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Distinguished Alumni
- Mary Blair, artist, graphic designer and illustrator who helped create Disney's Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Peter Pan (1953)
- Irene Dalis, 1946, former Metropolitan Opera star and founder of Opera San José, Tower Award 1974
- Robert Graham, internationally acclaimed sculptor whose work includes the Olympic Gateway in Los Angeles
- Edith Harvey Heron, 1918 & 1929 (1895-1980), watercolorist
- Jerry Juhl, (1937 - 2005), head writer and producer for The Muppets and Fraggle Rock
- Omar Benson Miller, actor
- Stevie Nicks, member of Fleetwood Mac
- Steve Silver, founder of Beach Blanket Babylon, a popular cabaret show in San Francisco
- Tom and Dick Smothers, popular comedy duo
- Luis Valdez, 1964 (English), prize-winning playwright, film actor and director
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- Donald Beall, retired chairman and CEO of Rockwell
- Charles W. "Chuck" Davidson, major Bay Area home builder, and chair of the SJSU Tower Foundation
- Robert Foster (BA public administration), president of Southern California Edison, CSU trustee (1997 - 2006); elected mayor of Long Beach in 2006
- Robert W. Foy, chairman of the board, California Water Service Group
- Charles Gingold, vice president, Discovery Channel
- Carl Guardino, president and CEO, Silicon Valley Leadership Group
- William Hauck, 1963 (BA social science), president of California Business Roundtable, CSU trustee (1993 - 2009)
- Omid Kordestani, Google's senior VP for Global Sales and Business Development
- Donald Lucas, retired founder of the Lucas Dealership Group, and philanthropist
- Jessica McClintock, fashion designer
- Jenny Ming, former president, Old Navy
- Gordon Moore, philanthropist and founder of Intel Corporation
- Barry Swenson, 1963 (Accounting) Barry Swenson Builder
- Peter Ueberroth, 1959 (Business), former Baseball Commissioner, head of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Time Man of the Year for 1984
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- Charles W. Childs, 1867, San José State Normal School principal, 1889-96
- Dr. Marshall "Mark" Drummond, (BS Management and Economics, and MBA), former chancellor of the California Community College system
- John Maupin, president, Morehouse School of Medicine
- William Pence, National Science Teachers Association “Outstanding Biology Teacher”
- Margaret Shallenberger McNaught, 1880, first state commissioner of elementary schools, first woman to teach in the School of Education at Stanford University (1891)
- Henry Zuzallo, 1895, (former) president of the University of Washington
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- Valerie Coleman-Morris, former anchor for CNN Financial News
- Eric Grigorian, photojournalism, recipient of the 2002 World Press Photo of the Year Award
- David Willman, 1978 (B.A. in Journalism), Los Angeles Times reporter who won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting
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- Lorna Dee Cervantes, poet and author of Drive: The First Quartet and other poetry collections, and numerous anthologized poems
- James D. Houston - author of Farewell to Manzanar, Continental Drift, Snow Mountain Passage, and others; Lurie Distinguished Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at SJSU in Spring 2006
- Jayne Ann Krentz (Master's in Library Science) author; also writes under Amanda Quick, Jayne Castle and others
- Edwin Markham, 1872, poet (1852-1940)
- Sandra McPherson - poet
- Amy Tan, 1972 (B.A. English and Linguistics), novelist, author of The Joy Luck Club, The Bonesetter's Daughter, The Opposite of Fate, and others
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- Kevin Asano, judo, 1988, silver
- Chuck Adkins, boxing, 1952, gold
- Bob Berland, judo, 1984, silver
- John Carlos, track and field, 1968, bronze
- Jim Doehring, track and field, 1992, silver
- Lee Evans, track and field, 1968, two gold medals
- Mitch Ivey, swimming, silver in 1968 and bronze in 1972
- John Powell, track and field, bronze in 1976 and 1984
- Ronnie Ray Smith, track and field, 1968, gold
- Tommie Smith, track and field, 1968, gold
- Willie Steele, track and field, 1948, gold
- Jill Sudduth, synchronized swimming, 1996, gold
- Mike Swain, judo, 1988, bronze
- Lynn Vidali, swimming, silver in 1968 and bronze in 1972
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- Ralph Abascal, founding director of the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment and the 1995 recipient of the Thurgood Marshall Award
- James T. Beall, Jr., (BA in Political Science) California Assemblyman; San José City Council 1980 - 1994; Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors (District 4) 1994 - 2006
- Lee P. Brown, 1964 (Masters in Sociology) former mayor of Houston; professor; law enforcement
- Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado, the first Native American to serve in the U.S. Senate
- Albert E. Carter, 1903, (former) U.S. congressman (Oakland)
- Cindy Chavez, San José City councilmember, District 3
- Judy Chirco, San José City councilmember, District 9
- Mike Deaver, influential member of Ronald Reagan's staff in California and the White House
- Robert C. Doerr, (former) mayor of San José (mayor during SJSC's Centennial year - 1957)
- Robert Foster (BA public administration), president of Southern California Edison, CSU Trustee (1997 - 2006); elected mayor of Long Beach in 2006
- Leslie C. Francis, 1965 (BA in Social Science) and 1966 (Secondary Teaching Credential) Democratic political consultant. Served in the Carter administration
- Congressman Mike Honda, 1968 (BA Biological Sciences and Spanish; MA Education, 1974) representing San José
- Lou Henry Hoover, 1893 (1874-1944), first lady (Herbert Hoover, 31st U.S. President)
- Peter Kutras, Jr., county of Santa Clara, county executive
- Linda J. LeZotte, San José City councilmember, District 1
- Nancy McFadden, deputy chief of staff in the Clinton Administration; currently VP governmental relations for PG&E
- Gaylord A. Nelson, 1939 Political Science; 1960 Honorary Master of Arts degree; founder of Earth Day, former U.S. Senator and governor of Wisconsin
- Lyn Nofziger, 1950 (BA in Journalism) (1924 - 2006), aide to Governor Reagan, advisor to Presidents Nixon and Reagan, campaign advisor for Steve Forbes and Pat Buchanan
- Ed Rollins, political strategist
- Laurie Smith, first California female sheriff, Santa Clara County
- Fernando Torres-Gil, 1970 (BA in Political Science) first assistant secretary for aging at the Department of Health and Human Services in the Clinton Administration; currently associate dean of the School of Public Affairs at UCLA
- Susanne B. Wilson, former member of San José City Council and Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors; recipient of the SJSU Tower Award in 1996
- Ken Yeager, Santa Clara County Supervisor; San José City councilmember, District 6
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- Ray Dolby, founder of Dolby sound systems
- John Farley, 2000 (MS Meteorology), NBC 11 chief meteorologist (San José)
- Dian Fossey, 1954 (Occupational Therapy) (1932-1985) gorilla researcher, author, teacher
- Gordon Moore, founder of Intel Corporation, "Moore's Law" creator
- Ed Oates, 1968 (Science/Math) co-founder of Oracle
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- Tariq Abdul-Wahad (Art History Major; attended SJSU as Olivier Saint-Jean), player for Dallas Mavericks
- John Carlos, 1970, "Speed City" athlete and bronze medal winner in the 200-meter race at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City; USATF Hall of Fame (2003)
- Rashied Davis, player for Chicago Bears
- Steven DeBerg, former NFL quarterback
- Harry Edwards, sports sociologist, activist, professor, and sports consultant (for 49ers)
- Jeff Garcia, NFL quarterback
- George Frederick Haines, 1950, (1924 - 2006), swim coach, founder of the Santa Clara Swim Club, 3 time head coach of US Olympic swim team
- Pat Hurst, pro golf
- Julie Inkster, pro golf
- Patty Sheehan, pro golf
- Tommie Smith, 1968, "Speed City" athlete and gold medal winner in the 200-meter race at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City; USATF Hall of Fame (1978)
- Yosh Uchida, SJSU judo coach, entrepreneur
- Ken Venturi, pro golf
- Dick Vermeil, 1958 (BA) and 1959 (MA), coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, former coach St. Louis Rams
- Bill Walsh, former head coach and general manager/vice president of the San Francisco 49ers; former head coach of Stanford football team
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