prize winner (2001)
Christopher Darden — prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson murder case
Dirk Dirksen — godfather of San Francisco punk; tour manager for The Doors, Iron Butterfly, The Supremes and Ray Charles; owner of the Mabuhay Gardens punk club in San Francisco (attended SJSU, but did not graduate)
Harry W. Jenkins — Major General, U.S. Marine Corps
Jessica McClintock — fashion designer
Anthony Poshepny, aka Tony Poe — legendary CIA paramilitary officer
Edward Soriano — Lieutenant General, United States Army; As of April 2009, highest ranked Filipino American in the United States military
Politics and government
Richard C. Baldwin — Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
James T. Beall Jr. — California Assemblyman, 24th district, and former Santa Clara County Supervisor
Lee P. Brown — former Mayor of Houston; former Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
Ben Nighthorse Campbell — former U.S. Senator from Colorado
Albert E. Carter — former U.S. Congressman
David C. Casas — former Mayor and Los Altos City Councilmember
Cindy Chavez — former member of San José City Council and former vice mayor of San Jose
Judy Chirco — San José City councilmember, District 9
William Clark, Jr. — former U.S. Ambassador to India
Michael Deaver — Deputy White House Chief of Staff for President Ronald Reagan
Robert Doerr — former Mayor of San Jose, California (1956-1958)
Paul Fong — California Assemblyman, 22nd district
Robert "Bob" Foster — Mayor of Long Beach, California; former President, Southern California Edison; former CSU Trustee
Mike Honda — U.S. Representative from California
Lou Henry Hoover — former First Lady of the United States
Johnny Khamis — Councilmember on the San Jose City Council
Linda J. LeZotte — San José City councilmember, District 1
Gus Morrison — Mayor of Fremont, California (1985–1989; 1994-2004; since January 2012)
Gaylord Nelson — former U.S. Senator; Governor of Wisconsin; founder of Earth Day
Lyn Nofziger — White House advisor to presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan
Ed Rollins — National Campaign Director for Reagan-Bush (1984) and Mike Huckabee (2007); regular guest political analyst on CNN (attended SJSU; graduated from CSU Chico)
Jim Silva — California State Assemblyman; former mayor of Huntington Beach
Laurie Smith — Sheriff, Santa Clara County; first female county sheriff in the history of the state of California
Fernando Torres-Gil — first assistant secretary for aging at the Department of Health and Human Services in the Clinton Administration; associate dean of the School of Public Affairs at UCLA
Joe Trippi — presidential campaign manager for Howard Dean (2004)
Sim Tze Tzin — Malaysian politician
Kent Wiedemann — former U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia
Ken Yeager — politician, member of Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Science and technology
Daniel W. Bradley — co-discoverer of Hepatitis C
Ray Dolby — engineer, founder of Dolby Laboratories (studied two years at SJSU; graduated from Stanford University)
Dian Fossey — ethologist and gorilla expert
Charles Ginsburg — engineer, inventor of the videocassette recorder; National Inventors Hall of Fame inductee
Jan Koum — Ukrainian entrepreneur, co-founder and CEO of WhatsApp; managing director at Facebook, Inc. (attended SJSU, but did not graduate)
Gordon Moore — scientist, author of Moore's Law
Roger Wakimoto — atmospheric scientist, tornado expert, director of NCAR and NSF
Jeff Ball — former Major League Baseball player, San Francisco Giants
Aaron Bates — Major League Baseball player, Boston Red Sox
Mike Brown — former Major League Baseball player, California Angels and Pittsburgh Pirates
Ken Caminiti — former Major League Baseball player, Houston Astros et al.
Anthony Chavez — former Major League Baseball player, California Angels
Chris Codiroli — former Major League Baseball player, Oakland Athletics
Kevin Frandsen — Major League Baseball player, Philadelphia Phillies
Gary Hughes — former Major League Baseball assistant coach, Chicago Cubs
Pat Hughes — play-by-play radio broadcaster for Chicago Cubs
Jason Jimenez — former Major League Baseball player, Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Randy Johnson — former Major League Baseball player, Atlanta Braves
Brad Kilby — Major League Baseball player, Oakland Athletics
Hal Kolstad — former Major League Baseball player, Boston Red Sox
Mark Langston — former Major League Baseball player, Seattle Mariners, California Angels, et al.
Larry Lintz — former Major League Baseball player, Montreal Expos et al.
John Oldham — former Major League Baseball player, Cincinnati Reds
Jason Simontacchi — former Major League Baseball player, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals
Anthony Telford — former Major League Baseball player, Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos, et al.
Carlos Torres — Major League Baseball player, Chicago White Sox
Tariq Abdul-Wahad (Olivier Saint-Jean) — former NBA player (Sacramento Kings)
Ricky Berry — former NBA player (Sacramento Kings)
Coby Dietrick — former NBA player (San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors)
Dick Groves — former NBA player (San Diego Rockets)
Darnell "Dr. Dunk" Hillman — former NBA player (Indiana Pacers, New Jersey Nets et al.)
Ed Hughes — former BAA player (Washington Capitols)
Stu Inman — former NBA player and coach (Chicago Stags, Portland Trail Blazers, et al.)
Wally Rank — former NBA player (San Diego Clippers)
Sid Williams — former NBA player (Portland Trail Blazers)
Courtney Anderson — former NFL tight end, Atlanta Falcons and Oakland Raiders
Stacey Bailey — former NFL wide receiver, Atlanta Falcons
Kim Bokamper — former NFL linebacker, Miami Dolphins
John Broussard — NFL wide receiver, Jacksonville Jaguars
Gill Byrd — former NFL defensive back, San Diego Chargers; two NFL Pro Bowl appearances
Jim Cadile — former NFL guard, Chicago Bears
Sheldon Canley — former NFL running back, San Francisco 49ers and New York Jets
Matt Castelo — former NFL linebacker, Seattle Seahawks; former CFL linebacker, Hamilton Tiger-cats
Steve Clarkson — nationally renowned quarterbacks coach; founder of Steve Clarkson Dreammaker quarterback camp
Sherman Cocroft — former NFL defensive back, Kansas City Chiefs
Clarence Cunningham — former AFL wide receiver, defensive back, running back, and kick returner; former AF2 starter, Stockton Lightning; IFL free safety, Catania Elephants
Neal Dahlen — former SJSU quarterback, NFL manager and scout; holds the record for the most earned Super Bowl rings at seven
Rashied Davis — NFL wide receiver, Chicago Bears
Yonus Davis — CFL running back, BC Lions
Steve DeBerg — former NFL quarterback, Dallas Cowboys
David Diaz-Infante — former NFL and CFL offensive guard, San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, and Sacramento Gold Miners
Oscar Donahue — former NFL wide receiver, Minnesota Vikings
Terry Donahue — UCLA head football coach; College Football Hall of Fame inductee (attended SJSU for one year)
Leon Donohue, former NFL offensive lineman, San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys
Carl Ekern — former NFL linebacker, Los Angeles Rams; one NFL Pro Bowl appearance
Mervyn Fernandez —former NFL wide receiver, Los Angeles Raiders
Coye Francies — NFL defensive back, Cleveland Browns
Jeff Garcia — NFL quarterback, San Francisco 49ers et al.; four NFL Pro Bowl appearances
Trestin George — CFL defensive back, BC Lions
Jarron Gilbert - NFL defensive tackle, Chicago Bears
Charlie Harraway — former NFL running back, Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns
Paul Held — former NFL quarterback, Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers
Willie Heston — former SJSU halfback; College Football Hall of Fame inductee (attended SJSU from 1898–1900; graduated from University of Michigan)
James Hodgins — former NFL fullback, St. Louis Rams et al.
Duke Ihenacho — NFL safety, Denver Broncos
Johnny Johnson — former NFL running back, New York Jets; one NFL Pro Bowl appearance; consensus choice for Rookie of the Year (1990)
Cody Jones — NFL defensive tackle, Los Angeles Rams; one NFL Pro Bowl appearance
James Jones — NFL wide receiver, Oakland Raiders
Rick Kane — former NFL running back, Detroit Lions
Bob Ladouceur — among winningest high school football coaches in U.S. history; coached De La Salle High Spartans to 151 consecutive wins from 1992-2003
Bill Leavy — NFL referee; officiated Super Bowl XL
Dwight Lowery — NFL defensive back, New York Jets and two-time All-American at SJSU
Joe Nedney — NFL kicker, San Francisco 49ers
William Yaw Obeng — Arena Football League lineman, San Jose Sabercats
Chris Owens — NFL defensive back, Atlanta Falcons
Tom Petitthome — former AFL player, San Jose Sabercats
Art Powell — NFL wide receiver, Oakland Raiders; Raiders' 7th all-time leading receiver
Waylon Prather — former NFL punter, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals
Jim Psaltis — former NFL defensive back
David Richmond — NFL wide receiver, Cincinnati Bengals
Scott Rislov — AFL quarterback, San Jose Sabercats
Al Saunders — former NFL head coach for the San Diego Chargers
Rufus Skillern — CFL and NFL wide receiver, BC Lions and Baltimore Ravens
Gerald Small — former NFL defensive back, Miami Dolphins
Carl Sullivan — former NFL defensive end, Green Bay Packers
Adam Tafralis — CFL quarterback, Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Tyson Thompson —NFL kick returner, Dallas Cowboys
Bob Titchenal — former NFL linebacker, Washington Redskins and Los Angeles Dons; one Pro Bowl appearance; former head football coach, University of New Mexico and SJSU
Dick Vermeil — NFL head coach; winning coach, Super Bowl XXXIV
Bill Walsh — NFL head coach; winning coach, Super Bowl XVI, Super Bowl XIX, and Super Bowl XXIII; Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
Gerald Willhite — former NFL running back, Denver Broncos
Billy Wilson — former NFL receiver, San Francisco 49ers; six NFL Pro Bowl appearances
Louis Wright — former NFL defensive back, Denver Broncos; 1st round NFL draft pick; five NFL Pro Bowl appearances
Roy Zimmerman — former NFL quarterback, Washington Redskins; one Pro Bowl appearance
Ron Cerrudo — PGA golfer and tour winner
Bob Eastwood — PGA golfer and tour winner
Pat Hurst — LPGA golfer and tour winner; #16 on the all-time LPGA money list
Juli Inkster — LPGA golfer; two-time U.S. Women's Open winner (1999 and 2002); #4 on the all-time LPGA money list
Mark Lye — PGA golfer and tour winner
Roger Maltbie — PGA golfer and tour winner
Janice Moodie — LPGA golfer and tour winner
Arron Oberholser — PGA golfer; AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am winner (2006)
Patty Sheehan — LPGA golfer; two-time U.S. Women's Open winner (1992 and 1994)
Ken Venturi — PGA golfer; 1964 U.S. Open winner and Sports Illustrated "Sportsman of the Year"
Mark Wiebe — PGA golfer and tour winner
Charles Adkins — 1952 Olympian (boxing); gold medalist
Kevin Asano — 1988 Olympian (judo); silver medalist; USA Judo Hall of Fame inductee
Bob Berland — 1984 Olympian (judo); silver medalist
Ed Burke — 1964 and 1968 Olympian (track and field), U.S.A. Flagbearer at the 1984 Opening Ceremonies in Los Angeles
Ben Nighthorse Campbell — 1964 Olympian (judo)
Robin Campbell — 1984 Olympian (track and field - 800 metres)
John Carlos — 1968 Olympian (track and field - 200 meters); bronze medalist; best known for giving raised fist salute from the medalist's podium during the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City
Jim Doehring — 1992 Olympian (track and field - shot put); silver medalist
Lee Evans — 1968 Olympian (track and field - 4x400 meters and 400 meters); two-time gold medalist and world record holder
Jeff Fishback — 1964 Olympian (track and field)
George Haines — swim coach for seven U.S. Olympic teams; head swim coach at UCLA and Stanford University
Mike Hernandez — 1972 Olympian (soccer)
Mitch Ivey — 1968 and 1972 Olympian (swimming); silver and bronze medalist
Margaret Jenkins — 1928 Olympian (track and field)
Marti Malloy — 2012 Olympian (judo); bronze medalist
Ray Norton — 1960 Olympian (track and field)
Christos Papanikolaou — 1968 Olympian (track and field - pole vault); world record holder (first man over 18 feet)
John Powell — 1976 and 1984 Olympian (track and field - discus); two-time bronze medalist
Raju Rai — 2008 Olympian (men's singles badminton)
Ronnie Ray Smith — 1968 Olympian (track and field athlete - 4 × 100 meters); gold medalist and world record holder
Tommie Smith — 1968 Olympian (track and field athlete - 200 meters); gold medalist; best known for giving raised fist salute from the medalist's podium during the 1968 Summer Olympic Games
Willie Steele —1948 Olympian (track and field - long jump); gold medalist
Jill Sudduth — 1996 Olympian (synchronized swimming): gold medalist
Mike Swain — 1988 Olympian (judo); bronze medalist; first American male to win the World Judo Championships
Lynn Vidali — 1968 and 1972 Olympian (swimming); silver and bronze medalist
Jim Zylker — 1972 Olympian (soccer)
Isai Alvarado (2011 –2014) — Associate of Arts in Business Administration, professional Super Smash Bros. player
Joey Chestnut — competitive eater; world record holder
Krazy George Henderson — professional cheerleader and claimed inventor of the audience wave
Ryan Suarez — former MLS soccer player (Los Angeles Galaxy and Dallas Burn)
Yoshihiro Uchida — head coach, SJSU judo team; team coach, 1964 U.S. Olympic judo team; instrumental in developing organized intercollegiate judo competition in the U.S.
Peter Ueberroth — Major League Baseball Commissioner (1984 –1989); U.S. Olympic Committee chair; Time magazine's "Man of the Year"
Faculty and staff
James J. Asher — Professor Emeritus of psychology; inventor of Total Physical Response (TPR)
Dwight Bentel — driving force behind the development of the SJSU School of Journalism and Mass Communications
Elbert Botts — former chemistry professor; California Department of Transportation employee; inventor of Botts dots
Celia Correas de Zapata — former Spanish professor; world expert on Latin American women's fiction; widely published author
Paul Douglass — English professor; renowned literary scholar; winner of the 2007 Elma Dangerfield award for his publication of new and original work related to the life and times of the poet Lord Byron; author of numerous other books related to comparative literature and literary criticism; director of SJSU's Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies
Daniel Goldston — mathematics professor; developed breakthrough methods for proving there are arbitrarily large primes that are unusually close together
Lou Harrison — former composer-in-residence; world-renowned composer
Jessica Mitford — former sociology professor; renowned muckraking journalist; author of The American Way of Death
Bruce Ogilvie — psychology professor; renowned sports psychologist
Rudy Rucker — former computer science professor; renowned science fiction author; often credited as a founding father of cyberpunk
Frederick Spratt — art professor (1956-1989) and art department chair; known for his Color Theory paintings; founder of the Frederick Spratt Gallery in San Jose
Shelby Steele — former English professor; writer; documentary filmmaker; author of The Content of our Character; Emmy Award winner; National Book Critics Circle Award winner
Allen Strange — Professor Emeritus of music; renowned musician and composer; author of Electronic Music: Systems, Techniques, and Controls, a key text on modular analog synthesis; author of other texts on modern music practices
Lloyd (Bud) Winter — track coach; produced over 100 All-Americans and nine Olympians at SJSU; coached SJSU track team to two NCAA national titles; National Track and Field Hall of Fame inductee; author of So You Want to be a Sprinter
List of San Jose State University people Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
