This is a list of the notable alumni of Willamette University, a post-secondary school in Salem, Oregon in the United States. Founded in 1842 as the Oregon Institute, alumni have included those in Congress, the state government, and in the federal and state courts.
Note that the people listed may have only attended the university and may not have graduated.
University This includes alumni of the main school. Those who also attended one of the university's graduate schools are listed in those sections as well. Name Attended Notability ReferenceJames Albaugh (b. 1950) Boeing executive James F. Albaugh - Executive Biography. Boeing. Retrieved on March 29, 2009. Bruce Anderson (b. 1944) 1962–66 Linebacker in the National Football League Vic Backlund (b. 1936) 1954–61 Oregon state representative and professional baseball player Thomas A. Bartlett (b. 1930) 1947–49 Educator, chancellor of the State University of New York and the Oregon University System Charles B. Bellinger (1839–1905) Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Oregon Gaston, Joseph. 1911. Portland, Oregon, its history and builders: in connection with the antecedent explorations, discoveries, and movements of the pioneers that selected the site for the great city of the Pacific. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Pub. Co., p. 677.Douglas H. Bosco (b. 1946) 1963–1968 U.S. representative from California; also attended the law school Bruce Botelho (b. 1948) B.A. 1971 Alaska attorney general and mayor of Juneau, Alaska; also attended the law school George M. Brown (1864–1934) Class of 1885 Oregon attorney general and justice on the Oregon Supreme Court Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.James M. Brown (b. 1941) Class of 1964 Oregon attorney general and county district attorney Winifred Byrd (1884–1970) Concert pianist and educator J. R. Campbell (b. 1918) B.A. 1940 Justice on the Oregon Supreme Court and judge of the Oregon Court of Appeals; also attended the law school Peterson, Edwin. "Bud Lent and Doc Campbell: Two Esteemed Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court," 25 Willamette Law Review 243 (1989).Daryl Chapin (1906–1995) Physicist best known for co-inventing solar cells Terry Cooney (b. 1933) Former Major League Baseball umpire James Cuno (b. 1951) Class of 1973 Art historian and museum director Robert Eakin (1848–1917) Class of 1873 Justice on the Oregon Supreme Court Sam Farr (b. 1941) B.S. 1963 U.S. representative from California James Martin Fitzgerald (b. 1920) B.A. 1950 Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Alaska and the Alaska Supreme Court; also attended the law school Theodore Thurston Geer (1851–1924) Governor of Oregon Melvin Clark George (1849–1933) U.S. representative from Oregon Alonzo Gesner (1842–1912) Oregon state senator Glenn, William. “Alonzo Gesner”, The Oregon Surveyor, April 1990. Retrieved on January 12, 2009. Joseph K. Gill (1841–1931) 1864–1865 Founder of J. K. Gill Company Edith Green (1910–1987) 1927–1929 U.S. representative from Oregon Andrew Halcro (b. 1964) Member of the Alaska House of Representatives akrepublicans.org. Retrieved on April 14, 2009.Bert E. Haney (1879–1943) Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Colmer, Montagu, and Charles Erskine Scott Wood. History of the Bench and Bar of Oregon. Portland, Or: Historical Pub. Co, 1910. p. 147.Mark Hatfield (1922–2011) 1940–1943 Governor of Oregon, United States senator, and state legislator Willis C. Hawley (1864–1941) Class of 1888 Congressman, president of Willamette; also attended the law school Liz Heaston (b. 1977) Class of 1999 First woman to score in a college football game Thomas Hemingway Class of 1962 Brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force; also attended the law school Chauncey Hosford (1820–1911) Minister and educator, attended the Oregon Institute Charles A. Johns (1857–1932) B.A. 1878 Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court and Supreme Court of the Philippines Daniel Jones (1830–1891) Leader in the Methodist Episcopal church, first African American student at Willamette Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p583-587Randall B. Kester (b. 1916) Class of 1937 Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court Kester, Randall. Oregon Legal Heritage: EX LIBRIS. Oregon State Bar Bulletin, June 2003.Jeff Kruse (b. 1951) B.S. Oregon state senator Harry Lane (1855–1917) Class of 1876 Mayor of Portland, U.S. senator; also attended the medical school Richard Laymon (1947–2001) B.A. Horror writer Cal Lee (b. 1946) Football coach Susan M. Leeson (b. 1946) B.A. 1968 Justice on the Oregon Supreme Court; also attended the law school Blazing a Trail to the Supreme Court. Willamette Lawyer, Spring 2007.Alex J. Mandl (b. 1943) Businessman, former president of AT&T Keller, John J. "Tough Newcomer: Alex Mandl Is Crafting Aggressive Strategy For Future of AT&T --- His `Fat Minutes' Campaign Is Plumping Up Profits With a Slimmer Staff --- Loading the Digital Pipeline", Wall Street Journal, December 16, 1994. p. A1.Peter K. Manning (b. 1940) B.A. 1961 Academic, professor at Michigan State University Lesil McGuire (b. 1971) B.A. 1993 Member of the Alaska House of Representatives and the Alaska State Senate; also attended the law school Hasselbring, Bobbie. Alumni Profiles: Law in Public Service: A Shiny New Star. Willamette Lawyer, Fall 2004. pp. 20-21.Charles L. McNary (1874–1944) United States senator from Oregon and 1940 Republican vice-presidential nominee John Hugh McNary (1867–1937) Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Oregon Colmer, Montagu, and Charles Erskine Scott Wood. History of the Bench and Bar of Oregon. Portland, Or: Historical Pub. Co, 1910. p. 180-181.Robert A. Miller (1854–1941) Politician, member of the Oregon House of Representatives Colmer, p. 188. Laurie Monnes Anderson (b. 1945) B.A. 1968 Member of the Oregon House of Representatives Charles S. Moore (1857–1915) 1872–1874 Oregon state treasurer and county judge Corning, p. 169. Charles B. Moores (1849–1930) B.A. 1870 Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives Carey, Charles Henry. (1922). History of Oregon. Pioneer Historical Publishing Co. Vol. 3, pp. 117-118.Merrill Moores (1856–1929) U.S. representative from Indiana Dale T. Mortensen (b. 1939) B.A. 1961 Professor at Northwestern University; 2010 winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics Bob Packwood (b. 1932) Class of 1954 United States senator from Oregon Patricia Price B.A., B. Mus. 2004 Music producer Skip Priest B.A. Member of the Washington House of Representatives Tobias Read (b. 1975) B.A. (1997) Oregon state treasurer, member of the Oregon House of Representatives John W. Reynolds (b. 1875) A.B (1895)A.M. (1897) Dean of the law school Colmer, p. 210.Samuel T. Richardson (1857–1921) B.A. 1892 Educator and dean of the law school; also attended the law school Colmer, p. 211.Nancy Ryles (1937–1990) Member of the Oregon House of Representatives, Senate, and Public Utility Commission Ron Saxton (b. 1954) Class of 1976 Attorney, two-time candidate for Oregon governor "Ron Saxton", (October 15, 2006) The Oregonian, p. A10.Herb Schmalenberger (1925–2006) College football coach Frederick Schwatka (1849–1892) Explorer of the Arctic Otto Richard Skopil, Jr. (b. 1919) B.A. 1941 Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; also attended the law school Judges of the United States: Skopil, Otto Richard Jr. , Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved on June 14, 2009.Robert Freeman Smith (b. 1931) B.A. 1953 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon's 2nd district; speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives Vic Snyder (b. 1947) B.A. 1975 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's 2nd district Winlock W. Steiwer (1852–1920) Class of 1971 Oregon state senator and county judge Corning, p. 234.Nick Symmonds (b. 1983) Class of 2006 Distance runner, 2008 Olympian, seven NCAA Div. III titles Andy Tillman (b. 1952) c. 1970 A founder of the US llama industry Price, David E., "Andy Tillman '74", Old Oregon, Vol. 57, No.1, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, Fall 1977. Isaac Homer Van Winkle (1870–1943) Class of 1898 Oregon attorney general and dean of the College of Law; also attended the law school "Obituaries: Isaac H. Van Winkle", The New York Times, December 16, 1943. John B. Waldo (1844–1907) Class of 1866 Justice on the Oregon Supreme Court Corning, p. 256.William Waldo (1832–1911) President of the Oregon State Senate Kim Wallan B.S. Member of the Oregon House of Representatives; also attended the law school Marie Watt (b. 1967) Class of 1990 Artist Dick Weisgerber Football playerEdward Curtis Wells (1910–1986) Businessman, vice president at Boeing Company Frank K. Wheaton (b. 1951) Agent and actor Richard Williams (1836–1914) Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon's at-large district John N. Williamson (1855–1943) Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon's 2nd district Parish L. Willis (1838–1917) B.A. 1865 Oregon state senator Hines, Gustavus. Oregon and Its Institutions; Comprising a Full History of the Willamette University. Carlton & Porter, 1868, p. 246.Greg Zerzan Federal government administrator; also attended the law school
College of Law This includes alumni of the College of Law. Those who also attended one of the university's other schools are listed in those sections as well.