# List of Michigan State University people

Michigan State University alumni number around 634,300 worldwide. Famous Spartans include NBA star Earvin "Magic" Johnson; MLB stars Kirk Gibson, Steve Garvey, Robin Roberts; NFL stars Brad Van Pelt, Bubba Smith, Herb Adderley and Joe DeLamielleure; actors James Caan and Robert Urich; Evil Dead trilogy director Sam Raimi; LGBT rights activist and internet personality Tyler Oakley; former Michigan governors James Blanchard, Fred M. Warner, and John Engler; U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow; former U.S. Senator Spencer Abraham; billionaires Eli Broad, Reinhold Schmieding, Drayton McLane, Jr., Harley Hotchkiss, Thomas H. Bailey, Tom Gores, Andrew Beal and Dan Gilbert, Mat Ishbia
Michigan State's faculty and academic staff number around 4,500 researchers. Throughout the years, notable researchers have included William J. Beal, who developed hybrid corn; psychologist Erich Fromm; G. Malcolm Trout, who invented the process for the homogenization of milk; and Barnett Rosenberg, the discoverer of cancer-fighting drug cisplatin.
In addition to faculty, Michigan State has around 6,000 administration and non-academic staff. This includes the university's governing board, the board of trustees. Elected by statewide referendum every two years, trustees have eight-year terms, with two of the eight elected every other year. As of 2007, the board is made up of three Republicans and five Democrats, and has a 4:4 gender balance.
Other notable staff members include President Samuel L. Stanley, Athletic Director Alan Haller, men's basketball coach Tom Izzo, ice hockey coach Adam Nightingale, and football coach Jonathan Smith.

## Notable alumni
### Academia
#### Administration

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| David Kpakpoe Acquaye | B.S. | 1952 | professor, first head of the Soil Science, dean of agriculture, University of Ghana |
| Debra D. Austin | B.A. | | former chancellor, State University System of Florida |
| Jacquelynn Baas | B.A. | 1971 | curator, cultural historian, writer, and Director Emeritus, UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive |
| Hugh P. Baker | B.S. | 1901 | President, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Dean, New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University |
| Sian Beilock | Ph.D. | 2003 | President, Dartmouth College |
| Warren W. Brandt | B.S. | 1944 | First President, Virginia Commonwealth University |
| Frank A Buckless | B.A. | 1981 | dean, Poole College of Management. NC State |
| Kenyon Butterfield | B.S. | 1891 | President, University of Rhode Island, UMass, and Michigan State University, appointed to the Country Life Commission by President Theodore Roosevelt |
| Antoinette Candia-Bailey | M.A. | 2001 | vice president for student affairs at Lincoln University, 2023 |
| Oscar Clute | B.S. | 1862 | President, Michigan State, Florida Agricultural College (predecessor to University of Florida), ordained minister |
| Richard A. Cosier | B.A. | 1969 | Dean Emeritus, Krannert School of Management, Purdue |
| William H. Cunningham | B.B.A., M.B.A. | 1966, 1967 | former Chancellor, University of Texas System |
| Paul D'Anieri | B.A. | 1986 | Vice President and Provost, University of California, Riverside |
| Grover C. Dillman | B.S. | 1913 | President, Michigan Tech University, 1935–1956 |
| Jeffrey Docking | B.A. | 1983 | President, Adrian College |
| Kristie L. Ebi | B.S. | 1972 | founder, former director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment, University of Washington School of Public Health |
| Glenn Goerke | Ph.D. | 1962 | former President/Chancellor, University of Houston, University of Houston–Clear Lake, University of Houston–Victoria, and Indiana University East |
| Lloyd Vincent Hackley | B.A. | | former Chancellor, Fayetteville State University |
| Wendy Hensel | B.A. | 1992 | President, University of Hawaiʻi |
| Stanley O. Ikenberry | M.A., Ph.D. | 1957, 1960 | former President (twice), University of Illinois |
| Charles L. Ingersoll | B.S. | | second President (1882–91), Colorado State University, credited with broadening and liberalizing the school's formerly narrow, vocational curriculum |
| Anne Khademian | B.A. M.P.A. | | political scientist, executive director of the Universities at Shady Grove, the University System of Maryland |
| Charles Kiesler | B.A. | 1958 | former Chancellor, University of Missouri |
| William Edward Lavery | B.A. | 1953 | former president, Virginia Tech |
| Jay Robert McColl | B.S. | 1890 | dean of engineering, University of Detroit |
| Charles McKenny | B.S. | 1881 | former president, Central Michigan University, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and Eastern Michigan University |
| William H. Sewell | B.A., M.A. | 1933, 1934 | former Chancellor, University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| James D. Spaniolo | B.A. | 1968 | former president, University of Texas at Arlington |
| Bernard Sliger | B.A., M.A., Ph.D. | 1949, 1950. 1955 | economist, former president, Florida State University |
| Teresa A. Sullivan | B.A. | 1970 | former president, University of Virginia |
| Dwight B. Waldo | attended | 1881–82 | first President, Western Michigan University |
| Kim A. Wilcox | B.S. | 1976 | Chancellor, University of California, Riverside, former Michigan State University provost |

#### Biology

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Edgar Anderson | B.S. | 1918 | Botanical Geneticist |
| Liberty Hyde Bailey | B.S. | 1882 | Botanist, Horticulturist, the "Father of Modern Horticulture", Author, Philosopher |
| Charles Fuller Baker | B.S. | 1892 | Professor of Biology, Botany, College Dean |
| Frank Benton | B.S. | 1879 | entomologist educator, researcher, author, beekeeping innovator |
| Charles E. Bessey | B.S. | 1869 | Pioneer 19th-century Botany Educator; former president, American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| Robert L. Carroll | B.S. | 1959 | Vertebrate Paleontologist, former director of Redpath Museum, McGill University |
| William James Clench | B.S. | 1921 | former Curator of the Mollusk Collection, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology |
| Leon Jacob Cole | attended | 1890s | geneticist and ornithologist, nicknamed the "father of American bird banding" |
| Albert John Cook | B.S. | 1862 | Zoology, Entomology Educator; Chairman, California State Commission of Horticulture |
| Larry Dalton | B.S. | 1965 | chemist best known for polymeric nonlinear electro-optics |
| Arnold L. Demain | B.S. M.S. | 1949 1950 | former professor of microbiology, MIT, founder and head of the Department of Fermentation Microbiology, Merck & Co, world-leading industrial microbiologist |
| Lyster H. Dewey | B.S. | 1888 | botanist, expert at USDA researching various fibre plants, most notably hemp (cannabis) |
| C. Kurt Dewhurst | B.A. | 1970 | curator and folklorist, Director Emeritus of the Michigan State University Museum, past president, American Folklore Society |
| Michael Donoghue | B.A. | 1976 | Vice president, Evelyn Hutchinson Professor Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale; former director of the university's Peabody Museum of Natural History; elected to U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2005 |
| Mary K. Firestone | B.S M.S. Ph.D. | | member, National Academy of Sciences, professor of soil microbiology in the Department of Environmental Studies, Policy, and Management, UC Berkeley |
| Charles Christian Georgeson | B.S. | 1877 | founding director of Alaska Agricultural Experiment Station, namesake of Georgeson Botanical Garden at University of Alaska |
| Byron Halsted | B.S. | 1871 | botany educator, former president of the Botanical Society of America |
| Ulysses P. Hedrick | B.S. | 1893 | Botanist, Horticulturalist |
| Perry G. Holden | M.S. | 1895 | first Professor of Agronomy in the US (1896) |
| Patricia Hunt | B.A. | 1977 | Meyer Distinguished Professor in the School of Molecular Bioscience, Washington State University |
| Walter Stephen Judd | B.S. M.S. | 1973 1974 | botanist and taxonomist, distinguished professor in the Department of Botany, University of Florida |
| Ezra J. Kraus | B.S. | 1907 | former chair of Botany Department, University of Chicago |
| Minakata Kumagusu | did not graduate | | Naturalist, known for study of slime molds in early 20th-century Japan |
| Amy K. LeBlanc | D.V.M. | 1999 | veterinary oncologist and biologist, director of the Comparative Oncology Program at the National Cancer Institute |
| Henry J. Oosting | M.S. | 1927 | ecologist at Duke University |
| Thomas D. Sharkey | B.S. Ph.D. | 1974 1980 | distinguished professor, biochemistry and microbiology, Michigan State University |
| James W. Toumey | B.S. | 1889 | Botanist, co-founder, early Dean of Yale School of Forestry; namesake of the cactus genus Toumeya and New Hampshire's Yale-Toumey Forest |
| Samuel Mills Tracy | B.S., M.S. | 1868, 1871 | Botany Educator; donator and founder of Tracy Herbarium at Texas A&M |
| Truman G. Yuncker | B.S. | 1915 | Bacteriologist, Botanist; chair of Botany Department, DePauw University; appointed curator of DePauw Herbarium, later named the T.G. Yuncker Herbarium |

#### Business

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Deborah A. Cobb-Clark | B.A. | 1983 | Australian economist, professor, University of Sydney |
| Scott DeRue | Ph.D. | | former dean of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan |
| Connel Fullenkamp | B.A. | 1987 | economics professor at Duke University, financial trainer of US banks and corporations for the International Monetary Fund |
| John Thomas Mentzer | M.B.A, Ph.D. | | Chancellor's Professor and Vivienne R. Bruce Chair of Excellence in Business, University of Tennessee |
| Sue Schurman | B.S. M.A. | 1969 1977 | distinguished professor at Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, former dean (2011 to 2015) |

#### Education

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| William Chandler Bagley | B.S. | 1895 | Educator, Pedagogy reformer championing Essentialism (as opposed to the Progressivism championed by John Dewey); founder, School and Society; editor-in-chief, Journal of the National Education Association, 1920–25 |
| Christine L. Borgman | B.A. | 1973 | Presidential Chair in Information Studies, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, UCLA |
| Catherine Corrigan | B.S. | 1995 | meteorite curator at the Smithsonian |
| Eugene Davenport | B.S., M.S. | 1878, 1884 | agriculture educator; invited in 1891 by the government of Brazil to duplicate Michigan State with "Little Lansings"; dean of University of Illinois, College of Agriculture |
| Eduard C. Lindeman | B.A. | 1911 | pioneer and champion of adult education |
| Myrtle Craig Mowbray | B.S. | 1907 | first African American woman to graduate from MSU; professor at historically black colleges and universities in Kansas and Missouri |
| Roy Pea | B.A. | 1974 | education scholar, Rhodes Scholar |
| Ione Genevieve Shadduck | M.A., PhD | | Educator, women's rights activist, and attorney |
| Marta Tienda | B.A. | 1972 | director, Graduate Studies; former director, Office of Population Research, Princeton University; TIAA Trustee since 2005 |
| Boyce Courtney Williams | M.A., Ph.D. | | Vice President at the NCATE |

#### Engineering

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Bruce Ableson | B.A. | 1984 | created Open Diary, the first online blogging community |
| Susan Avery | B.S. | 1972 | first woman president and director, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution |
| Louis George Carpenter | B.S., M.S. | 1879, 1883 | pioneer, expert on irrigation engineering |
| Rolla C. Carpenter | B.S., M.S. | 1873, 1876 | pioneer in heating and ventilating buildings as an Engineering Professor at Michigan State and Cornell; co-planned "Collegeville", the first subdivision in what later became East Lansing |
| Lloyd Groff Copeman | B.S. | 1903 | invented first electric stove (precursor to the microwave oven) |
| Margaret J. Eppstein | B.S. | 1978 | research scholar in complex systems, founder, Vermont Complex Systems Center |
| Ryan M. Eustice | B.S. | 1998 | roboticist, Senior Vice President of Human-centric AI and Technology Adoption at the Toyota Research Institute |
| Martha Gray | B.A. | 1978 | biomedical engineer, professor, MIT's Institute for Medical Engineering and Science |
| Laurel Kuxhaus | B.S, B.A. | 2001 | biomechanical engineer and researcher, program director at the National Science Foundation, 2019 to 2023 |
| Ivan LaHaie | B.S. | 1976 | electrical engineer, IEEE Fellow for radar contributions |
| Charles Severance | B.S. M.S. Ph.D. | 1984 1990 1996 | computer scientist, first executive director of the Sakai Foundation |
| Janelle Shane | B.S. | 2007 | research scientist, author, public speaker and humorist regarding artificial intelligence |
| Gary Starkweather | B.S. | 1960 | invented the laser printer |
| Ellen D. Williams | B.S. | 1976 | Nanotechnology Researcher; member, National Academy of Sciences |

#### Law

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments | Reference |
| Douglas Laycock | B.A. | 1970 | Robert E. Scott Distinguished Professor at the University of Virginia School of Law | |
| Connie S. Rosati | B.A. | 1979 | professor of law and philosophy, University of Texas at Austin | |

#### Medicine

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Lisa Bero | B.S. | 1980 | internationally-recognized former chair within the World Health Organization (WHO), professor of medical and pharmaceutical policy, University of Colorado School of Medicine |
| Vence L. Bonham Jr. | B.A. | 1978 | Deputy Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes of Health, and leader of the NHGRI Health Disparities Unit |
| Myrtelle Canavan | attended | 1898–99 | pioneer pathologist |
| Raymond J Dingledine | B.S. | 1971 | professor, associate dean, Emory University, elected National Academy of Medicine, and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters |
| Darlene Dixon | Ph.D. | 1985 | veterinary scientist, toxicologic pathologist, and senior investigator at the National Institutes of Health |
| Max Essex | D.V.M | 1967 | virologist, professor (Emeritus) of Health Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health |
| Philip Felgner | B.S. | 1972 | noted immunologist, a developer of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine |
| Eldon Leroy Foltz | B.S. | 1941 | former chair of neurosurgery, UC Irvine School of Medicine |
| Alfred D. Hershey | B.S., Ph.D. | 1930, 1934 | 1969 Nobel Laureate for physiology or medicine |
| Richard E. Holmes | M.D. | 1977 | among the first African-Americans to attend Mississippi State University |
| Sharon Kujawa | B.S. | | clinical audiologist, Director of Audiology Research at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, associate professor of otology and laryngology, Harvard Medical School |
| Mary L. Marazita | B.S. | 1976 | geneticist, Distinguished Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, recipient of the 2020 Distinguished Scientist Award in Craniofacial Biology Research, International Association for Dental Research |
| Delano Meriwether | B.S. | 1963 | immunologist, first African American accepted to Duke University School of Medicine, champion sprinter |
| Vinay Prasad | B.S. | 2005 | professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, author |
| Barbara Ross-Lee | D.O. | 1969 | first African-American woman dean of a U.S. medical school: New York College of Osteopathic Medicine |
| Edwin Rubel | B.S. M.S. Ph.D. | | Leading developmental neurobiologist |
| Linda C. Samuelson | B.S. | 1976 | pioneering physiologist in stem cell research |
| Carolyn Sargent | B.A. Ph.D. | 1968 1979 | medical anthropologist, professor emerita of Sociocultural Anthropology and of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Washington University in St. Louis |
| David Sulzer | B.S. | | professor of neurobiology, Columbia, musician |
| Michael VanRooyen | B.S. | 1984 | director, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard Medical School |
| Walter Willett | B.S. | 1966 | epidemiology professor, Harvard School of Public Health |

#### Physics

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| John G. Anderson | B.S. Physics, | 1970 | Seismologist |
| Lyman J. Briggs | B.S. | 1893 | Physicist; Director of the National Bureau of Standards; chaired the Uranium Committee (precursor to the Manhattan Project) |
| Gregory Charvat | B.S., M.S., Ph.D. | 2002, 2003, 2007 | led an MIT research team to develop radar that can penetrate walls and display real-time video of the activity on the other side |
| John Park Finley | B.S. | 1873 | Meteorologist, pioneered tornado forecasting |
| Scott Gaudi | B.S. | 1995 | professor of astronomy at Ohio State University, former chair of NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group and Astrophysics Advisory Committee, was co-chair of the National Academy of Sciences Exoplanet Science Strategy study |
| T. A. Heppenheimer | B.S., M.S. | 1967, 1968 | Aeronautics and Space Scholar, Researcher and Author; Researcher Associate Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; has held research fellowships at Caltech and the Max Planck Institute |
| Donald Keck | B.S., M.S. | 1962, 1964 | co-developed low-loss optical fiber; Recipient, National Medal of Technology |
| Eugene Parker | B.S. | 1948 | Astrophysicist, developed concept of supersonic solar wind; Bruce Prize, Kyoto Prize winner |
| Nan Phinney | B.S. | 1966 | Accelerator Physicist at SLAC, American Physical Society Fellow |
| Charles E. St. John | B.S. | 1887 | Physicist at Mt. Wilson observatory; starred scientist, American Men of Science, 1903–1943 |
| Paula Szkody | B.S. | 1970 | professor. Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, past president. American Astronomical Society |
| Norman Sleep | B.S. | 1967 | professor of geophysics, Stanford University, member, National Academy of Sciences |
| Norman Sperling | B.A. | 1970 | astronomer, author, teacher |
| Rick Stevens | attended | | professor, computer science, University of Chicago, and associate laboratory director, Argonne National Laboratory |
| Herman Brenner White | B.S. | 1970 | nuclear physicist at Fermilab, won the 2010 American Physical Society Edward A Bouchet Award |

#### Psychology

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Richard N. Aslin | B.A. | 1971 | Psychologist, focusing on speech perception |
| Charles Brainerd | B.S., M.A. Ph.D. | 1966 1968 1970 | psychology professor, Cornell, known for co-developing fuzzy-trace theory |
| Jennifer Crocker | B.A. | 1975 | Professor, Ohio Eminent Scholar in Social Psychology at Ohio State; past President, Society for Personality and Social Psychology |
| Paul Dressel | M.A. | 1934 | founding director of Michigan State University's Counseling Center |
| David Dunning | B.A. | 1982 | social psychology professor, University of Michigan, co-author of the Dunning–Kruger effect |
| Raquel Gur | B.S. M.A. Ph.D. | 1971, 1972, 1974 | research psychiatrist and expert on schizophrenia, professor at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania |
| James Jackson | B.S. | 1966 | Distinguished University Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan, past director of the University’s Institute for Social Research, named to the National Science Board |
| Peter Richard Killeen | B.A. | 1964 | advanced psychology professor and researcher |
| Joe Kort | B.A. | 1985 | psychotherapist, clinical social worker, board-certified clinical sexologist and author |
| Rollo May | transferred | | Scholar, the "Father of American Existential Psychology" |
| Daniel Wegner | B.S. | 1970 | Psychologist, introduced ironic process theory |

#### Other sciences

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Edward Aboufadel | B.S. | 1986 | mathematics professor, elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| Mark Batzer | B.S. M.A. | 1983 1985 | geneticist, LSU Boyd Professor at Louisiana State University, elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| Joanne Eicher | B.A. M.S. Ph.D. | 1948 1952 1959 | scholar in fashion design, recognized by the British Museum, editor-in-chief of the Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion |
| Harold B. Evans | B.S. M.S | 1931 1932 | research chemist, one of few African American scientists to work on the Manhattan Project |
| Fang Shimin | Ph.D. | 1995 | better known with his penname, Fang Zhouzi, a popular scientific writer in China |
| Julie Kovacs | B.S. | 1981 | bioinorganic chemist and professor, University of Washington |
| Verghese Kurien | M.S. | 1948 | dairy scientist, father of White Revolution in India; Padma Vibhushan recipient |
| Steven Lalley | B.S | 1976 | statistician and mathematician, professor, former department chair at The University of Chicago |
| Daniel Mindiola | B.S. | 1992 | Professor of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania |
| Jennifer Tank | B.S. | 1988 | ecologist, Galla Professor of Ecology of Streams and Rivers at the University of Notre Dame |
| Chelsea Walton | B.S. | 2005 | mathematician, professor at Rice University, won a fellowship to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (the fourth African American to do so) as well as to the American Mathematical Society |
| Bess Ward | B.S. | 1976 | William J. Sinclair Professor of Geosciences, director of Ward Research Laboratory, Princeton University |

#### Social science

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Jeffrey Arnett | B.S. | 1980 | Clark University professor who carved out the research discipline: emerging adulthood, for which he coined the term |
| David W. Blight | B.A. | 1971 | Sterling Professor of History, African American Studies, Yale, Pulitzer Prize winner |
| Charles Butterworth | B.A. | 1959 | political philosophy scholar focusing on the Greek, medieval Islamic, and Enlightenment periods |
| Annping Chin | B.S. | 1972 | historian and sinologist, senior lecturer at Yale |
| Angela D. Dillard | B.A. | 1988 | scholar and author in African American Studies, University of Michigan |
| Robert E. Hegel | B.A. | 1965 | sinologist, Liselotte Dieckman Professor of Comparative Literature and Chinese, Washington University in St. Louis |
| Abdi Kusow | B.A. | 1990 | Somali sociology scholar |
| Anthony Leiserowitz | B.A. | 1990 | researcher, human geographer at Yale University, director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |
| Yvonna Sessions Lincoln | A.B. | 1967 | methodologist and higher-education scholar, Distinguished Professor of Higher Education and Human Resource Development at Texas A&M University |
| Theodore J. Lowi | B.A. | 1954 | Political Science Scholar; Author of treatise The End of Liberalism; Distinguished Professor, Cornell University; voted one of the most influential political thinkers of the modern era by the American Political Science Association |
| W.J.T. Mitchell | B.A. | 1963 | Gaylord Donnelley Distinguished Service Professor of English and Art History, University of Chicago, Guggenheim Fellow |
| Stephen O. Murray | B.A. | 1972 | Scholar of Gay Anthropology, Sociology |
| Peter Schmidt | B.A., M.A., Ph.D. | 1969, 1970, 1970 | MSU Distinguished Professor, econometrics pioneer |
| Theda Skocpol | B.A. | 1969 | former dean, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; appointed senior adviser in the social sciences to Harvard's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study |
| Rogers Smith | B.A. | 1974 | distinguished professor, political science, University of Pennsylvania |
| Douglas V. Steere | B.S. | 1923 | Quaker philosopher, religious leader, Rhodes Scholar (1925) |
| Marilyn Stokstad | M.A. | 1953 | art historian |
| Linda Waite | B.A. | 1969 | George Herbert Mead Distinguished Service Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago |
| John D. Woodbridge | M.A. | 1965 | Research Professor of Church History and Christian Thought at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School |
| Richard Yarborough | B.A. | 1973 | professor of English and African American literature; Faculty Research Associate; former interim director, Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, UCLA |

### Arts and media
#### Cinema

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| James Caan | did not graduate | | actor, Las Vegas series, The Godfather, Mickey Blue Eyes |
| Jim Cash | B.A. | 1970 | Hollywood writer, Top Gun, Legal Eagles, Dick Tracy |
| Areeya Chumsai | B.A. | 1993 | filmmaker, author, lecturer, teacher, journalist and former Miss Thailand |
| Michael Cimino | B.A. | 1959 | Academy Award-winning writer, director; directed, co-wrote The Deer Hunter |
| Edward S. Feldman | B.A. | 1950 | film and television producer |
| Sarah Habel | B.A. | 2004 | actress |
| Greg Harrison | B.A. | 1991 | film director of Groove (2000) and November (2004) |
| Anthony Heald | B.A. | 1971 | actor, The Silence of the Lambs |
| Walter Hill | B.A. | 1962 | producer, director of Last Man Standing and 48 Hrs. |
| David Magee | B.A. | 1984 | screenwriter, nominated for 2004 Academy Award for Finding Neverland |
| Bill Mechanic | B.A. | 1973 | CEO, Pandemonium Films; former CEO, 20th Century Fox; producer of 82nd Academy Awards |
| Bob Murawski | B.A. | | film editor, winner, 2010 Academy Award for editing The Hurt Locker |
| Sam Raimi | did not graduate | | director, producer, actor (Spider-Man, Evil Dead series) |
| Michealene Risley | B.A. | | award-winning writer, director; human rights activist |
| Tom Sizemore | did not graduate | | actor, Saving Private Ryan |
| Bernard White | B.A. | | actor, screenwriter and film director |

#### Journalism

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Tim Alberta | B.A. | 2008 | journalist and author, has written articles for The Hotline, The Wall Street Journal, The National Journal, The National Review, Politico, and The Atlantic |
| Amy Astley | B.A. | 1989 | editor-in-chief, Architectural Digest, editor, founded Teen Vogue |
| Ray Stannard Baker | B.S. | 1889 | early 20th-century "muckraker" journalist; won 1940 Pulitzer Prize for last two volumes of biography of President Woodrow Wilson |
| Jack Berry | B.S. | 1956 | Sports journalist with The Detroit News, the Detroit Free Press, United Press International, and the Golf Writers' Association of America |
| Richard Cooper | B.A. | 1969 | won 1972 Pulitzer Prize for Attica Prison riot coverage |
| Craig Custance | B.A. | 1999 | sports journalist, author |
| M.L. Elrick | B.A. | 1990 | 2009 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting, Detroit Free Press |
| Ryan Field | B.A. | 1999 | sports anchor, WABC-TV |
| Martin Finn | B.A. | 2002 | Fox News Channel producer for anchor Shepard Smith |
| Susan Goldberg | B.A. | 1984 | editor-in-chief of National Geographic, editorial director, National Geographic Partners; first woman to hold position in National Geographic's history (published since 1888) |
| Don Gonyea | B.A. | 1978 | White House correspondent, National Public Radio; won Peabody Award |
| Chris Hansen | B.A. | | Dateline NBC correspondent |
| Tanya Hart | B.A. | | Emmy Award-winning commentator, host of "Hollywood Live with Tanya Hart", syndicated on American Urban Radio Networks; owns Tanya Hart Communications, Inc., a multimedia company |
| Thom Hartmann | B.A. | | broadcaster on Free Speech TV (formerly of Air America Radio), author |
| Jemele Hill | B.A. | 1997 | columnist, The Atlantic, former television host at ESPN, columnist ESPN Page 2 |
| Adrienne LaFrance | B.A. | 2004 | executive editor of The Atlantic |
| Wanda Lau | B.S. | | award-winning editor of technology and practice for Architect Magazine |
| Myra MacPherson | B.A. | 1956 | Pulitzer Prize nominee, journalist, author |
| James C. Moore | B.A. | 1974 | award-winning writer (including an Emmy, Edward R. Murrow Award, and Dartmouth College National Media Award for Economic Understanding); New York Times bestseller (as co-author) of Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential |
| Suzanne Sena | B.A. | | Fox News anchor |
| Fay Gillis Wells | did not graduate | | first woman to parachute from an aircraft; White House correspondent for Storer Broadcasting Co. |

#### Literature

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Verna Aardema | B.A. | 1934 | award-winning author of children's novels using an African motif |
| Diane Asitimbay | B.A. | | author, poet, teacher, and intercultural trainer |
| Wilton Barnhardt | B.A. | 1982 | novelist; director of M.F.A. program in Creative Writing, NC State University; former Sports Illustrated reporter |
| Tom Bissell | B.A. | 1996 | author, journalist |
| Jan Harold Brunvand | B.A. | 1955 | writer, folklorist scholar, popularized the term "urban legend" |
| Stephanie Burgis | attended | | fantasy novelist, music historian |
| Jeanne Cavelos | B.S. | 1982 | American science fiction writer, editor, educator, and former astrophysicist |
| Kelly DiPucchio | B.A. | 1989 | author of children's books |
| Carolyn Forché | B.A. | 1972 | poet, editor, human rights advocate |
| Richard Ford | B.A. | 1966 | writer of novel Independence Day; first to win both the Pulitzer Prize and PEN/Faulkner Award |
| R. Barri Flowers | B.A., M.S. | 1977, 1980 | author of fiction and nonfiction; inducted into MSU Criminal Justice Wall of Fame in 2006 |
| Peter Gent | B.A. | 1964 | novelist, athlete, wrote novel-turned-film North Dallas Forty |
| Dan Gerber | B.A. | 1962 | poet, novelist and essayist |
| Jennifer Greene | B.A. | | romance novelist, published 85 books, inducted into Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame |
| Jim Harrison | B.A., M.A. | 1960, 1966 | author, Guggenheim Fellowship recipient; novel, Legends of the Fall, basis for Hollywood film of same name |
| Jim C. Hines | B.S. | 1996 | fantasy and science fiction writer |
| Helen Hull | attended | 1905–07 | novelist, early feminist, English professor, Wellesley, Columbia |
| Cynthia Huntington | B.A. | | award-winning poet |
| Beverly Jenkins | B.A. | | award-winning novelist of mainly African-American historical romance, noted as one of the "100 most popular African American authors" |
| Geoff Johns | B.A. | 1995 | award-winning comic book author (Sinestro Corps War, Blackest Night), New York Times bestselling author |
| Josh Kilmer-Purcell | B.A. | 1991 | New York Times bestselling author of memoirs I Am Not Myself These Days and "The Bucolic Plague, novel Candy Everybody Wants, and The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook; starred in television reality series The Fabulous Beekman Boys |
| Michael Kimball | B.A. | 1990 | novelist, founding editor of Taint Magazine |
| J.T. Krul | B.A. | 1995 | comic book writer, published in Marvel and DC Comics |
| Michael P. Kube-McDowell | B.A. | 1976 | award-winning science fiction writer; author of more than 500 nonfiction articles |
| Allison Leotta | B.A. | 1991 | crime thriller novelist, former federal prosecutor |
| Josh Malerman | B.A. | | musician, novelist, novel Bird Box basis for Hollywood film |
| Tom McGuane | B.A. | 1962 | novelist |
| Nnedi Okorafor | M.A. | | award-winning science fiction/fantasy novelist |
| Daniel O'Malley | B.A. | | novelist |
| Janice Radway | B.A. | 1971 | author, literary and cultural studies scholar |
| Alma Routsong | B.A. | 1949 | author, alternative fiction |
| Pat Schmatz | B.S. | 1983 | award-winning author of young adult fiction |
| Sandra Seaton | M.A. | 1989 | award-winning playwright and librettist |
| Elizabeth Sims | B.A. | | novelist, crime and mystery writer; Lambda Literary Award winner; contributing editor at Writer's Digest magazine |
| Robin Sloan | B.A. | 2002 | noted novelist, short story writer, literary magazine founder, columnist,The Atlantic |
| Vernor Vinge | B.S. | | science fiction writer; retired math and computer science professor, San Diego State University |
| Bob Wood | B.A. | 1980 | author of Dodger Dogs to Fenway Franks and Big Ten Country |
| Timothy Zahn | B.S. | 1973 | science fiction writer; winner of Hugo Award for novella Cascade Point; author of New York Times best-selling Star Wars novel Heir to the Empire |

#### Music

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Bethany Beardslee | B.A. | 1948 | soprano noted for her performances of contemporary classical music |
| Dee Dee Bridgewater | did not graduate | | Grammy and Tony Award-winning jazz singer, actress |
| Henry Butler | M.M. | 1974 | jazz pianist |
| James Chance | attended | | No wave jazz musician |
| Dorothy DeLay | B.M. | 1936 | master violin teacher; trained superstars Itzhak Perlman, Cho-Liang Lin, Midori, and Sarah Chang |
| Thaddeus Dixon | B.M. | 2006 | songwriter, music producer, director, and instructor at UC Berkeley |
| Clare Fischer | B.M. | 1951 | Grammy Award-winning composer, arranger, and pianist; Latin Jazz motif |
| GRiZ | did not graduate | | American DJ and electronic producer |
| Tee Grizzley | did not graduate | | American rapper, singer, and songwriter; "First Day Out" |
| Milt Jackson | did not graduate | | jazz vibraphonist; member of the Modern Jazz Quartet |
| Angela Lanza | B.A. | 2006 | singer, toured overseas with USO |
| Lazarus | medicine (did not graduate) | | rapper, songwriter |
| Jacques Levy | Ph.D. | 1961 | lyricist, librettist and theatrical director whose collaborators included Bob Dylan, Roger McGuinn and Lucy Simon; others who have performed his work include Joe Cocker, Crystal Gayle and Carly Simon |
| David Maslanka | M.M., Ph.D. | 1967, 1971 | composer, best known for his works for wind ensemble |
| Dika Newlin | B.M. | 1940 | musicologist, composer, pianist |
| Izler Solomon | B.M. | | conductor, led major Midwest city orchestras; founder, Lansing Symphony Orchestra |
| Robin Spielberg | attended | | noted pianist, composer, actress, and author |
| Noel Paul Stookey | did not graduate | | "Paul" of 60s folk group Peter, Paul and Mary |
| Ben Williams | B.M. | 2007 | jazz bassist, winner of the 2009 Thelonious Monk Award |
| Janet Williams | B.M. | 1982 | internationally renowned soprano |

#### Television and radio

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| John Ahlers | B.A. | | Anaheim Ducks play-by-play announcer |
| Emanuele Berry | B.A. | 2012 | writer, radio producer, and journalist; executive editor at This American Life, and Fulbright recipient |
| Tom Bodett | did not graduate | | author, satirist, pitchman for Motel 6 |
| Chayse Dacoda | attended | | interior designer, television personality, Emmy nominee |
| Ryan Devlin | B.A. | 2003 | actor, TV host, producer |
| Carol Duvall | B.A. | | long-running host of The Carol Duvall Show, HGTV |
| Chad Everett | did not graduate | | actor, starred in Medical Center |
| Pat Foley | B.A. | 1977 | TV play-by-play announcer for the Chicago Blackhawks; inductee in the Chicago Sports Hall of Fame |
| Dan Gheesling | B.A., M.A. | 2005, 2006 | Big Brother 10 winner; Big Brother 14 runner-up |
| Timothy Granaderos | | 2009 | actor and model, starred in T@gged, 13 Reasons Why, in addition to several music videos |
| Bob Guiney | B.A. | 1993 | appeared on The Bachelor's fourth season |
| Jon-Erik Hexum | B.A. | 1980 | actor, starred in Voyagers!, Making of a Male Model, and Cover Up |
| Stephanie Koenig | B.F.A. | 2009 | actor, several TV series starring roles |
| Kay Koplovitz | M.A. | 1968 | founded USA Networks and the Sci-Fi Channel in 1992; women's business advocate |
| Jim Kozimor | B.A. | 1982 | national sportscaster mainly with the NBC network, three-time Emmy Award winner |
| Jackie Martling | B.S. | 1971 | stand-up comedian, member of The Howard Stern Show until 2001 |
| Matt McConnell | B.A. | 1985 | Television Play-By-Play Broadcaster, Arizona Coyotes (NHL); 2013 Arizona Sports Broadcaster of the Year |
| Tyler Oakley | B.A. | 2011 | YouTube video blogger and internet personality |
| Tim O'Brien | B.A. | | lawyer, professor, award-winning legal correspondent at ABC News and CNN |
| Susan Packard | B.A., M.A. | 1979, 1981 | founding CEO of HGTV (1997 Cable TV "Woman of the Year"); president of brand outreach for Scripps Networks New Ventures |
| James Quello | B.A. | 1935 | former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) |
| Jay Schadler | B.A. | 1974 | ABC News correspondent, Emmy Award winner |
| Susan Spencer | B.A. | 1968 | CBS News correspondent, Emmy Award winner |
| Ed Swiderski | B.S. | 2002 | The Bachelorette season 5 contestant and winner |
| Robert Urich | M.A. | 1971 | actor, Vega$ and Spenser: For Hire |
| Mike Valenti | B.A. | 2002 | host of the Valenti and Foster show on 97.1 The Ticket, WXYT-FM; |

#### Theatre

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| William David Brohn | B.A. | 1955 | Tony Award-winning Broadway musical arranger for Ragtime; won Drama Desk Award for Miss Saigon orchestration |
| Robert Lyons | B.A. | | writer, playwright, director |
| Kęstutis Nakas | B.A. | 1975 | playwright, author, performer, director, and teacher |
| Michael P. Price | B.A. | 1969 | executive director of Goodspeed Musicals, the major producer of American musical theatre |

#### Visual arts

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Mona A. El-Bayoumi | B.F.A. | 1985 | painter, mixed media artist |
| Ginger Gilmour | special course | | sculptor |
| Thomas Kovachevich | B.A. | 1964 | contemporary visual artist and physician |
| Eric Millikin | | | painter, webcomics artist, Pulitzer winner |

### Business
#### Consumer goods

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Michael R. Cannon | B.A. | | president of Global Operations, Dell |
| Drayton McLane, Jr. | M.B.A. | 1959 | owner of Houston Astros; director of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. |
| Mark A. Murray | B.A. | | president and CEO of Meijer; former president of Grand Valley State University (2001–2006) |

#### Finance

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Thomas H. Bailey | B.A. | 1961 | founder and former CEO, Janus Capital Group |
| Eli Broad | B.B.A. | 1954 | billionaire industrialist and philanthropist; former CEO of AIG |
| Dan Gilbert | B.B.A. | 1982 | chairman and Founder of Quicken Loans; owner, NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Tom Gores | B.S. | 1986 | global private-equity magnate, billionaire, owner of NBA's Detroit Pistons |
| Ernest Green | B.A., M.A. | 1962, 1964 | Little Rock Nine member; Assistant Labor Secretary (Carter administration); vice president, manager at Lehman Brothers |
| Andrew Lahde | B.A. | | former hedge fund manager, founder, Lahde Capital |
| M. Peter McPherson | B.A. | 1963 | chairman, Dow Jones; president of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges; MSU president 1993–2004 |
| William Raduchel | B.A. | 1966 | independent director, advisor, former Harvard professor |
| Edward W. Scott | B.A., M.A. | | businessman, philanthropist |

#### Industry

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Darius Adamczyk | B.S. | 1988 | chairman (and former CEO) of Honeywell International Inc., elected, National Academy of Engineering |
| Montie Brewer | B.B.A. | | former president and CEO, Air Canada |
| Rufus T. Bush | did not graduate | | 19th-century oil refining industrialist, yachtsman, New York socialite |
| Jack DeBoer | B.A. | 1952 | notable hotelier, founder of five national hotel brands, including Residence Inn |
| Jim Delligatti | B.A. | 1964 | creator of the Big Mac sandwich, owner of over 50 McDonald's restaurants |
| Chris Denson | graduated | | innovation expert, marketer, humorist and podcast host of the Innovation Crush, director of Ignition Factory, Omnicom Group |
| Molly Fletcher | B.A. | 1993 | sports agent, president of client representation, Career Sports & Entertainment |
| Mary Kay Henry | B.A. | 1979 | president, Service Employees International Union |
| James P. Hoffa | B.A. | 1963 | president, Teamsters; son of Jimmy Hoffa |
| Walter T. Kelley | B.S. | 1919 | founded beekeeping supply company: The Walter T. Kelley Company in 1926 (later, the Kelly Company) |
| Laura M. Labovich | B.A. | 1994 | author, national job search expert, speaker, CEO |
| Michael Lamach | B.S. | 1985 | CEO, Ingersoll-Rand Corp. |
| Joanne M. Maguire | B.S. | 1975 | Executive Vice President of Lockheed Martin Space Systems, 2006 to 2013 |
| Craig Menear | B.B.A. | 1979 | president, CEO Home Depot |
| Russell Mawby | B.S., Ph.D. | 1959 | philanthropist, 25-year CEO, W.K. Kellogg Foundation |
| John H. McConnell | B.B.A. | 1949 | founder, chairman-emeritus, Worthington Industries; former owner of NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Dawn Riley | B.A. | 1986 | first woman yachting CEO; America's Cup participant; educator |
| Reinhold Schmieding | B.A. | 1977 | specialized medical tools manufacturer, Forbes 400 billionaire |
| Rick Sirvaitis | B.A., M.A. | 1971, 1976 | president of Storeboard Media LLC. |
| JR Shaw | B.B.A. | 1955 | Canadian communications company founder/owner |
| Robert C. Stempel | M.B.A. | 1970 | former chairman, CEO, General Motors |
| Paul Waterman | B.S. | 1987 | CEO of BP Castrol and Elementis Plc |
| Kate Williams | | | chef and restaurateur, owner of Lady of the House in Detroit |

### Politics and government
#### Activism

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| John H. Adams | B.A. | 1959 | environmental activist, lawyer, and co-founder of the Natural Resource Defense Council, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom |
| Abraham Aiyash | B.A. | 2017 | US foreign policy activist, House majority floor leader, Michigan House of Representatives, 4th legislative district |
| Suzanne Marie Babich | B.S. | 1981 | public health scientist, author, dietitian and vegetarianism activist, professor, Fulbright Award winner |
| Gladys Beckwith | B.A., M.A. Ph.D. | 1951 1956 1968 | activist, founder of the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame |
| Richard Conlin | B.A. | 1968 | affordable housing activist and developer, former member of the Seattle City Council president |
| Donald N. Duquette | B.A. | 1969 | founding director of the Child Advocacy Law Clinic, University of Michigan Law School |
| Emma Genevieve Gillette | B.S. | 1920 | the "Mother of Michigan's State Park system" |
| Shelly Grabe | B.A. | 1996 | women’s rights activist, social psychology professor, provost, UC Santa Cruz |
| Florence Hall | B.S. | 1909 | led Woman's Land Army of America during World War II |
| Rutherford P. Hayes | attended | 1876-77 | library innovator, banker, son of U.S. Pres. Rutherford B. Hayes |
| Jon Hoadley | B.A. | 2006 | former executive director, National Stonewall Democrats |
| Susan Jacoby | B.A. | 1965 | journalist; author, Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism; NYC Program Director, Center for Inquiry |
| Russell Kirk | B.A. | 1940 | National Review magazine co-founder, "father of the modern conservative movement" |
| Jeffrey Miller | transferred | | Kent State shootings victim |
| Michael Schwerner | transferred | | civil rights activist, martyr; along with James Chaney and Andrew Goodman, was murdered by Philadelphia, MS-area Ku Klux Klan members for his African American voter registration efforts during Freedom Summer, 1964 |
| Lou Sheldon | B.A. | 1957 | evangelical conservative activist, founder and chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition |
| Jim Wallis | B.A. | 1970 | liberal Christian evangelical activist; author, God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It |

#### Diplomacy

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Richard Clark Barkley | B.A. | 1954 | former U.S. Ambassador to East Germany and Turkey |
| Stuart A. Bernstein | B.A. | 1960 | former U.S. ambassador to Denmark |
| Clarence A. Boonstra | B.A. | 1936 | former US ambassador to Costa Rica |
| Robin Diallo | B.A. | 1982 | Former US Ambassador to Haiti |
| John A. Heffern | B.A. | 1976 | former the United States Ambassador to Armenia from 2011 to 2014 |
| Donna Hrinak | B.A. | 1972 | U.S. ambassador to Venezuela |
| Riina Kionka | B.A. | 1983 | EU Ambassador to the Pakistan |
| John C. Kornblum | B.A. | 1964 | former ambassador to Germany |
| Roger A. Meece | B.S. | 1971 | former U.S. ambassador to Malawi and Congo |
| Peter F. Secchia | B.A. | 1963 | former U.S. Ambassador to Italy |

#### Armed Forces

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Judith Fedder | B.S. | 1980 | Lieutenant General of the United States Air Force |
| William F. Friedman | attended | | leading cryptographer, led the research division of the U.S. Army's Signal Intelligence Service |
| James D. Hittle | B.S. | 1937 | Brigadier General, U.S. Marine Corps |
| John D. Hutson | B.A. | 1969 | former president and dean, Franklin Pierce Law Center, Rear Admiral (retired), U.S. Navy; former Staff Judge Advocate and Executive Assistant to the Commander, Naval Investigative Command |
| Frederick J. Kenney | B.A. | 1981 | former American rear admiral and Judge Advocate General, U.S. Coast Guard |
| William J. Maddox Jr | B.A. | 1944 | Major General in the United States Army, commander of the United States Army Aviation Center |
| Paul T. Mikolashek | M.A. | 1982 | U.S. Army lieutenant general |
| Caral Spangler | B.A. | 1980 | Assistant Secretary, US Army |
| Donald A. Stroh | B.S. | 1915 | U.S. Army major general |
| Frances C. Wilson | B.S. | | retired Lieutenant General of United States Marine Corps; former president of National Defense University |

#### Law

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Rosemarie Aquilina | B.A. | 1979 | Judge of the 30th Circuit Court in Ingham County, Michigan, presided over the trial and sentencing of Larry Nassar |
| Dennis Archer | J.D. | 1970$^†$ | former president of the American Bar Association, the first African American elected to the position; former justice, Michigan Supreme Court; former mayor of Detroit, chairman of Detroit-based law firm Dickinson Wright |
| W. Scott Bales | B.A. | 1978 | Justice, Arizona Supreme Court |
| Debra Bowen | B.A. | 1979 | California Secretary of State |
| William L. Carpenter | B.S. | 1876 | Justice, Michigan Supreme Court |
| Robert Hardy Cleland | B.A. | 1969 | judge, US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan |
| Jeffrey Cummings | B.A. | 1984 | Judge, US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois |
| John F. Dean | B.S. | 1970 | first African-American judge, US Tax Court |
| Geoffrey Fieger | J.D. | 1979$^†$ | attorney for Jack Kevorkian; 1998 Democratic candidate for Michigan governor |
| John Warner Fitzgerald | B.A. | | former chief justice, Michigan Supreme Court |
| John D. Hutson | B.A. | 1969 | President, Franklin Pierce Law Center Rear Admiral (retired), U.S. Navy |
| Wallace B. Jefferson | B.A. | 1985 | first African American Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Texas |
| Kathleen Jansen | B.S. | 1971 | Judge, Michigan Court of Appeals |
| Kirsten Frank Kelly | B.A. | 1978 | Judge, Michigan Court of Appeals |
| Allan Kornblum | B.S. | 1958 | United States Magistrate Judge |
| Carlotta Walls LaNier | transferred | | Little Rock Nine member; real estate entrepreneur in Englewood, Colorado |
| Michael W. McConnell | B.A. | 1976 | former Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit |
| Allen B. Morse | Graduated | 1859 | Justice, Michigan Supreme Court, 1886–93 |
| Robert Ressler | B.S., M.S. | 1972 | criminologist, coined the term "serial killer" |
| Andree Layton Roaf | B.S. | 1972 | first African-American woman on the Arkansas Supreme Court |
| Kenneth Sanborn | B.A. | | lawyer whose key 1953 legal defense helped turn public opinion against McCarthyism |
| Virgil C. Smith | B.A. | | former state representative, senator, judge on the 3rd Circuit Court in Wayne County, Michigan |
| Kara Farnandez Stoll | B.S. | 1991 | judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit |
| Valerie Zachary | B.A. with honor | 1984 | judge, North Carolina Court of Appeals |
| †Graduate of the Detroit College of Law before its merger with Michigan State |||||

#### Public office

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Spencer Abraham | B.A. | 1974 | former U.S. Secretary of Energy and U.S. Senator from Michigan |
| Sandra E. Adams | B.A. | 1978 | rear admiral in U.S. Navy |
| Tylease Alli | B.A. | 2002 | Reading Clerk, Democratic, US House of Representatives |
| Abraham Aiyash | B.A. | 2017 | Representative 9th district, Michigan |
| George R. Ariyoshi | B.A. | 1949 | third governor of Hawaii |
| Adnan Badran | M.A., Ph.D. | 1961, 1963 | former Prime Minister of Jordan |
| James Blanchard | B.A. | 1964 | former Michigan governor (1983–1991); former Ambassador to Canada (1993–1996; appointed by President Bill Clinton) |
| Eljay B. Bowron | B.S. | 1973 | former director of the US Secret Service, chairman, co-founder, Torchstone Global, LLC, a security company |
| Augustus Caine | Ph.D. | | Secretary of Education of Liberia, 1965–1970 |
| Albert J. Campbell | attended | 1870s | representative, U.S. Congress, Montana 1899–1901 |
| Linda Chapin | B.A. | | first Chairman of the Orange County Commission in Florida; unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000 |
| Ted Chudleigh | B.S. | 1965 | member, Legislative Assembly of Ontario, (Canada) |
| Donald G. Cook | B.S. | 1969 | Commander, Air Education and Training Command, U.S. Air Force |
| Richard Cordray | B.A. | 1981 | Ohio State Treasurer (2007–2009); Ohio Attorney General (2009–2011); inaugural chief, United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2011–2017) |
| Charles Dwight Curtiss | B.S. | 1911 | former commissioner, Federal Highway Administration |
| Charles J. DeLand | B.S. | 1899 | Michigan Secretary of State, 1921-1926 |
| Nancy E. Dick | B.A. | 1951 | former Lieutenant Governor, Colorado, first woman |
| Emily Dievendorf | B.A. | 2001 | representative, Michigan House of Representatives, 77th district, first openly nonbinary Michigan state representative |
| Tony Earl | B.A. | 1958 | former Wisconsin governor, (currently on governing board, Common Cause-Wisconsin) |
| John Engler | B.S. | 1971 | former Michigan governor (1991–2003) |
| Bob Evnen | B.A. | 1974 | Secretary of State, Nebraska |
| Robert A. Ficano | B.A. | 1974 | former Wayne County (Michigan) Executive |
| Jason E. Hammond | B.S., M.S. | 1886, 1900 | former Michigan Superintendent of Public Instruction |
| Penny Harrington | B.A. | 1964 | former police chief; first woman to head a major US city police force (Portland, Oregon) |
| Jim Hill | B.A. | 1969 | first African American elected statewide in Oregon |
| Derek Hodge | B.A. | 1963 | former Lieutenant Governor, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Jennifer White Holland | B.A. | 2010 | delegate, Maryland House of Delegates for District 10 |
| Tim Johnson | | 1970–1971 | Democratic Senator of South Dakota (1997–present) |
| Don A. Jones | B.S. | 1933 | rear admiral and civil engineer who served as the seventh Director of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey and second Director of the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps |
| Lawrence Kestenbaum | B.A. | 1979 | attorney, politician, and the creator and webmaster of The Political Graveyard website |
| H. Stuart Knight | B.S. | 1948 | director of the U.S. Secret Service |
| Jerry Knirk | B.S. | 1974 | doctor and politician, served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives |
| Moussa Koussa | B.A. | 1978 | former Foreign Minister of Libya, 2009–2011 |
| Lee Wan-koo | M.S. | 1984 | Prime Minister of South Korea |
| Wilson Livingood | B.A. | 1961 | former United States House Sergeant at Arms |
| Chris Magnus | B.A. | | Chief of Police of Tucson, Arizona |
| Mark Mazur | B.A. | 1978 | former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of the Treasury |
| Eileen McNulty | B.A. | | government official, first woman Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality |
| Harry Moniba | Ph.D. | | vice president of Liberia, 1984–90 |
| William Penn Mott Jr. | B.S. | 1931 | former director of the National Park Service |
| Frederick H. Mueller | B.S. | 1914 | former United States Secretary of Commerce under President Dwight Eisenhower |
| Shahzada Jamal Nazir | B.A. | 1999 | former Federal Minister for the ministries of National Health Services, Religious Affairs, National Harmony, National Heritage & Integration, in the government of Pakistan |
| Bryan Newland | B.A., J.D. | 2003, 2007 | Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs |
| James S. Nunneley | | 1933 | former Republican member of the Michigan House of Representatives |
| Diane Pappas | B.A. | | Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives |
| Peter Rheinstein | B.A., M.S. | 1964 | former official of the Food and Drug Administration |
| Helen Rosenthal | B.A. | 1982 | New York City Council member, 6th District |
| Debbie Stabenow | B.A., M.A. | 1972, 1975 | U.S. Senator from Michigan |
| David A. Stockman | B.A. | 1968 | former director of Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan |
| Marta Suplicy | B.A. in Psychology | | Mayor of São Paulo, 2001–2004; Senator for São Paulo, 2010–present |
| Clay Tallman | B.A. | 1895 | commissioner, United States General Land Office, member Nevada State Senate 1909 to 1913, president pro tempore |
| Bob Traxler | B.A. | 1953 | U.S. Congress, Michigan, 1974–93; Mackinac Island State Park Commission, 1992–present |
| John P. Walters | B.A. | 1974 | former director, Office of National Drug Control Policy |
| Fred M. Warner | attended, did not graduate | 1880s | Governor of Michigan, 1905–1911 |
| Gretchen Whitmer | B.A., J.D. | 1993, 1998 | 49th Governor of Michigan, second woman to hold the position |

### Sports and athletics
#### Baseball

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Steve Garvey | B.A. | 1968 | former first baseman, Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Kirk Gibson | B.A. | 1979 | former manager, Arizona Diamondbacks; former outfielder, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Mike Marshall | B.S., M.S., PhD | 1965, 1967, 1978 | former closer for several Major League teams |
| Anthony Misiewicz | | | current pitcher, Seattle Mariners |
| Mark Mulder | B.A. | 1998 | former pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals |
| Dale Petroskey | B.A. | 1978 | President, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum |
| Robin Roberts | B.A. | 1947 | former pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies; Hall of Fame member |

#### Basketball

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Maurice Ager | | | former professional basketball player |
| Alan Anderson | | | former professional basketball player |
| Charlie Bell | B.S. | 2000 | former professional basketball player |
| Miles Bridges | | | professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets |
| Shannon Brown | | | professional basketball player with the Miami Heat |
| Ben Carter | | | professional basketball player in the Israel Basketball Premier League |
| Mateen Cleaves | B.S. | 2000 | former professional basketball player |
| Deyonta Davis | | | professional basketball player |
| Paul Davis | | | former professional basketball player |
| Draymond Green | B.A. | 2012 | professional basketball player with the Golden State Warriors |
| Johnny Green | | | former professional basketball player |
| Gary Harris | | | professional basketball player with the Denver Nuggets |
| Mark Hollis | B.S. | 1985 | former team manager; current athletic director |
| Jaren Jackson Jr. | | | professional basketball player with the Memphis Grizzlies |
| Earvin "Magic" Johnson | | | businessman and former Los Angeles Lakers basketball player |
| Greg Kelser | | | broadcaster and former professional basketball player |
| Erazem Lorbek | | | former professional basketball player |
| Kalin Lucas | | | professional basketball player Forlì of the Serie A2 |
| Matt Mazza | | | former professional basketball player |
| Adreian Payne | B.S. | 2014 | professional basketball player |
| Morris Peterson | B.S. | 2000 | former professional basketball player |
| Zach Randolph | | | former professional basketball player |
| Shawn Respert | B.S. | 1995 | former professional basketball player |
| Jason Richardson | | | former professional basketball player |
| Scott Skiles | B.S. | 1986 | former professional basketball player, former coach of the Chicago Bulls |
| Steve Smith | B.S. | 1991 | former professional basketball player; philanthropist |
| Eric Snow | B.S. | 1995 | former professional basketball player |
| Denzel Valentine | | | professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls |
| Sam Vincent | B.S. | 1981 | former professional basketball player |
| Kevin Willis | B.S. | 1984 | former professional basketball player |

#### Bodybuilding

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments | Reference |
| Colette Nelson | B.S. | | IFBB professional bodybuilder | |

#### Football

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Flozell Adams | B.A. | 1998 | former offensive tackle, Dallas Cowboys |
| Herb Adderley | B.S. | 1961 | former cornerback, Green Bay Packers; elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980 |
| Brian Allen | B.A. | 2017 | center, Los Angeles Rams |
| Denicos Allen | B.S. | 2014 | linebacker, Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Morten Andersen | B.A. | 1982 | former placekicker, New Orleans Saints; all-time leading scorer in NFL history |
| Fred Arbanas | B.A. | 1961 | former tight end, Kansas City Chiefs |
| Edwin Baker | B.A. | 2013 | running back, New Orleans Saints |
| Tony Banks | B.A. | 1996 | former quarterback, Houston Texans |
| Le'Veon Bell | | | NFL running back, Kansas City Chiefs |
| Larry Bethea | B.A. | 1977 | former NFL defensive end, Dallas Cowboys |
| Ed Budde | B.S. | 1963 | former offensive lineman, Kansas City Chiefs |
| Max Bullough | B.A. | 2014 | former NFL linebacker, Houston Texans |
| Derek Bunch | | 1985 | former NFL linebacker, Washington Redskins |
| Plaxico Burress | B.A. | 2000 | former wide receiver, Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Garrett Celek | B.S. | 2011 | former NFL tight end, San Francisco 49ers |
| Connor Cook | B.A., M.A. | 2014, 2015 | quarterback, Cincinnati Bengals |
| Kirk Cousins | B.A. | 2011 | quarterback, Minnesota Vikings |
| Demetrious Cox | | 2016 | safety, Carolina Panthers |
| B.J. Cunningham | B.S. | 2012 | wide receiver, Chicago Bears |
| Kellen Davis | B.A. | 2007 | former NFL tight end, New York Jets |
| Joe DeLamielleure | B.A. | 1973 | former guard, Buffalo Bills; elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003 |
| Darqueze Dennard | B.A. | 2014 | cornerback, Cincinnati Bengals |
| Tony Discenzo | | | former tackle, Boston Patriots and Buffalo Bills |
| Kurtis Drummond | B.A. | 2015 | safety, Houston Texans |
| T. J. Duckett | B.A. | 2002 | former running back, Seattle Seahawks |
| Billy Joe DuPree | B.A. | 1972 | former NFL tight end, Dallas Cowboys |
| Paul Edinger | B.S. | 2000 | former placekicker, Minnesota Vikings |
| Dixon Edwards | B.A. | 1990 | former NFL linebacker, Dallas Cowboys |
| Brandon Fields | B.A. | 2007 | former NFL punter, Miami Dolphins |
| Fou Fonoti | B.A. | 2014 | offensive tackle, San Francisco 49ers |
| Wayne Fontes | B.S. | 1961 | former coach, Detroit Lions |
| Bennie Fowler | B.A. | 2014 | wide receiver, Denver Broncos |
| Dan France | B.A. | 2014 | offensive tackle, Cincinnati Bengals |
| William Gholston | | | defensive end, Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Joel Heath | | | defensive tackle, Houston Texans |
| Tyler Hoover | B.A. | 2014 | defensive end, Indianapolis Colts |
| Brian Hoyer | B.A. | 2008 | quarterback, Houston Texans |
| Mark Ingram | B.S. | 1996 | former wide receiver, Philadelphia Eagles |
| Taiwan Jones | B.A. | 2015 | linebacker, New York Jets |
| Jeremy Langford | B.A. | 2015 | running back, Chicago Bears |
| Tony Lippett | B.A. | 2015 | wide receiver, Miami Dolphins |
| Keshawn Martin | B.A. | 2011 | wide receiver, Houston Texans |
| Derrick Mason | B.A. | 1997 | former wide receiver, Baltimore Ravens |
| Brandon McKinney | B.A. | 2006 | former defensive tackle, Indianapolis Colts |
| Jim Miller | B.S. | 2002 | former quarterback, New York Giants |
| Earl Morrall | B.A. | 1955 | former quarterback, Baltimore Colts |
| Muhsin Muhammad | B.A. | 1996 | former wide receiver, Carolina Panthers |
| Keith Mumphery | B.A. | 2015 | wide receiver, Houston Texans |
| Domata Peko | | | defensive tackle, Cincinnati Bengals |
| Julian Peterson | B.A. | 2000 | former linebacker, Detroit Lions |
| Javon Ringer | B.S. | 2009 | former running back, Tennessee Titans |
| Andre Rison | B.A. | 1989 | former wide receiver, Oakland Raiders |
| Trenton Robinson | B.A. | 2011 | defensive back, Washington Redskins |
| Charles Rogers | B.S. | 2003 | former wide receiver, Detroit Lions |
| Marcus Rush | B.A. | 2015 | linebacker, San Francisco 49ers |
| George Saimes | B.S. | 1963 | former safety, Buffalo Bills |
| Dion Sims | B.A. | 2013 | tight end, Miami Dolphins |
| Bubba Smith | B.A. | 1966 | former defensive end, Baltimore Colts; actor, Police Academy |
| Jeff Smoker | B.S. | 2007 | former quarterback, Arizona Rattlers |
| Drew Stanton | B.S. | 2007 | quarterback, Arizona Cardinals |
| Kevin Vickerson | B.A. | 2005 | defensive tackle, New York Jets |
| Trae Waynes | | | cornerback, Minnesota Vikings |
| George Webster | B.A. | 1966 | former linebacker, Houston Oilers |
| Tyrone Willingham | B.A. | 1977 | former wide receiver; head coach of Stanford, Notre Dame and Washington |
| Jerel Worthy | B.A. | 2012 | defensive tackle, Kansas City Chiefs |

#### Golf

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments | Reference |
| Emily Bastel Glaser | B.S. | 2002 | head coach of Florida Gators women's golf team; former LPGA Tour pro golfer | |

#### Gymnastics

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments | Reference |
| Stanley Tarshis | | | NCAA champion gymnast – horizontal bar | |

#### Ice hockey

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Justin Abdelkader | | | winger, Detroit Red Wings |
| Rod Brind'Amour | B.S. | 1989 | right wing, Carolina Hurricanes |
| Anson Carter | B.S. | 1996 | right wing, Carolina Hurricanes |
| Adam Hall | B.S. | 2002 | right wing, Philadelphia Flyers |
| Duncan Keith | | | defense, Chicago Blackhawks |
| John-Michael Liles | B.S. | 2003 | defense, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Donald McSween | B.S. | 1987 | defense, Buffalo Sabres |
| Drew Miller | did not graduate | | left wing, Detroit Red Wings |
| Kelly Miller | B.S. | 1985 | former left wing, Washington Capitals |
| Kip Miller | B.S. | 1990 | former forward, Washington Capitals; 1990 Hobey Baker Award winner |
| Ryan Miller | B.S. | 2002 | goaltender, Vancouver Canucks; 2001 Hobey Baker Award winner |
| Corey Tropp | | | forward, Columbus Blue Jackets |

#### Running

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments | Reference |
| Michael Wardian | | 1996 | marathoner | |

#### Soccer

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments | Reference |
| Jordan Gruber | | | American-Israeli soccer player | |

#### Olympians

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments |
| Fred Alderman | B.S. | 1927 | winner of gold medal in 4x400-meter relay at the 1928 Summer Olympics |
| Savatheda Fynes | B.S. | | winner of gold medal in 4x100-meter freestyle relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics |
| Linda Gustavson | B.A. | 1972 | winner of gold, silver and bronze medals in 4x100-meter freestyle relay, and 400- and 100-meter freestyle events at the 1968 Summer Olympics |
| Pam Kruse | B.A., M.A., PhD | 1973, 1975, 1979 | winner of silver medal in 800-meter freestyle at the 1968 Summer Olympics |
| Allan Kwartler | B.S. | 1948 | three-time Olympic saber champion |
| Howard Patterson | B.A. | 1950 | competitor in 100-meter backstroke at the 1948 Summer Olympics |
| Clarke Scholes | B.A. | 1952 | winner of gold medal in 100-meter freestyle at the 1952 Summer Olympics |
| Ken Walsh | B.A. | 1967 | winner of gold medals in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay and 4x100-meter medley relay at the 1968 Summer Olympics |

#### Mixed martial arts

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments | Reference |
| Rashad Evans | B.S. | 2003 | professional mixed martial artist; won The Ultimate Fighter 2, former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion | |
| Gray Maynard | | 2003 | three-time NCAA All-American wrestler; professional MMA fighter; former UFC Lightweight Champion | |

#### Wrestling

| Name | Degree | Year | Comments | Reference |
| George "The Animal" Steele | B.S. | 1960 | American professional wrestler, school teacher, author, and actor | |

## Faculty and administration
### Notable faculty
#### Arts and humanities

| Name | Tenure | Comments |
| Theophilus C. Abbot | 1858–1889 | Professor of English literature, president, State Agricultural College |
| Wes "Warmdaddy" Anderson | present | Associate Professor of Jazz studies, Michigan State University |
| Michael Dease | present | Associate Professor of Jazz Studies, Michigan State University |
| Henry R. Pattengill | 1886–1890 | Assistant professor of English |
| H. Owen Reed | 1939–1976 | composer, conductor, music theorist |
| A. J. M. Smith | 1943–1972 | Canadian poet and anthologist |
| Diane Wakoski | retired 2011 | Professor of Creative Writing, Michigan State University |
| Rodney Whitaker | present | Director of Jazz Studies, Michigan State University |

#### Science

| Name | Tenure | Comments |
| Selman Akbulut | 1986–present | mathematician specializing in real algebraic geometry and 4-dimensional manifolds |
| James C. Anthony | 2003–present | psychopathologist |
| Warren Babcock | 1891–1913 | Professor of Mathematics; secretary of the faculty, 1898–1913; second mayor of East Lansing |
| William J. Beal | 1871–1910 | developed hybrid corn; co-planned "Collegeville", the first subdivision in what later became East Lansing, Michigan |
| Marc Breedlove | 2001–present | neuroscientist specializing in steroid hormones and sexual behavior |
| John C. Holmes | 1855–1861 | horticulturalist; founder of MSU |
| Richard Lenski | 1991–present | microbiologist; conductor of the E. coli long-term evolution experiment |
| Robert Root-Bernstein | 1987–present | physiologist, author, MacArthur Fellow |
| Dennis R. Heldman | 1966–1984 | food scientist; Institute of Food Technologists President (2006–07) |
| Barry Pittendrigh | 2016–present | molecular biologist |
| Barnett Rosenberg | 1961–1997 | discoverer of cisplatin |
| Anatoliy Skorokhod | 1993–2011 | probabilist |
| Horst Stöcker | 1982–1985 | theoretical physicist |
| Walter M. Urbain | 1965–1975 | food scientist |

#### Social science

| Name | Tenure | Comments |
| Walter Adams | 1947–1992 | economist, former president of Michigan State (1969) |
| Mohammed Ayoob | 1990–present | professor of international relations and Muslim studies |
| Kent John Chabotar | 1972–1975 | political scientist; president, Guilford College |
| Robert C. Craig | 1966–1989 | professor in the department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education |
| Erich Fromm | 1957–1961 | psychologist and philosopher |

### Current administration
#### Board of trustees

Current Trustees :
| Name | End of term | Position |
| Dianne Byrum | 2025 | Chair |
| Dan Kelly | 2025 | Vice Chair |
| Joel Ferguson | 2021 | |
| Melanie Foster | 2023 | |
| Brian Mosallam | 2021 | |
| Renee Knake Jefferson | 2023 | |
| Brianna T. Scott | 2027 | |
| Kelly Tebay | 2027 | |

#### Head coaches

| Name | Tenure | Comments |
| Bill Beekman | 2018–present | athletic director |
| Adam Nightingale | 2022–present | men's ice hockey coach |
| Jonathan Smith | 2024–present | men's football |
| Tom Izzo | 1995–present | men's basketball |
| Suzy Merchant | 2007–present | women's basketball |

### Former administration
#### Presidents

| Name | Administration | Comments |
| Joseph R. Williams | 1857–1859 | first president of the college; lieutenant governor of Michigan |
| Lewis R. Fiske | 1859–1862 | Methodist minister; president of Albion College |
| Theophilus C. Abbot | 1862–1885 | professor of English literature; earned an LL.D. from the University of Michigan |
| Edwin Willits | 1885–1889 | former principal for the State Normal School; Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for the Cleveland administration |
| Oscar Clute | 1889–1893 | |
| Lewis G. Gorton | 1893–1895 | |
| Jonathan L. Snyder | 1896–1915 | |
| Frank S. Kedzie | 1915–1921 | |
| David Friday | 1922–1923 | |
| Kenyon L. Butterfield | 1924–1928 | |
| Robert S. Shaw | 1928–1941 | |
| John A. Hannah | 1941–1969 | Chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights |
| Walter Adams | 1969–1970 | |
| Clifton Reginald Wharton, Jr. | 1970–1978 | 11th United States Deputy Secretary of State |
| Edgar L. Harden | 1978–1979 | President of Northern Michigan University |
| M. Cecil Mackey | 1979–1985 | President of University of South Florida, President of Texas Tech University |
| John A. DiBiaggio | 1985–1992 | President of the University of Connecticut, President of Tufts University, |
| Gordon Guyer | 1992–1993 | Vice President for Governmental Affairs at MSU |
| M. Peter McPherson | 1993–2004 | Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury, Chairman of Dow Jones |
| Lou Anna K. Simon | 2004–2018 | John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor in the College of Education at MSU |
| John Engler | 2018–2019 | 46th Governor of Michigan |
| Satish Udpa | 2019–2019 | |
| Samuel L. Stanley Jr. | 2019–2022 | President of Stony Brook University |