List of New Mexico State University people

This is a list of notable people affiliated with New Mexico State University.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Faculty and staff

• Reta Beebe - professor emeritus in the Astronomy Department, best known for participation in the Voyager mission
• David Boje - author; current NMSU endowed Bank of America professor of management^[1]
• Garrey Carruthers - former NMSU President and Dean of College of Business; former governor of New Mexico
• David Clements - conspiracy theorist
• James Cuffey - former professor in astronomy, known for photoelectric photometry^[2]
• Frank Harary - mathematician, specialized in graph theory
• Lou Henson - former NMSU basketball head coach
• Jerry Kill - NMSU football head coach
• Delano Lewis - founding director of New Mexico State University's International Relations Institute
• Mark Medoff - playwright, screenwriter, film and theatre director, actor, and professor
• Antonya Nelson - English professor at NMSU; author
• Cyrus Nowrasteh - screenwriter and director
• Gerald W. Thomas - NMSU President Emeritus, 1970–1984
• Edward O. Thorp - mathematician best known for writing the book Beat the Dealer^[3] and co-inventing the first wearable computer; Associate Professor of Mathematics 1961–65^[4]
• Clyde Tombaugh - astronomer best known for his discovery of Pluto; former professor of astronomy^[5]
• Frank Alan Ward - Distinguished Professor in the College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Science; 2022 DARE Hall of Fame Award; Colorado State University: Lifetime Achievement Award, 2022^[6]

Alumni

Science, medicine, and technology

• Arlan Andrews - mechanical engineer and science fiction author
• John A. D. Cooper - physician and educator
• Alan Hale - astronomer famous for discovering the Hale-Bopp Comet
• Bill Inmon - computer scientist, recognized as the father of the data warehouse
• Paul W. Klipsch - audio pioneer; founder of Klipsch and Associates; namesake of the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NMSU^[7]
• Jaron Lanier - writer, computer scientist, composer, and virtual reality pioneer^[8]
• Kathy Lueders - engineer, NASA Associate Administrator of Human Exploration and Operations (HEO)^[9]
• Rose Marie Pangborn - scientist, pioneer in the sensory analysis of food^{[citation needed]}
• Stuart Pimm - theoretical ecologist and conservation biologist
• Harold Reitsema - astronomer, part of the teams that discovered Larissa and Telesto^{[citation needed]}
• Mark W. Spong - roboticist; Dean of Erik Jonsson School of Engineering & Computer Science at the University of Texas at Dallas^{[citation needed]}
• Paul Carpenter Standley - botanist
• Sarah Stewart - research scientist, pioneer in the field of viral oncology, co-discovered the first polyomavirus^[10]

Law, politics, military and government

• Norma Bixby - member of the Montana House of Representatives
• Donald Bratton - politician
• William Burt - Republican member of the New Mexico Senate
• Michael L. Connor - United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior
• David Coss - US politician and former mayor of Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Lee Cotter - Republican member of the New Mexico Senate
• Candy Ezzell - Republican member of the New Mexico House of Representatives
• Edgar Franklin Foreman, Jr. - motivational speaker in Dallas who served one term in the United States House of Representatives
• Gregory J. Fouratt - former United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico
• Chuck Franco - game warden, police officer, undersheriff, current First Gentleman of New Mexico
• Mary Helen Garcia - Democratic member of the New Mexico House of Representatives
• Mary Jane Garcia - former member of the New Mexico Senate
• Ron Griggs - politician
• David Campos Guaderrama - United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
• Gary King - Attorney General of New Mexico
• Greg Lopez - U.S. Representative from Colorado
• Lester Lyles - former Air Force general, Chairman of the Board for USAA
• Patrick H. Lyons - politician from New Mexico
• John McEneny - politician
• Ken Miyagishima - mayor of Las Cruces, New Mexico^{[citation needed]}
• Howie Morales - Democratic member of the New Mexico Senate
• Steven Neville - Republican member of the New Mexico Senate
• Steve Pearce - US Representative for New Mexico^{[citation needed]}
• Renee Schulte - Iowa State Representative^[11]
• William Sharer - Republican member of the New Mexico Senate
• Roosevelt Skerrit - Prime Minister of Dominica Attended but graduated from Mississippi ^[12]
• William Soules - Democratic member of the New Mexico Senate
• James Edward Wharton - United States Army Brigadier General, killed in action during World War II^[13]
• Pat Woods - Republican member of the New Mexico Senate
• Bob Wooley - Republican member of the New Mexico House of Representatives

Business

• Kevin Johnson - CEO of Starbucks Corporation
• Dave Lopez - telecommunications executive

Academia, arts, and literature

• Lee K. Abbott - writer; professor emeritus of English at Ohio State University
• Subhankar Banerjee - photographer, author and activist
• Denise Chavez - author, playwright and stage director
• Upile Chisala - poet^[14]
• Leroy Quintana - poet, Vietnam veteran
• Larry Torres - linguist and lecturer on Southwestern culture
• Martin Guevara Urbina - writer, professor, and researcher; as a sociologist and criminologist, works on Latina and Latino issues in the United States

Athletics

• Willie Adams - former NFL defensive end
• Andre Anderson - former CFL defensive tackle for the BC Lions
• Pervis Atkins - NFL running back, played for the Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders
• Leo Barker - NFL linebacker, played for the Cincinnati Bengals^{[citation needed]}
• Greg Bearman - CFL defensive back^{[citation needed]}
• Rich Beem - professional golfer with a three PGA Tour wins including 2002 PGA Championship^{[citation needed]}
• Jim Bostic - NBA forward^{[citation needed]}
• Randy Brown - NBA guard^{[citation needed]}
• Bart Bryant - professional golfer with three PGA Tour wins^{[citation needed]}
• Tom Byrum - professional golfer with one PGA Tour win^{[citation needed]}
• Joe Campbell - NFL defensive end, played for the New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Steve Colter - NBA guard
• Charlie Criss - NBA guard
• Andy Dorris - NFL defensive end, played for the St. Louis Cardinals, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks and Houston Oilers
• Andre Francis - former FL defensive back
• Bob Gaiters - NFL running back, played for the NY Giants, San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos
• Roy Gerela - NFL placekicker, played for the Houston Oilers, Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego Chargers
• Jim Germany - CFL running back, played for the Edmonton Eskimos, was an All-Star and part of 5 Grey Cup championship teams
• Jonte Green - NFL cornerback for the Detroit Lions^{[citation needed]}
• Duriel Harris - NFL wide receiver, played for the Miami Dolphins^{[citation needed]}
• Steve Haskins - professional golfer with two Web.com Tour wins^{[citation needed]}
• Lou Henson - former coach of New Mexico State and University of Illinois men's basketball
• Davon House - NFL defensive back for the Green Bay Packers
• Bobby Humphrey - NFL wide receiver, played for the NY Jets and Denver Broncos
• Martin Iti - basketball player^{[citation needed]}
• Bob Jackson - former NFL running back^{[citation needed]}
• Charley Johnson - NFL quarterback, played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Oilers and Denver Broncos ; full professor of Chemical Engineering at NMSU; member of the Denver Broncos Ring of Honor
• Walter Johnson - NFL defensive lineman, played for the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals; three-time Pro Bowl (1967, 1968, 1969); member of the College Football Hall of Fame
• LaTraia Jones - football coach; former player at University of Wyoming
• Reggie Jordan - NBA guard
• Sam Lacey - NBA center
• Billy Ray Locklin - former CFL defensive lineman
• Kerry Locklin - college football coach
• Denvis Manns - football running back, famous for rushing for 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons in college
• Anita Maxwell - former WNBA forward for the Cleveland Rockers, only basketball player (male or female) in school history to have her uniform number (40) retired^[15]
• Kyle Nelson - NFL long snapper
• Michael New - former basketball player and coach of the Milton Keynes Lions
• Jerry Nuzum - NFL running back, played for the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Cliff Olander - gridiron football quarterback
• J. R. Patton - stock car racing driver
• Buck Pierce - CFL quarterback, played for the BC Lions and Winnipeg Blue Bombers
• Joe Pisarcik - NFL quarterback, played for the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles; best remembered for his role in a 1978 play that has since been referred to as "The Fumble" by NY Giants fans and "The Miracle at the Meadowlands" by Philadelphia Eagles fans
• Ron Porterfield - Major League Baseball athletic trainer
• Tony Sanchez - head football coach at UNLV
• Joe Schmiesing - former NFL defensive lineman, played for the St. Louis Cardinals
• Siddeeq Shabazz - Canadian Football League linebacker
• Alena Sharp - professional golfer on the LPGA Tour
• Pascal Siakam - NBA forward, NBA championship in 2019 with Toronto Raptors
• Jannah Sonnenschein (born 1996) - Dutch-Mozambican swimmer
• Danny Villanueva - NFL placekicker, played for the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys; media entertainment entrepreneur
• Gary Ward - former baseball coach for Oklahoma State University and New Mexico State University
• Walt Williams - NFL cornerback, played for the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears
• John Williamson - NBA guard
• Tony Wragge - former NFL offensive lineman for various teams
• Fredd Young - NFL linebacker; played for the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts; four-time Pro Bowler (1984, 1985, 1986, 1987); two-time All-Pro (1984, 1987); member of the Seattle Seahawks 35th anniversary team
• Jahmar Young (born 1986) - basketball player in the Israeli National League

Entertainment, film, news and television

• Scott Bailey - actor
• Baxter Black - cowboy poet; radio and television commentator
• Kira Davis - film producer
• William Frankfather - actor
• Barbara Funkhouser - journalist, first woman to serve as editor of the El Paso Times (1980–1986)^[16]
• Franc Luz - movie and television actor
• Alvy Ray Smith - co-founder of Pixar
• Brittany Toll - Miss New Mexico 2011

Other

• Jorge A. Rojas - general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)
• Clara Belle Williams (1885–1994) - first African-American graduate of the university (English, 1937)

References

1. Boje, David. "David Boje | New Mexico State University - Academia.edu". Nmsu.academia.edu. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
2. https://aas.org/obituaries/james-cuffey-1911-1999 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
3. Thorp, Edward O. (1966). Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One (9780394703107): Edward O. Thorp: Books. Knopf Doubleday Publishing. ISBN 0394703103.
4. "About Edward O. Thorp". Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
5. Gottwald, Melissa; Kenny, Maura. "Clyde W. Tombaugh Biographical Outline". Archives.nmsu.edu. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
6. "Group of NMSU faculty named among top scientists worldwide". The NewsMarket. November 8, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
7. "Founder Biography". Klipsch.com. May 5, 2002. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
8. "Scientific American: Interview with Jaron Lanier", September 1996
9. "Kathy Lueders Selected to Lead NASA's Human Spaceflight Office," NASA Press Release, June 2020
10. Fulghieri, Carl; Bloom, Sharon (2014). "Sarah Elizabeth Stewart". Emerging Infectious Diseases. 20 (5): 893–895. doi:10.3201/eid2005.131876. ISSN 1080-6040. PMC 4012821. PMID 24751102.
11. https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/legislator?ga=84&personID=6586 ^{[bare URL]}
12. http://www.caribbeanelections.com/knowledge/biography/bios/skerrit_roosevelt.asp Archived 2022-05-25 at the Wayback Machine ^{[bare URL]}
13. Greenwood, John, ed. (2008). Normandy to Victory: The War Diary of General Courtney H. Hodges. University Press of Kentucky. p. 429. ISBN 978-0813126425.
14. Hawksley, Rupert (2019-11-05). "How Upile Chisala became a voice for young, black women around the world". The National. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
15. "Former Aggies to be inducted into intercollegiate athletic hall of fame". The Round Up. January 10, 2002. Archived from the original on September 12, 2004.
16. Hinojosa, Alex (2014-08-16). "Barbara Funkhouser, former El Paso Times editor, dies at 84". El Paso Times. Archived from the original on 2014-09-21. Retrieved 2014-09-21.

External links

• New Mexico State University official website
• NMSU Alumni Association official website