Many notable people have been associated with Carleton College, located in Northfield, Minnesota.

Notable alumni Academia Lila Abu-Lughod, 1974, author, scholar and expert on the Arab world Robert C. Allen, 1969, professor of economic history at New York University Abu Dhabi R. Michael Alvarez, 1986, professor of political science at California Institute of Technology James C. Anthony, 1971, professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Michigan State University Daniel A. Arnold, 1988, philosopher at the University of Chicago Frank Edward Brown, 1929, preeminent Mediterranean archaeologist Penelope Brown, 1965, anthropologist, co-creator of the theory of politeness David M. Carr, 1980, professor of Old Testament at the Union Theological Seminary Arland F. Christ-Janer, 1943, president of the College Entrance Examination Board and sixth president of Boston University Kimberly Clausing, 1991, economist at Reed College and UCLA School of Law Geoffrey Claussen, 2001, professor of religious studies at Elon University Michael Cunningham, NA, social psychologist and professor in the Department of Communications at the University of Louisville Anthony Downs, 1952, author of An Economic Theory of Democracy, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution Buell G. Gallagher, 1925, president of Talladega College; president of City College of New York Regan Gurung, 1991, professor of psychology and author Susan Hekman, 1971, professor of political science and director of the graduate humanities program at the University of Texas at Arlington Lynn Hunt, 1967, emerita professor of French and European history at UCLA; past president of the American Historical Association (2002) John Lavine, 1963, dean of Medill School of Journalism Alfred R. Lindesmith, 1927, professor of sociology at Indiana University known for contributions to the study of drug addiction Dennis Meadows, 1964, co-author of The Limits to Growth Donella Meadows, 1963, lead author of The Limits to Growth Thomas Mengler, 1975, president of St. Mary's University (Texas), former dean of Law at University of St. Thomas and former dean of the University of Illinois College of Law William G. Moseley, 1987, writer and professor of geography at Macalester College Robert Paarlberg, 1967, professor of political science at Wellesley College, researcher of international agricultural and environmental policy Kathy Peiss, 1975, professor of American history at University of Pennsylvania; former chair of the history department and winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship William B. Pickett, 1962, historian and professor emeritus at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana Lucian Pye, 1943, political scientist and renowned sinologist, taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology for 35 years Katherine Rowe, 1984, first female president of The College of William & Mary Laura Ruetsche, 1987, chair of the philosophy department at the University of Michigan Jay Rubenstein, 1989, historian, recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship Jennie Lasby Tessmann, 1904, spectroscopist and astronomy educator Stephen E. Thorsett, 1987, president of Willamette University, physicist, astronomer, former dean of UC Santa Cruz Division of Physical and Biological Sciences Thorstein Veblen, 1880, economist and author of The Theory of the Leisure Class

Arts

Carl Schmidt, 2020, reality TV star, participant of Love Island season 8. Jack Carson, 1932, actor, star of many films including Mildred Pierce, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Star Is Born Lincoln Child, 1979, New York Times Bestselling author of techno-thrillers Jimmy Chin, 1996, Academy Award winning National Geographic photographer, documentary filmmaker, and mountain climber Masanori Mark Christianson, 1998, musician/creative director, member of indie band Rogue Wave Stuart Comer, 1990, chief curator at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Bob Daily, 1986, television producer and screenwriter for Desperate Housewives, Frasier, and Superior Donuts Pamela Dean, 1975, fantasy writer Brian Freeman, 1984, suspense fiction author Pierce P. Furber, 1871, architect with the firm Peabody & Stearns Piotr Gajewski, 1981, founder, director and artistic director of the National Philharmonic Orchestra Robert Gottschalk, 1939, Academy Award winner and founder of Panavision Peter Gwinn, 1993, writer for The Colbert Report Jane Hamilton, 1979, novelist and winner of the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, author of The Book of Ruth Hal Higdon, 1953, runner and writer Loyce Houlton, 1946, choreographer and founder of the Minnesota Dance Theatre Christopher Kratt, 1992, TV and film producer, host of Zoboomafoo and Wild Kratts Naomi Kritzer, 1995, Locus Award and Hugo Award-winning author of speculative fiction, and blogger Clare Walker Leslie, 1968, naturalist and nature writer Grace Llewellyn, 1986, author of The Teenage Liberation Handbook James Loewen, 1964, historian and author of Lies My Teacher Told Me Erica Lord, 2001, artist Zach McGowan, 2002, actor, roles in television shows including Black Sails and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Beverly Naidus, 1975, artist Barrie M. Osborne, 1966, producer of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy Parker Palmer, 1961, author, founder of the Center for Courage & Renewal Andrij Parekh, 1994, cinematographer for popular television (13 Reasons Why), film (The Zookeepers Wife), and music videos (Electric Feel for MGMT) Veronica Roth, NA, author of the Divergent series; transferred to Northwestern University after her first year T. J. Stiles, 1986, non-fiction writer, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, for Biography in 2010 and for History in 2016 Marilyn Stokstad, 1950, art historian Peter Tork of The Monkees, 1963, student at Carleton 1960–1963 (then known as Peter Thorkelson) Laura Veirs, 1997, singer-songwriter, member of supergroup case/lang/veirs Helene Wecker, 1997, author of the historical fantasy novel The Golem and the Jinni Wendy West, 1994, television producer and Emmy award-nominated writer of the Showtime drama Dexter Patricia Collins Wrede, 1974, fantasy writer, author of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles Karen Tei Yamashita, 1973, novelist, author of I Hotel and Tropic of Orange Kao Kalia Yang, 2003, Hmong-American writer and author of The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir and The Song Poet

Journalism

Kai Bird, 1973, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and journalist Jonathan Capehart, 1989, journalist, winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing Maya Dusenbery, 2008, executive director of the feminist blog Feministing Jack El-Hai, 1979, writer and journalistDouglas Beck's interview with Jack El-Hai at SpeechPathology.com Michael Gartner, 1960, journalist, former president of NBC news, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, 1992, James Beard Award-winning food writer John F. Harris, 1985, editor-in-chief of Politico Brian Klaas, 2008, columnist at The Washington Post, assistant professor at University College London Margaret Manton Merrill, 1873, journalist Peter Schjeldahl, 1965, art critic for The New Yorker, finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism Garrick Utley, 1961, journalist, former host of Meet the Press

Business Arnold W. Donald, 1976, former CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc cruise company Robert K. Greenleaf, 1926, corporate management expert, founder of the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership Laura Silber, 1982, chief communications operator for the Open Society Foundations

Politics and government Chude Pam Allen, 1965, activist, Freedom Summer participant and involved in the women's liberation movement C. S. Amsden, NA, South Dakota politician Ellen Anderson, 1982, Minnesota politician Eugenie Moore Anderson, 1931, first woman appointed as United States ambassador, first woman to sign a treaty on behalf of the US, first woman to represent the United States on the United Nations Security Council Michael Armacost, 1958, former under secretary of state (Policy); former ambassador to Japan and the Philippines; president of the Brookings Institution 1995–2002; former chairman of the board of trustees at Carleton 2004–2008 Jack Barnes, 1961, leader of the Socialist Workers Party Duane C. Butcher, 1987, U.S. chargé d'affaires in Romania 2012–2014, and in Uzbekistan 2010–2011 Tom Freedman, 1996, chief of staff for Political Strategy for the Clinton/Gore Campaign John A. Gale, 1962, secretary of state of Nebraska since 2000 Susan Golding, 1966, two-term mayor of San Diego Rush Holt Jr., 1970, U.S. representative for New Jersey's 12th congressional district 1999–2015; CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and executive publisher of the Science family of journals since 2015 Eleanor Kinnaird, 1953, North Carolina state senator Warren P. Knowles, 1930, governor of Wisconsin 1965–1971 Jimmy Kolker, 1970, former ambassador to Burkina Faso and Uganda, former chief of HIV/AIDs section at UNICEF, current assistant secretary for Global Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Melvin Laird, 1942, President Nixon's secretary of defense 1969–1973 Todd Larson, 1983, LGBT activist, served on the board of directors of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission 2007–2013 Jack Lew, NA, United States secretary of the treasury and 25th White House chief of staff; transferred to Harvard College after his freshman year Fue Lee, 2013, Hmong-American politician, Minnesota House of Representatives 2016– Ernest Lundeen, 1901, Minnesota politician; U.S. representative 1917–1919 and 1933–1937; U.S. senator from 1937 until his death in 1940 Karl Mundt, 1923, U.S. representative 1938–1948; U.S. senator 1948–1973 for South Dakota Tom Nelson, 1998, former Wisconsin state representative and assembly majority leader Anna Paulson, NA, economist, incoming president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia John C. Raines, 1955, professor at Temple University, activist who broke into an F.B.I. office and exposed abuses of power Paul Tewes, 1993, Democratic political consultant Sheldon B. Vance, 1939, U.S. ambassador to Zaire 1969–1974 Liz Watson, 1996, Democratic nominee for Indiana's 9th Congressional District

Law Lynn H. Ashley, 1909, district attorney for St. Croix County, Wisconsin Pierce Butler, 1887, Supreme Court justice 1923–1939 Ben C. Duniway, 1928, judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Audrey Fleissig, 1976, judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri Elizabeth L. Gleicher, 1976, judge on the Michigan Court of AppealsMichigan Appeals Reports: Cases Decided in the Michigan Court of Appeals, Vol. 276, pp. ix–x. Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company Herbert Goodrich, 1911, judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Director of the American Law Institute, chair of the drafting committee of the Uniform Commercial Code Gordon Moore, 1985, associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court Brenda Sannes, 1980, judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York Cordenio Severance, 1880, former president of the American Bar Association Stephen Six, 1988, Kansas attorney general 2008–2011

Science Walter Alvarez, 1962, geologist credited with the theory that an asteroid impact was the likely cause of the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event Evelyn Anderson, 1921, physiologist and biochemist, co-discoverer of andrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) Kinsey Anderson, 1949, pioneer space physicist and member of the National Academy of Sciences Linda Bartoshuk, 1960, psychologist at the University of Florida, specializes in smell and taste Elizabeth Beise, 1981, professor of physics at the University of Maryland, College Park Robert G. Bergman, 1963, professor of chemistry emeritus at UC Berkeley, winner of the Wolf Prize in Chemistry