Fresno State Centennial
Fresno State Notables
Fresno State alumni are setting the pace in education, agriculture, industry and government from our local communities to the state and national levels and, even into space. Our alumni include winners of Oscars, Emmys and Golden Globes in entertainment; space explorers; a U.S. ambassador; a cabinet secretary; university presidents; best-selling authors; top executives for influential corporations; and elected officials. There can be no definitive list, but here are a few Fresno State notables:
Stephen Abas
Olympic wrestling silver medalist; three-time NCAA champion
Ghassan F. AbulGhanam
Director of M.I.S. for His Majesty King Abdullah II of the Royal Hasemite Court in Amman, Jordan
Armen A. Alchian
Professor Emeritus of Economics and founder of the "UCLA Tradition"
Theresa Alvillar-Speake
CEO of Speake Consulting Services
Mark Arax
Author and journalist
Ross Bagdasarian
Songwriter and creator of the Alvin and the Chipmunks as David Seville
Bo Barrett
Winemaker at Chateau Montelena (Napa Valley), subject of the film Bottle Shock
Leslie Bassett
Composer and educator who won the 1966 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Marvin Baxter
California Supreme Court Justice
Todd Beamer
Passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93 on 09.11, 2001 who helped overpower terrorists trying to crash land in Washington D.C.
Wendell Bell
Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Yale University
Robert Beltran
Played the role of Chakotay, the fearless first officer on Star Trek: Voyager
Laura Berg
Three-time Olympic softball gold medalist
Bernard Berrian
NFL wide reciver who played in 2007 Super Bowl with the Chicago Bears
Bruce Bronzan
Former state legislator and Health Care Systems executive
Lee P. Brown
Former Mayor of Houston, former Atlanta and New York police commissioner
Jim Brumm
Former director of Mitsubishi International
Cruz Bustamante
Former California Lieutenant Governor
Joe Cafaro
Winemaker, Cafaro Cellars (Napa Valley)
David Carr
NFL No. 1 draft pick in 2002, now plays for the San Francisco 49ers
Judy Case
Registered Nurse and member of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors
Malinda Chouinard
Co-owner of Patagonia outdoor clothing and gear
Roy Christopher
Emmy Award-winning television set designer
Jac Cole
Winemaker, Spring Mountain Vineyard (Napa Valley)
Jim Costa
Member of U.S. Congress
Joy Covey
Former Chief Strategy Officer, Amazon.com
Robert E. Coyle
Senior District Judge of the U.S. District Court in Fresno
Sid Craig
Co-founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board, Jenny Craig, Inc., namesake of Craig School of Business
Joseph N. Crowley
President Emeritus, University of Nevada
Johnny Cuviello
Drummer for the "Texas Playboys"
Nat DiBuduo
President, Allied Grape Growers of California
Larry S. Dickenson
Retired Senior VP for sales at Boeing
Edward Diener
University of Illinois psychology professor; world authority on science of happiness and life satisfaction
Trent Dilfer
NFL Analyst for ESPN and 2001 Super Bowl winning quarterback
Henry Ellard
Former NFL wide receiver for LA Rams, Washington Redskins, and New England Patriots
Bill Feightner
Oscar winner and Senior Executive Vice President of EFILM
Manny Fernandez
Reporter for the New York Times
Marine Major General Jon Gallinetti (Ret.)
Former commander of Joint Warfighting Center
Geoffrey Gamble
Retired president of Montana State University
Augie Garrido
University of Texas baseball coach and NCAA winningest coach
Matt Garza
Major league baseball pitcher; threw a no hitter in 2010
Robert Gauthier
Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist for the Los Angeles Times
Kirk D. Grimes
Group President, Global Services, Fluor Corp.
Kenny Guinn
Former two-term governor of Nevada
Robert Hanashiro
Photographer, USA Today
Fredrick W. Hatfield
Director of Intercontinental Exchange
Victor Hernandez
Broadcast news executive with CNN
Brad Hill
Presiding Justice of the Fifth District Court of Appeal
Hal Huffsmith
Senior Vice President for vineyard operations at Trinchero Family Estates/Sutter Home Winery (Napa Valley)
Allan Oakley Hunter
Former U.S. Congressman for California's 9th district
Colonel Rick Douglas Husband
Mission Commander, Space Shuttle Columbia STS107, 2003
Floyd Hyde
Former Fresno Mayor, Undersecretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and President of National Housing Conference
Sam Iacobellis
Retired CEO, Rockwell International who led the development of the B1 Bomber
Vida Ilderem
Vice President, Intel Labs
Lawson Inada
Former Oregon poet laureate
Dean Ing
Author best known for science fiction and techno thrillers
Bill Jones
Former California Secretary of State and legislator
Bobby Jones
former MLB pitcher for the Mets and Padres
Dot Jones
Actress best known for her role on Glee
Jim Kardach
Bluetooth developer for Intel Corp.
Aram Keith
Cofounder of The Keith Companies and Director Stantec, Inc.
Lane Kiffin
Head Football Coach, University of Southern California
Emily Kuroda
Award-winning actress
Larry Levis
Award-winning poet
Brad Lewis
Academy Award, Golden Globes-winning producer of Pixar's "Ratatouille"
John Loiacono
Executive at Adobe
Kenneth L. Maddy
Former state legislator; namesake of the Maddy Institute at Fresno State
Manny Mashouf
Chairman and CEO, Bebe Fashions
Ryan Mathews
First round 2010 NFL pick of the San Diego Chargers
Tomas McGurn
Executive at BMW
Diana Meehan
Documentary filmmaker; founder of the Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles
Peter Mehas
California State University Trustee and former California Secretary of Education
Dennis Morgigno
Station Manager, Channel 4, San Diego
Colonel Steven Nagel
NASA astronaut
Robert Oliver
Fresno County Superior Court judge
Paul H. O'Neill
Former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, CEO of Alcoa Corporation
Joan Otomo-Corgel
Former California State University Trustee, Periodontal professor at UCLA
Brian Panish
Personal injury attorney who won $4.9 billion for clients suing General Motors
Sam Peckinpah
Academy Award nominee as director of The Wild Bunch
Arnold Peter
Entertainment attorney; former Vice President of Universal Studios
Norval Pohl
Former President, University of North Texas
Charles Poochigian
Associate justice of the California Court of Appeal and former legislator
Debbie Poochigian
Member of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors
Al Radka
Fresno radio and television personality
Frank Ramos
Retired Director, Small Business Programs, Office of the Secretary of Defense
Bob Ritter
Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper editor
Armando O. Rodriguez
Former Fresno County Superior Court Judge
Aggie Guerard Rogers
Cinematic costume designer
Burt Rutan
Designer of the Voyager and SpaceShipOne aircraft
Phillip V. Sanchez
Former U.S. Ambassador to Colombia and Honduras
Tammy Savage
Manager of Business Development at Microsoft, Corp.
Ed Sbragia
Founder, winemaker Sbragia Family Vineyards (Sonoma County)
Steve Schmidt
Director NASA Dryden Aircraft Operations at Edwards Air Force Base
Barbara Sellers Young
Author and scholar specializing in dance, theater and performance
Bill Shaughnessy
Senior Vice President of Product Management, Yahoo!
Daniel Silva
Best-selling author of Gabriel Allon thrillers
Alan Simpson
Fresno County Superior Court Judge
Earl Smittcamp
Founder of Wawona Frozen Foods
Gary Soto
Acclaimed poet, essayist and fiction writer
Roberta Spear
Award-winning poet
Ashley Swearengin
Mayor of Fresno
Jerry Tarkanian
Men's basketball coach whose UNLV team won the 1990 NCAA Championship
Roger Tatarian
Former Vice President and Editor in Chief of United Press International
Jeff Tedford
Head football coach, University of California, Berkeley
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Otis Vincent Tolbert
Killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon
Brian Turner
award winning poet and New York Times online contributor
Robert Vartabedian
Author and President of Missouri Western State University
Cornelius "Dutch" Warmerdam
World record setting pole vaulter and longtime Bulldogs track and field coach
Nick Watney
Professional Golf Association Tour player
Jacqueline West
Fashion and costume designer
Bob Westenberg
Tony Award nominated musical theatre actor and acting teacher
Sherley Anne Williams
Author, National Book Award nominee and Emmy Award winner
Thomas L. Williams
Chairman and CEO, Universal Parks & Resorts
Dennis Wilson
Intellectual property attorney best known as the "internet sheriff"
Dennis Woods
President, Chairman and CEO, United Security Bank
Jan Yanehiro
Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist