# List of University of New Mexico alumni

List of University of New Mexico alumni of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

## Alumni

List of University of New Mexico alumni :
| Alumnus | Class | Notes |
| Edward Abbey | 1951, 1956 | Author and essayist of the American Southwest, famous for his work The Monkey Wrench Gang |
| Paige Ackerson-Kiely | | Poet |
| John Adair | 1948 | Pioneer of Navajo and Zuni cultural studies; in 1948, the university's first doctoral candidate in anthropology |
| Ania Ahlborn | | Horror novelist |
| James Anaya | 1980 | United Nations Special Rapporteur for Indigenous Human Rights |
| Rudolfo Anaya | 1963 1968 1972 | Author and humanitarian, best known for his 1972 novel Bless Me, Ultima |
| Christopher Andronicos | 1995 | Geologist |
| Jerry Apodaca | 1953 | Former Governor of New Mexico |
| Joseph F. Baca | 1960 | Former Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court |
| John Baker | 1966 | WAC Cross-Country and Mile Championship |
| Bob Barney | 1959 | Academic and sports historian |
| Dave Barney | 1959 | Educator and swimming coach |
| Hank Baskett | 2006 | Former NFL wide receiver |
| Charlie Beljan | | PGA Tour winner |
| Byron Bell | 2010 | Former NFL offensive tackle |
| Sarah Bird | 1973 | Novelist, screenwriter, and journalist |
| Lynn Birleffi | | Member of the Wyoming House of Representatives |
| David Bishop | | All-American middle-distance runner and international athlete |
| Ken Brown | | Former NFL offensive lineman |
| Charles W. Blackwell | 1972 | First Ambassador of the Chickasaw Nation to the United States (1995–2013) |
| Paul Bloom | | Former special counsel for compliance, U.S. Department of Energy, Carter Administration |
| Tony Booth | | Country musician |
| Kirk Bryan | | Geologist |
| Gregory R. Bryant | | Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy |
| Gregory Cajete | | One of the founders of integrating Native American Studies with science disciplines |
| Terry Calvani | 1970 | Commissioner of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission |
| Santiago E. Campos | | United States Federal Judge |
| Jennifer Carroll | 1985 | 18th Lieutenant Governor of Florida |
| Rodney Carswell | 1968 | Abstract artist and painter, educator |
| Raven Chacon | 2001 | Musician, composer, winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Music |
| Edward L. Chavez | 1981 | Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court |
| Martin Chávez | 1975 | Former Mayor of Albuquerque |
| Adva Cohen | | Israeli runner |
| Robin Cole | | Former NFL player, first round draft pick, and two-time SuperBowl winner |
| Brian Colon | | Former Chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico |
| Michael Cooper | 1978 | Former NBA player |
| William Conger | 1966 | Artist and painter |
| Justin Davis | | Soccer player |
| Barbara Degenevieve | 1980 | Photographer |
| Diane Denish | 1971 | Former Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico |
| Richard Diebenkorn | 1951 | Painter |
| Diane Dimond | | Journalist, author, TV anchor |
| Sam Dixon | 1997 | College basketball coach |
| Adee Dodge | 1933 | Painter, Navajo code-talker, linguist |
| John Dodson | | Mixed martial artist competing for the Ultimate Fighting Championship |
| Pete Domenici | 1954 | Former U.S. Senator representing New Mexico |
| Jack Dongarra | 1980 | Mathematician; computer scientist; Distinguished Professor, University of Tennessee; 2022 recipient of the Turing Award |
| Anita Douthat | 1986 | Fine art photographer |
| Wendy Edwards | 1974 | Contemporary painter and educator |
| James G. Ellis | 1968 | Dean of USC Marshall School of Business |
| Wade Ellis | 1938 | Former Professor of Mathematics at Oberlin College and University of Michigan; former Associate Dean of the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies at Michigan |
| Jordan Espinosa | | wrestler; Computer Engineering; current mixed martial artist for the UFC |
| Alison Fields | PHD 2009 | art historian; professor at the University of Oklahoma |
| Lee Fitzgerald | | Professor of Zoology and Faculty Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles at Texas A&M University |
| Andy Frederick | | Former NFL offensive tackle |
| Julio Gea-Banacloche | 1985 | Quantum physics expert |
| Shohini Ghose | 2003 | Quantum physicist and professor |
| Janice Gould | | Koyangk'auwi Maidu writer and scholar |
| Danny Granger | | NBA player |
| Kelly Graves | 1987 | College basketball coach, current head women's basketball coach at University of Oregon |
| Eddie Guerrero | | WWE wrestler and a prominent member of the Guerrero wrestling family |
| Deb Haaland | 1994 2006 | 54th Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior; first Native American to hold a cabinet position; Representative for New Mexico's 1st congressional district; one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress |
| Joy Harjo | 1976 | Former United States poet laureate; writer, musician, and activist |
| James Haskins | 1963 | Award-winning children's author |
| Bashirul Haq | | Prominent architect and educator |
| Eva Simone Hayward | | Women's Studies researcher on faculty at University of Arizona |
| Daniel Ray Herrera | | Major League Baseball player |
| Judith C. Herrera | 1976 | United States federal judge |
| Marcelina Herrera | | Zia Pueblo painter |
| Tim Herron | | Professional golfer on the PGA Tour |
| Katie Hnida | 2004 | First woman to score in a Division I college football game and college football bowl game |
| Euan Holden | | Professional association football player |
| Shawn Hollingsworth | | Former NFL player |
| Holly Holm | | Professional mixed martial arts fighter, former UFC bantamweight champion |
| Shirley Hufstedler | 1945 | First United States Secretary of Education |
| David Iglesias | 1984 | Former United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico; controversially dismissed |
| Donald L. Ivers | | Former judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans' Claims |
| Brian Johnson | | Football player |
| Gary Johnson | 1975 | Former Governor of New Mexico; 2012 and 2016 presidential candidate |
| George Johnson | 1975 | Science author |
| Brian Jay Jones | 1989 | Author, biographer of Washington Irving, Jim Henson, George Lucas, and Dr. Seuss; former president of Biographers International Organization |
| Ghanim Al-Jumaily | 1987 | Iraqi diplomat; professor of engineering at Southern New Hampshire University |
| Bruce King | | Former three-term Governor of New Mexico |
| Gary King | 1984 | Attorney General of New Mexico |
| Elizabeth Lapovsky-Kennedy | | One of the founding feminists of the field of women's studies |
| Peter Koo | 1975 | Member of the New York City Council |
| Emil Lassen | | Major General Air National Guard |
| Vernon Lattin | | President of Brooklyn College |
| Edward Lewis | 1964 | Chairman and CEO of Essence Communications Inc. |
| Rocky Long | 1971 | Head football coach, San Diego State University |
| Luc Longley | 1991 | Former NBA player and the first Australian to play in the NBA |
| Luis Fernando González | | Baseball outfielder for the San Francisco Giants |
| Michelle Lujan Grisham | 1981 | Governor of New Mexico, former Member of Congress (2013-2019), politician |
| L. Luis Lopez | | Poet |
| Kathy Lueders | 1986 | First woman to head NASA's human spaceflight program as the Associate Administrator of the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate |
| Thomas J. Mabry | | Former Governor of New Mexico; Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court |
| Thomas F. Madden | 1986 | Author and distinguished historian of the Middle Ages |
| Lenton Malry | 1968 | The first African American to serve in the New Mexico House of Representatives (1969–1979) and the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners (1981–1989) |
| Ania Ahlborn | | Horror novelist |
| Penny Marshall | | Actress and director |
| Miguel Marquez | | ABC News correspondent |
| Barrett Martin | 2005 2008 | Grammy-winning producer, drummer, composer, writer |
| Terance Mathis | 1990 | Former NFL player |
| Oscar W. McConkie, Jr. | 1946 | Utah politician and LDS church leader |
| Cisco McSorley | 1974, JD 1979 | New Mexico politician |
| Robert Mercer | 1968 | Co-CEO of Renaissance Technologies hedge fund |
| Melissa Miller | 1974 | Painter |
| sj Miller | | Professor, social justice activist |
| John H. Morrison | | Lawyer; former President of the Association of American Rhodes Scholars |
| Judith Nakamura | 1983, JD 1989 | Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court; former State District Court Judge, Chief Judge of Albuquerque Metro Court |
| Jennifer Nehrbass | | Artist |
| William L. Nyland | 1968 | U.S. Marine Corps four-star general; former Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps |
| Lori Ostlund | | Short story writer |
| Jordan Pacheco | | Major League Baseball infielder for the Colorado Rockies |
| Marion Pearsall | BA 1944 | Medical and cultural anthropologist |
| Don Perkins | | Former NFL All-Pro running back |
| Melissa Plaut | BA 1997 | Writer and taxi driver |
| Antoine Predock | | Architect |
| V.B. Price | 1962 | Journalist, poet, author, scholar and New Mexico historian |
| Kathryn Ptacek | 1974 | Author and editor |
| Michael D. Rhodes | | Egyptologist |
| Meridel Rubenstein | MA 1974, MFA 1977 | Photographer and installation artist |
| Devon Sandoval | | Soccer player for Real Salt Lake |
| Sam Scarber | 1970 | Former NFL and CFL player |
| Margaret Stratton | MA 1983, MFA 1985 | Photographer and video artist |
| Steven Schiff | JD 1972 | Former U.S. congressman representing New Mexico |
| Jean Schodorf | | Member of the Kansas Senate |
| Leslie Marmon Silko | BA 1969 | American writer |
| Caswell Silver | 1940 | Geologist and CEO of Sundance Oil Company, endowed Caswell Silver Foundation at UNM |
| Leon Silver | 1948 | Professor of Geology, California Institute of Technology; member of National Academy of Sciences; winner of NASA Scientific Achievement Medal; trained Apollo astronauts in field geology for their lunar mission |
| Melinda M. Snodgrass | | Science fiction novelist and screenwriter; co-creator, with George R.R. Martin, of the Wild Cards series |
| Scott Strickland | | Major League Baseball player |
| Signe Margaret Stuart | M.A., painting and art history, 1961 | artist, known for her abstract paintings |
| John Sullivan | | Football player |
| Thomas C. Taylor | | New Mexico politician |
| Jerry D. Thompson | | Historian of the American Southwest |
| Maye Torres | MFA | Artist |
| Jada Benn Torres | 2001 (M.S.), 2006 (Ph.D.) | Genetic anthropologist and Associate Professor of Anthropology at Vanderbilt University |
| Maggie Toulouse Oliver | B.A., M.A. | Secretary of State of New Mexico |
| Kathleen Kennedy Townsend | JD 1978 | Former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland; the eldest of Robert F. Kennedy's children |
| Michael Trujillo | 1966 (BS), 1967 (BA), MA (1970), MD (1974) | Native American Physician and director of the Indian Health Service |
| Carmelita Little Turtle | | Apache/Rarámuri photographer |
| Tom Udall | JD 1977 | U.S. congressman and senator representing New Mexico |
| Brian Urlacher | 2000 | Former NFL Defensive Player of the Year |
| Carol Jean Vigil | | First Native American woman to be a state district judge in the U.S. |
| Rodney Wallace | 1970 | Former NFL player and Super Bowl champion |
| John Wertheim | JD 1995 | Former member of the Executive Committee of the Democratic National Committee |
| Cody Willard | 1996 | Fox Business Network anchor |
| Ray Wilson | | Chicago Bears linebacker |
| Michael Carter | 2003 | Colorado Politician |