Present major leaguers are Tom Candiotti '79, pitcher for the Los Angels Dodgers, and James Mouton '91, outfielder for the Houston Astros. Considering the student body numbered from 700 to 900 men until the 1970s, this is remarkable. Robert Hass '63 was named Poet Laureate in 1995, the first from the West. He frequently comes to campus to read from his work to appreciative audiences, and to teach master classes in the MFA program for creative writers. During World War II, the Navy virtually took over the campus for a Pre-Flight School.
Some buildings remain from that era.
Former President Gerald Ford taught at the school. Astronaut Scott Carpenter and actor Dennis Weaver were among the 16,000 students. On the Moraga campus, that name has been given to the food concession area in Ferroggiaro Quad. Two bricks from the Oakland structure are embedded in the outside plaster. The Sacramento Northern Railway brought students from San Francisco and Oakland, and proceeded on to Sacramento and Chico.