This list of UTEP people includes graduates, non-graduate former students, and current students of University of Texas at El Paso and its graduate programs.
Academia and research Alicia Cuarón – educator and human rights activist Howard Dorgan – academic and researcher Eleanor Lyon Duke – biology professor Norma Hernández – educator; former dean of education at UTEP Yuri Herrera – educator, writer, editor, and professor at Tulane University William Turrentine Jackson – historian and professor Howard McCord – English professor George McLendon – Former Provost of Rice University Charles A. O'Reilly III – academic and professor Anna Panorska – professor and statistician Julio E. Rubio – researcher and administrator at Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education Edward F. Sherman – legal scholar; former dean of Tulane University Law School Robert Stevenson – musicologist, educator, and professor. Josefina Villamil Tinajero – educator, professor and former president of National Association for Bilingual Education
Activism, civil rights, and social justice Martha P. Cotera – librarian, writer, and Chicana feminist activist Evdokia Romanova – activist for sexual and reproductive health and rights and LGBTQ rights; prosecuted under Russian anti-LGBTQ law Hector E. Sanchez – labor leader; CEO of Mi Familia Vota and former director of Planned Parenthood María Guillermina Valdes Villalva – Chicana scholar and activist; pioneer in border studies Kimie Yanagawa – first Japanese person to be naturalized as a U.S. citizen following the restrictive 1922 Supreme Court ruling Ozawa v. United States
Art and design Manuel Gregorio Acosta – painter, muralist, sculptor and illustrator; known for his portrait of César Chávez that appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1969 Lamberto Alvarez – artist Ho Baron – sculptor José Antonio Burciaga – artist and muralist Gaspar Enriquez – Chicano painter and portraitist Rosa Ramirez Guerrero – educator, artist, and historian Elisa Jimenez – fashion designer and interdisciplinary artist Luis Jiménez – sculptor Catherine B. Kistenmacher – artist; administrator for International Museum of Art Monica Aissa Martinez – visual artist Troy Montes-Michie – painter and collage artist Maria Almeida Natividad – artist and educator Mago Orona Gándara – mural artist Dave Ortega – artist Beverly Penn – sculptor Tomas Vu – painter, printmaker, and installation artist
Business, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy Eric Hilton – hotelier and philanthropist; former vice chairman of Hilton Hotels and heir in the Hilton family Vickie Guerrero – general manager of WWE Smackdown Yossi Maiman – president of Ampal-American Israel Corporation John Kimble – founder of multiple agencies later acquired by William Morris Agency Bob O'Rear – former director of international sales and marketing at Microsoft and one of the earliest employees Ramonontiverosmedina – former UTEP business graduate, current CEO of Angel's Carpet & Flooring LLC, Floor Ko LLC, Stallion Carpets LLC, Ramon's Handyman and Remodeling Services LLC, El Paso Alien Smuggling Processing Center, widely known surrounding the 24-Day Starvation scandal Angelica Rosales – business executive and activist
Entertainment F. Murray Abraham – Academy Award Best Actor winner, Amadeus Ana Alicia – actress Susan Blakely – actress and former model, known for Rich Man, Poor Man, for which she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress Ara Celi – actress Jessica Drake – adult actress, director, and sex educator Georgina Escobar – playwright and director Cristina Eustace – singer Alana de la Garzab– actress Jack Handey – humorist, Saturday Night Live Mia Khalifa – former adult actress, social media personality, webcam model Karla Martinez – host of popular morning show Despierta America Sonny Melendrez – TV and radio personality David Miner – musician; founding member of The Great Society (band) Ted Quillin – radio personality Joe Reisman – musician, bandleader, and record producer in the swing era. Esmi Talamantez – singer Adrián Terrazas-González – instrumentalist; former member of The Mars Volta Randy Van Horne – singer and musician
Government, law, public policy, and military Juan G. Ayala – Major general, USMC, ret.; commanded the Marine Corps Installations Command Suzie Azar – 43rd Mayor of El Paso; first woman mayor of El Paso Anthony Bernal – White House aide; Chief of Staff to the First Lady of the United States Cesar Blanco – member of the Texas Senate James F. Bockelman – former Florida House of Representatives member Cyndi Carrasco – member of Indiana Senate Ron Coleman – former U.S. House of Representatives member Veronica Escobar – U.S. Representative for Texas and former Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee John Cook – 49th Mayor of El Paso Yoram Ettinger – Israeli diplomat and consultant on U.S.–Israel relations Art Fierro – former Texas House of Representatives member Maria-Elena Giner – former U.S. Commissioner of the International Boundary and Water Commission Alden G. Glauch – Major general, USAF, ret.; commanded the Twenty-First Air Force Carrie Hamblen – member of the New Mexico Senate Idris Haron – former Chief Minister of Malacca, Malaysia William D. Hawkins – U.S. Marine awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously during World War II Homer Heck – former member of the West Virginia Senate Randy Hunt – former Massachusetts House of Representatives member Suzanna Hupp – former Republican state representative and gun rights advocate Renard Johnson – 53rd Mayor of El Paso Shoshana Johnson – U.S. Army former Prisoner of war (POW) in the Iraq War M. Sue Kurita – judge Philip Ray Martinez – former U.S. district judge Susana Martinez – 31st Governor of New Mexico; first female hispanic governor in U.S. Victor Mendez – former Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration; former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation Gabriel Moreno – member of the Maryland House of Delegates Paul Moreno – former Texas state representative, longest serving Mexican American elected official in the U.S. Pat O'Rourke – former judge Claudia Ordaz Perez – member of the Texas House of Representatives Evelina Ortega – former member of the Texas House of Representatives Ray Salazar – 40th Mayor of El Paso Ralph Scoggins – former member of the Texas House of Representatives Venetta Seals – former Mayor of Pecos, Texas Pete Snelson – former member of the Texas House of Representatives and Texas Senate Margaret Strickland – judge Richard Crawford White – former member Texas House of Representatives and U.S. House of Representative Nora Yú – Mexican politician; former member of the Chamber of Deputies
Literature and journalism Juan Álvarez – writer Estela Casas – journalist and news anchor Khendum Choden – poet and author Alfredo Corchado – journalist and author John Corcoran – author and literacy advocate David Cruz – writer, poet and journalist Sam Donaldson – ABC News veteran and former White House Chief Correspondent Monica Garcia – local news anchor Alicia Gaspar de Alba – writer, scholar, novelist, and poet Betina González – writer Edna Gundersen – journalist, writer and music critic for USA Today Sheryl Luna – writer and poet; inaugural winner of the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize Estela Portillo-Trambley – poet Lupe Mendez – poet, educator, and literary arts organizer Rubén Salazar – Mexican-American journalist John Rechy – LGBTQ themed novelist and essayist Verónica Reyes – LGBTQ poet Benjamin Alire Sáenz – poet, novelist and author of children's books Tatiana de la Tierra – poet, writer, and founder of Esto no tiene nombre (magazine) Sylvia Aguilar Zéleny – novelist, short story writer, and educator Dale L. Walker – writer, historian and former president of Western Writers of America (WWA) Janice Woods Windle – author and novelist
Religion James M. Adams Jr. – former Bishop of Western Kansas Joel Neftali Martinez – bishop of the United Methodist Church
Science, technology, medicine, and engineering Martha E. Bernal – psychologist; first Latina to earn a PhD in psychology in the U.S. John D. Boice Jr. – radiation epidemiologist Chuck Easttom – computer scientist specializing in cryptography and engineering Willarda V. Edwards – physician; former president of the National Medical Association and Sickle Cell Disease Association of America Edith Eger – clinical psychologist, Holocaust survivor, and author who specialized in post-traumatic stress disorder Lauren Esposito – arachnologist; chair of Arachnology at the California Academy of Sciences and co-founder of 500 Queer Scientists Ann Gates – computer scientist and researcher Roger V. Gonzalez – mechanical and biomedical engineer; educator Ginger Kerrick – physicist and first Hispanic female NASA Flight Director at NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Luke Mays – aerospace engineer and commercial astronaut; former director of payload operations on the International Space Station (ISS) at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Artie L. Metcalf – malacologist John D. Olivas – first UTEP alumnus to be selected as an astronaut by NASA, member of Space Shuttle Mission STS-117 crew aboard the Atlantis Brisa Sánchez – biostatistician; environmental epidemiologist Catherine Snelson – geophysicist Charles A. Steen – geologist whose Mi Vida Mine discovery started the American Uranium Boom of the 1950s
Sports Administrative Lisa Campos – athletic director of University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Charmaine Crooks – sports executive, Olympic silver medalist and five-time Olympian; former 36th president of the Canadian Soccer Association Ed Hochuli – NFL referee; attorney
Baseball Mike Maddux – Major League Baseball coach and former pitcher
Basketball Nate Archibald – NBA Hall of Famer, chosen as one of the Top 50 Greatest NBA Players Jane Asinde – basketball player; CUSA Newcomer of the Year & Freshman of the Year George Balanis – former college basketball coach at William & Mary David Livingston Carrasco – former basketball coach; first Mexican American head coach at a major U.S. university Dave Feitl – former NBA player Taurian Fontenette – streetball player for AND1 Live Tour during early 2000s Greg Foster – former NBA player and one time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers Tim Hardaway – NBA All-Star, 2000 Summer Olympics gold medalist McKenzie Moore – player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League Nolan Richardson – former NCAA champion collegiate men's basketball head coach at the University of Arkansas Tamara Seda – basketball player Kayla Thornton – forward for the Dallas Wings Kimani Young – associate head coach for the UConn Huskies men's basketball team
Combat Sports Dan Evensen – mixed martial artist; former UFC heavyweight Tevita Fifita – professional wrestler; former WWE Tag Team Champion Héctor Guerrero – former professional wrestler; performed on WWF and NWA Mando Guerrero – former professional wrestler Blackjack Mulligan – professional wrestler; WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2006) as a member of The Blackjacks
Football
Fred Carr – Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame linebacker Jon Dorenbos – Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles former long snapper Wayne Hansen – former NFL player Johnnie Lee Higgins – National Football League wide receiver and return specialist, Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Year in 2006 Ed Hochuli – National Football League referee; officiated Super Bowls XXXII and XXXVIII Thomas Howard – former NFL linebacker Chuck Hughes – NFL receiver; died after suffering heart attack during 1971 game while playing for the Detroit Lions vs. the Chicago Bears Chris Jacke – BBA 1989, All-American place kicker, Super Bowl champion with Green Bay Packers Aaron Jones – Minnesota Vikings running back Seth Joyner – named 1991 NFL Defensive Player of the Year by Sports Illustrated, one-time Super Bowl champion Riley Matheson – former NFL player Don Maynard – Pro Football Hall of Fame