This list of Utah State University alumni includes notable graduates, non-graduate former students, and current students of Utah State University (USU), a public, land-grant, research university located in Logan, Utah. This list does not contain the names of presidents or faculty of the university, unless they also happen to be alumni.
Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act as the Agricultural College of Utah, USU has grown to more than 28,000 students. Although it is headquartered in Logan, USU operates throughout the state of Utah through five regional campuses and more than 20 distance education sites. On June 13, 1899, graduates of the Agricultural College of Utah met to create the Alumni Association. Today, the Alumni Association is located in the historic David B. Haight Alumni Center, which was dedicated on July 11, 1991. Alumni chapters exist in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Washington DC. USU boasts more than 180,000 alumni, who are found in every U.S. state and more than 100 countries.
Activism Name Class year(s) Degree(s) Notability Reference 1979 B.S. Geology Writer and environmental activist 1982 B.S. History Entrepreneur, human rights activist, and founder of the Gregory C. Carr Foundation, which supports human rights, education and the arts 1981 B.S. First and only American elected to Standing Commission of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the worldwide organization's highest governing body 1958 B.A. English Feminist and writer
Business Name Class year(s) Degree(s) Notability Reference Founded Atari Inc. and the Chuck E. Cheese's chain 1982 B.S. History Entrepreneur; founded the company that first developed voice mail; chaired Prodigy, an early global ISP Charlie Denson 1978 B.S. Marketing President of Nike BrandNIKE, Inc. - The official corporate website for Nike and its affiliate brands 1971 B.S. Physical Education Founder of Forzani Group, Canada's largest sporting goods retailer with 215 company-owned stores under the names Coast Mountain Sports, Sport Chek and Sport Mart Jason Lindsey 1995 B.A. M.A. Co-founder and president of Overstock.com 1953 B.S. Physical Education Owner of the Bluebird Inn in Logan and the Bluebird Inn Bed and Breakfast in Bear Lake, Utah; former NBA coach and color commentator; coach of Chicago Bulls, Washington Bullets and Dallas Mavericks; NBA Coach of the Year in 1971; won an NBA Championship while coaching the Washington Bullets Ward Parkinson 1969 B.S. Electrical Engineering Founder of Micron Technology; VP of Commercial Development of Ovonyx, Inc. Gary E. Stevenson 1979 B.A. Co-founder of ICON Health & Fitness
Education Name Class year(s) Degree(s) Notability Reference Caryn Beck-Dudley 1980 B.S. Political Science Dean of the College of Business at Florida State University; first female dean of the Huntsman School of Business (2002–2005) 19701975 B.S. M.S. Named #1 Professor in the U.S. by RateMyProfessors.com 1970 B.S. Co-author, with her husband Richard Eyre, of 33 books on parenting, including New York Times #1 best seller Teaching Your Children Values; developed and founded Joy Schools preschool system 1968 B.S. Co-author, with his wife Linda J. Eyre, of 33 books on parenting, including New York Times #1 best seller Teaching Your Children Values; developed and founded Joy Schools preschool system
Government and politics Name Class year(s) Degree(s) Notability Reference 1982 MEd Deputy minister for Women's Education in Saudi Arabia; first woman appointed to ministerial post in Saudi Arabia U.S. secretary of agriculture (1953–61) B.S. Forest ManagementM.S. Natural Resources Economics Democratic politician, representing the 21st District in the Iowa Senate 1995–2015 1956 Elected as a Republican to the eighty-eighth and to the three succeeding congresses (1963–1971) 1972 B.S. Political Science First woman appointed director of the Bureau of Land Management (2002–07) 1921 B.S. 10th governor of Utah (1957–65) B.A. Lieutenant governor of Utah, governor of Utah (2021–present) Elizabeth Dowdeswell 1972 M.S. Behavioral Sciences 29th lieutenant governor of Ontario (2014–2023); executive director, United Nations Environment Programme (1993–98); Canada's permanent representative to the World Meteorological Organization; twice elected to its executive council 1975 B.S. Son of former U.S. President Gerald Ford; attended USU during his presidency Son of former U.S. President Gerald Ford; attended USU during his presidency 1970 Ed.D. Educational Administration Former governor of Nevada First woman elected to a full term in the U.S. Senate without a family connection (1981–87) 1925 PhD U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1925–1929); U.S. ambassador to Egypt Anti-tax activist in California History Republican member of both houses, consecutively, of the Wyoming State Legislature, 1993–2017 Journalism Newspaper reporter and editor; first woman elected mayor of Henderson, Nevada (1985–1993) Governor of Arizona 1981 B.S. Federal district judge 1961 B.S. Political Science Former U.S. senator, D-NV; former U.S. Senate majority leader; youngest lieutenant governor in Nevada's history 1972 B.S. U.S. House of Representatives, R-ID Member of the Utah House of Representatives 1984 B.S. U.S. House of Representatives, R-UT; New York Times best-selling author 1972 B.S. Federal district judge First female chair of the Democratic National Committee (1972) 1950 B.S. Animal Science Former Iranian minister of Foreign Affairs and ambassador to the United States
Humanities and fine arts Name Class year(s) Degree(s) Notability Reference 1972 B.S. Music Tenor; founder and director of the Utah Festival Opera; author of more than 30 publications and music recordings 1979 PEN/O. Henry Prize-winning novelist, essayist 1998 B.S. Emmy Award-winning journalist, documentary filmmaker Writer and photographer 1973 B.S. Music director; former director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir 19521963 B.S.M.S. First president of National Public Radio 1998 M.A. Science fiction writer; Stegner Fellow at Stanford 19741983 B.S.M.S. Non-fiction writer, poet 1961 B.S. Historian of Mormonism 1934 B.S. Poet; chancellor of Academy of American Poets Painter and illustrator 196519671969 A.A.B.F.A.M.F.A. Artist; sculptor; teaches sculpture and three-dimensional design at USU Logan; namesake of Gene Tobey Memorial Art Scholarship Fund created by his wife Rebecca Tobey in 2006 Tobey, Rebecca. Partners in Art: Gene and Rebecca Tobey, pp. 350 - 355. Fresco Fine Art Publications, 2007. 1998 B.F.A. Annie-nominated voice actor and story artist, known as the voice of "Rhino" in the movie Bolt 2008 B.A. Science fiction and fantasy artist and illustrator
Military Name Class year(s) Degree(s) Notability Reference 1914 Air commander-in-chief, Allied Air Forces, Mediterranean Theater of Operations, World War II; four-star general 19711973 Political Science Retired major general; United States Army Reserves for 39 years 1960 B.S. Major general, United States Air Force; first African American to command an Air Force Logistics Center; commanded 436th Military Airlift Wing at Dover Air Force Base 1917 Pilot of first-ever dawn-to-dusk transcontinental flight across the United States 1939 Participant in Doolittle Raid, career U.S. Air Force officer
Religion Name Class year(s) Degree(s) Notability Reference President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) Member of the First Presidency of the LDS Church 1964 B.S. Member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church 1929 Member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church 19601966 B.S.M.S. Commissioner of Education of the LDS Church 19491953 B.S.M.S. President of the LDS Church's Quorum of Twelve Apostles 1949 B.S. Business Administration Member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church 1961 B.S. History Preeminent non-Mormon expert on Mormonism; professor emeritus of history and religious studies in the School of Liberal Arts at Indiana University-Purdue University 1979 B.S. Business Administration Member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church
Science Name Class year(s) Degree(s) Notability Reference Inventor of headphones 19751980 M.S. BiologyPh.D. Civil and Environmental Engineering NASA astronaut 1974 B.S. Commissioner of Health for New York State; head of the New York Department of Health 1964 B.S. Mathematics Mathematician in model theory and computability theory at the University of Notre Dame, Fellow of the American Mathematical SocietyJulia Knight – Named professorships and directorships at Notre Dame , retrieved 2013-10-16. 1937 B.S. Agriculture, M.S. Botany Mathematician in complex analysis; founded the Michigan Mathematical Journal with Paul Erdős, Fritz Herzog and Arthur J. Lohwater 1979 MEd As Ludwig van Ludvig, notable Usenet personality Julie A. Robinson 1989 B.S. Chemistry Chief scientist of the International Space Station 1958 B.S. Electrical Engineering President of Rad-icon Imaging Corporation 1972 Ph.D. Professor of biological sciences at Bowling Green State University 1963 Ph.D. Research unlocked key to prolonging freshness in fruits and flowers; 1991 Wolf Prize in Agriculture, considered the "Nobel Prize of Agriculture"
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