List of University of Texas at Austin alumni

This list of University of Texas at Austin alumni includes notable graduates, non-graduate former students, and current students of the University of Texas at Austin. The institution is a major research university in Downtown Austin, Texas, US and is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, the university has had the fifth largest single-campus enrollment in the nation as of Fall 2006 (and had the largest enrollment in the country from 1997 to 2003), with over 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students and 16,500 faculty and staff. It currently holds the second largest enrollment of all colleges in the state of Texas."Texas Higher Education Enrollments." Texas Higher Education Data.

Over 30 UT Austin undergraduates have served in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, such as Lloyd Bentsen '42, who served as both a U.S. senator and U.S. representative, and was the 1988 Democratic Party vice presidential nominee. Tom C. Clark, J.D. '22, served as United States attorney general from 1945 to 1949 and as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1949 to 1967. Cabinet members of American presidents include former United States secretary of state Rex Tillerson '75, former United States secretary of state James Baker '57, former secretary of education William J. Bennett, and former secretary of commerce Donald Evans '73. First Lady Laura Bush '73 and daughter Jenna '04 both graduated from UT Austin, as well as former first lady Lady Bird Johnson '33 & '34 and her eldest daughter Lynda. In foreign governments, the university has been represented by Fernando Belaúnde Terry '36 (42nd president of Peru), and Abdullah al-Tariki (co-founder of OPEC).

UT Austin alumni in academia include the 26th president of the College of William & Mary Gene Nichol '76, the 10th president of Boston University Robert A. Brown '73 & '75, and the 8th president of the University of Southern California John R. Hubbard. The university also graduated Alan Bean '55, the fourth man to walk on the Moon. Additionally, alumni of the university who have served as business leaders include ExxonMobil Corporation former CEO Rex Tillerson '75, Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell, founder & CEO of Keyhole and pioneer of the successor Google Maps & Google Earth John Hanke, and CEO of Southwest Airlines Gary C. Kelly.

In literature and journalism, UT Austin has produced Pulitzer Prize winners Gail Caldwell and Ben Sargent '70, as well as CNN anchor Betty Nguyen '95. Alumnus J. M. Coetzee also received the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature.

UT Austin has produced several musicians and entertainers. Janis Joplin, the singer who posthumously was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award attended the university, as well as February 1955 Playboy Playmate of the Month and Golden Globe recipient Jayne Mansfield. Founding members of psychedelic rock band The Bright Light Social Hour Jackie O'Brien and Curtis Roush both received master's degrees from the university in 2009 while completing their debut self-titled album. The big screen has carried the talents of actor Matthew McConaughey '93 (star of The Wedding Planner (2001), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), Sahara (2005), We Are Marshall (2007), et al.) with Farrah Fawcett (one of the original Charlie's Angels) on the small screen.

A number of UT Austin alumni have found success in professional sports. Seven-time Cy Young Award-winner Roger Clemens entered the MLB after helping the Longhorns win the 1983 College World Series. Professional basketball player and Olympic gold medalist Kevin Durant played one season with the Longhorns. Several Olympic medalists have also attended the school, including 2008 Summer Olympics athletes Ian Crocker '05 (swimming world record holder and two-time Olympic gold medalist) and 4 × 400 m relay defending Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards '06. Mary Lou Retton (the first female gymnast outside Eastern Europe to win the Olympic all-around title, five-time Olympic medalist, and 1984 Sports Illustrated Sportswoman of the Year) also attended the university.

Academia and research University deans, chancellors, and presidents Name Class year(s) Degree(s) Notability Reference MPAPhD Eighth president of Monmouth University 19731975 BScMSc Tenth president of Boston University BA, MA, PhD Fourth president of Texas A&M-Texarkana 1984 PhD in Community College Leadership Program Fifth president of Laredo Community College in Laredo, Texas, 1995–2007Erinn Taylor, "Dovalina's roots in education run deep", Laredo Morning Times, February 3, 2007, Supplement, pp. 2–4 1985 JD13th president of Sul Ross State University 1915 LL.B. Former dean at the Northwestern University School of Law 1968 JD Third chancellor of the Texas Tech University System; former United States representative, Texas District 19 1977 PhD Social worker, president of University of Houston–Victoria and California State University San Marcos 193819391950 BAMAPhD Historian, former president of the University of Southern California MAPhD Computer scientist, president of Carnegie Mellon University 1931 LL.M. Former dean of the University of Texas School of Law PhD Dean of the Carnegie Mellon University Heinz College 1909 BA Law dean at University of North Carolina and UT; taught at Northwestern; wrote classic works on evidence and damages 19611964 B.Mus.M.Mus. Ninth chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 1965 BA First chancellor of the Texas Tech University System, 1996–2001; member of the Texas State Senate from Lubbock 1983–1996; businessman in San Antonio since 2001 1969 PhD President of the University of Texas at El Paso, 1988–2019 1976 JD Former president of the College of William and Mary; former dean of the law schools at both the University of North Carolina and the University of Colorado at Boulder PhD President and Chief Academic Officer, Centro Escolar University, Manila, PhilippinesBSW, MSWPresident of Philander Smith College, 1998–2004; president of Bethune–Cookman University, 2004–2012 1967 BSc Fifth president of the University of Texas at San Antonio; U.S. representative to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization; member of the president's Board of Advisers on Historically Black Colleges and Universities PhD Twentieth (and current) president of the University of Memphis 1980 PhD (Zoology and Marine Science)16th president of University of North Texas; 9th president of University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Professors, doctors and researchers Name Class year(s) Degree(s) Notability Reference 19691973 BSPhD Nobel Prize-winning immunologistJessie Andrews1886BA, MAFirst woman graduate, first female faculty member (German), first female member of the alumni association; namesake of Andrews dormitory 1989 PhD Psychologist specialized in sexual orientation 2008 PhD Astronomer and science communicator 1955 BSc Astronaut, lunar module pilot on Apollo 12 1935 BA Mathematician 1961 PhD Psychologist specializing in self and social perception; creator of the Birkman Method assessment 19351938 BAMA Law professor at Columbia and Yale; pioneer in civil rights litigation; author of leading treatise on the law of admiralty 19741977 MAPhD Order of the Aztec Eagle medal recipient for work in Mesoamerican art history 1958 PhD Geneticist, University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and University of Texas Health Science Center; president of the American Society of Human Genetics 1967 BA Computer scientist, co-inventor of the Boyer–Moore string-search algorithmLillian K. Bradley 1960PhDAssociate professor at Texas Southern University; first African-American woman to earn a doctorate at the University of Texas at Austin 1966 BA Professor of Linguistics at the University of Washington 19891994 MBAPhD Former finance professor, Santa Clara University; president and executive director, Ayn Rand Institute B.SW.Research professor at University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work 1978 PhD Physicist, leader in nonlinear dynamics, PhD student of Ilya PrigogineKaren Butler-Purry1987MSProfessor, Texas A&M University Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering 19681973 BScMA Science educator and entomologist 19501961 BAPhD Inventor of sports drink Gatorade 196819721976 BAMAPhD Animal behaviorist, president of the University of Lethbridge 196519671970 BScMScPhD Author of the textbook Digital Image Processing, president of Advanced Digital Imaging ResearchAlmadena Chtchelkanova1996MADeveloped and implemented portable, scalable, parallel adaptive mesh generation algorithms for computational fluid dynamics, weather forecast, combustion and contaminant transportChristina Cogdell19912001BAPhDProfessor of Design, University of California, Davis 1960 BSc Pilot of STS-1, first orbital test flight of NASA Shuttle programMohammed Dajani DaoudiMScPalestinian professor and peace activist 18931894 BScMSc Mathematician 1976 BSc Computer scientist, A. M. Turing Award BAMAPhD Historian of the United States, the American West, and TexasDavid G. McComb, Travels with Joe, 1917–1993: The Live Story of a Historian from Texas. Austin, Texas: Texas State Historical Association, 2001. 1963 BA Heart surgeonJinlong Gong2008PhDChinese chemist 1974 PhD Nurse educator 19311945 MAPhD Influential fisheries scientist who pioneered the study of fisheries in the northern Gulf of MexicoLaura M. Haas1981PhDComputer scientist; created systems for data and mapping technology 19761980 MAPhD Chair and professor of Art History at the University of Illinois at Chicago; historian and photographer specializing in contemporary art, American spaces and landscapes 1977 MA Ethnolinguist early1940s MS Chemist, physicist; major contributor to the miniaturization of computers Medical Degree Family physician and surgeon 1984 PhD Professor of chemistry at St. Edward's University MA and PhD Professor at Southern Methodist University 19231928 BAMAPhD Historian, archaeologist, first director of the Museum of Texas Tech University in LubbockNancy B. Jackson1990PhDChemist, former president of the American Chemical Society1953PhDChinese biochemist, the first citizen of the People's Republic of China to be nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1979 1935 PhD Mathematician 1992 PhD Professor of neuroscience at University of Texas at Austin 1998 PhD Professor of comparative literature, director of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University 19291930 BAMA Political scientist; studied elections and voting behavior; taught at UCLA; professor at Johns Hopkins University; Alfred Cowles Professor of Government at Yale University; Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History and Government at Harvard UniversityLauren Krivo1980 1984MA