List of University of Idaho people

This is a list of notable alumni of the University of Idaho and a list of its presidents.

Academia

 * Ali Abdelghany - prominent Egyptian academic and marine biologist; Ph.D. '86

Administration

 * Jesse Buchanan - tenth president of the university (1946–54), previously dean of engineering; B.S.C.E. '27, M.S. '29
 * Lawrence Henry Chamberlain - former dean of Columbia College (1950–1958) and vice president of Columbia University (1962–1967); B.S. '30
 * C. Scott Green - nineteenth president of the university (2019– ); Class of '84
 * James Henry Meyer Chancellor of the University of California, Davis from 1969-1987; B.S. '47

Business

 * William Agee - business executive; Class of '60
 * Jack Lemley - construction manager for Europe's Channel Tunnel or "Chunnel," the undersea rail tube linking England and France; Class of '60
 * Frank Shrontz - former chairman and CEO (1986–96) of Boeing; LL.B. '54

Criminals

 * Anthony Curcio - former Vandal football player; real estate investor; masterminded one of the most elaborate armored car heists in history

Government
• Blaine Anderson - federal judge, U.S District Court (1971–76); U.S. Court of Appeals (1976–88); LL.B. '49

• Phil Batt - Governor (1995–99); UI chemical engineering student, withdrew in 1948 due to family hardship

• Roger Batzel - Director (1971–1988) of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; B.S.Ch.E. '47

• Terrel Bell - Secretary of Education (1981–85); M.A. '54

• Mary (Thomas) Brooks - Director of the U.S. Mint (1969–77); Class of '29

• Hamer Budge - U.S. House (1951–61), headed SEC (1969–71). J.D. '36.

• Roger Burdick - Idaho Supreme Court justice (2003– ); Chief Justice (2011–15, 2017– );  J.D. '74

• Pete Cenarrusa - longtime Secretary of State of Idaho; Class of '40

• Larry Craig - U.S. Senator (1991–2009); U.S. House (1981–91); Class of '69

• Daniel Eismann - Idaho Supreme Court justice (2001–17); Chief Justice (2007–11); J.D. '76

• Mark Felt - FBI special agent and associate director; Watergate informer "Deep Throat;" Class of '35

• Abe Goff - U.S. House (1947–49); later served on ICC; LL.B. '24

• Philip Habib - diplomat, special envoy to the Middle East under President Reagan; Class of '42

• Joel Horton - Idaho Supreme Court justice (2007–18); J.D. '85

• Dirk Kempthorne - Secretary of the Interior (2006–09); Governor (1999–2006); U.S. Senator (1993–99); Mayor of Boise (1985–93); Class of '75

• Gus Kohntopp - Colonel in the Idaho Air National Guard; identified as one of two 190th Fighter Squadron pilots involved in the 190th Fighter Squadron, Blues and Royals friendly fire incident - March 28, 2003

• Edward Lodge - federal judge, U.S District Court (1989– ); LL.B. '61

• Jim McClure - U.S. Senator (1973–91); U.S. House (1967–73); LL.B. '50

• Ray McNichols - federal judge, U.S District Court (1964–85); LL.B. '50

• Tom Nelson - federal judge, U.S. Court of Appeals (1990–2009); LL.B. '62

• Mike O'Callaghan - Governor of Nevada (1971–79); B.S., M.Ed. '56

• Sarah Palin - Governor of Alaska (2006–09); Class of '87, B.A. Communications

• Jim Risch - U.S. Senator (2009– ); Lieutenant Governor (2003–06, 2007–09); Governor (2006–07); Class of '65, J.D. '68

• Harold Ryan - federal judge, U.S District Court (1981–95); LL.B. '50

• Henry Lee Schatz - agricultural economist with the Foreign Agricultural Service; rescued from Iran in the Canadian Caper Class of '71, M.S. '74

• Steve Symms - U.S. Senator (1981–93); U.S. House (1973–81); Class of '60

• Fred Taylor - U.S District Court judge (1954–88); LL.B. '26

• Linda Copple Trout - first female Idaho Supreme Court justice (1992–2007) and Chief Justice (1997–2004); Class of '73, J.D. '77

• Jesse Walters - Idaho Supreme Court justice (1997–2003), chief judge of the Idaho Court of Appeals (1982–97); J.D. '63

• M. Elizabeth Ware, university administrator, government official, nonprofit leader

• Herman Welker - U.S. Senator (1951–57); LL.B. '29

• Compton I. White Jr. - U.S. House (1963–67); Class of '42

• Calvin E. Wright - Idaho State Auditor (1939-45), Democratic nominee for Idaho Governor 1950, Internal Revenue Service Idaho Director 1951-1973; Class of 1930

Journalism

 * Michael Kirk, documentary filmmaker and co-creator of Frontline; Class of '71
 * Kelli Johnson, sports anchor for NBC Sports Bay Area, Class of 1998
 * Otis Livingston, sportscaster for WCBS-TV in New York
 * David Neiwert, Seattle-based investigative journalist and blogger (Orcinus); contributing writer for the Southern Poverty Law Center; author of Of Orcas and Men: What Killer Whales Can Teach Us (2015); Class of 1984

Literature and the arts
• Rayce Bird - makeup and special effects artist; Season Two winner of SyFy's Face Off

• Holden Bowler - namesake of J.D. Salinger's character Holden Caulfield; soloist in the Robert Shaw Chorale; attended from 1931 to 1935, but did not graduate

• Carol Ryrie Brink - author; winner of the John Newbery Medal in 1936 for her book Caddie Woodlawn; Moscow native; attended UI 1914–17

• Canary Lee Burton - composer and classical music DJ

• Marilyn Denis - morning show co-host on CHUM-FM in Toronto, Ontario; host of TV shows CityLine and The Marilyn Denis Show

• Bill Fagerbakke - actor, television series Coach (1989–97); voice of Patrick Star on SpongeBob SquarePants; Class of '81

• Jim Lemley - Hollywood film producer; produced Wanted and 9; former CEO of Mel Gibson's Icon Productions International; Class of '88

• "Seanbaby" (Sean Reiley) - comedy writer and video game critic

• E.E. "Doc" Smith - science fiction author; wrote the Lensman series and the Skylark series; Class of 1914

• Brad Teare - painter and illustrator

• Bobbie Thomas - Style Editor for NBC's Today Show

• Rebecca Zanetti - romance novelist

Military

 * James F. Amos - Commandant of the Marine Corps (2010–2014); Class of 1970

Science

 * Steven Amstrup - polar bear researcher and conservationist; M.S. '75
 * Malcolm Renfrew - polymer chemist, inventor, and professor emeritus; contributor to the development of Teflon; Class of '32, M.S. '34
 * Bob Twiggs - Rocket scientist; inventor of the CubeSat technology; Class of '61
 * Thomas Mueller - American rocket engineer and rocket engine designer. He is a founding employee of SpaceX, a space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California

Olympics

 * Kristin Armstrong, cyclist; 2008 and 2012 Olympic gold medalist (women's time trial); Class of '95
 * Hec Edmundson, state's first Olympian in 1912 (7th in 800 m, 6th in 400 m); Class of 1910 (see entry under "Basketball")
 * Dan O'Brien, 1996 Olympic gold medalist (decathlon), three-time world champion; Class of '93
 * Joachim Olsen, 2004, Olympic bronze medalist (shot put) for Denmark and NCAA champion; Class of '02
 * Chris Stokes, five-time Olympic bobsledder for Jamaica; Class of '87
 * Angela Whyte, 2004 Olympic finalist (100 m hurdles); 2008 representative for Canada; four-time NCAA All-American; Class of '03

Baseball

 * Bob Dillinger - MLB third baseman; three-time AL stolen base champion; Class of '40
 * Frank Reberger - MLB pitcher (1968–72); Class of '66
 * Ken Schrom - MLB pitcher (1980–87); former Vandal quarterback; Class of '77
 * Bill Stoneman - MLB pitcher (1967–74); threw two MLB no-hitters; GM of L.A. Angels (1999–2007); Class of '66

Basketball

 * Steve Belko - head coach at Idaho State and Oregon; third commissioner of Big Sky Conference; also starred in football for Vandals; Class of '39
 * Hec Edmundson - basketball and track coach at UI and Washington; Class of 1910
 * Gus Johnson - NBA star (power forward) (1963–73); played for Vandals during the 1962–63 season; Class of '64
 * Gordon Herbert - played for the Vandals from 1979-82, subsequently played professional basketball mainly in Finland. Following this, he coached mainly in Europe, most notably winning the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup as head coach of Germany; Class of '82
 * Dan Monson - head coach at Long Beach State; formerly at Gonzaga and Minnesota; Class of '85
 * Don Monson - head coach at UI (1978–83) and Oregon; father of Dan Monson; Class of '55
 * Don Newman - head coach at Arizona State and NBA assistant coach (Spurs: 2002–12); Big Sky player of the year (1980)

Football
• Steve Buratto - CFL head coach for Calgary (1984–85) and British Columbia (2000–02); Class of '65

• Tom Cable - NFL head coach for Oakland (2008–10) and UI head coach (2000–03); Class of '86

• Spencer Folau - NFL guard (1997–2004); Class of '97

• John Friesz - NFL quarterback (1990–2000), 2006 College Football Hall of Fame inductee, 1989 Walter Payton Award winner; Class of '90

• Ken Hobart - USFL and CFL quarterback; Class of '84

• Mike Hollis - NFL placekicker (1995–2002); Class of '94

• Bret Ingalls - Offensive Line Coach for the New Orleans Saints; 27 years in college football; won 2009 Super Bowl XLIV in his first season with the Saints

• Mike Iupati - NFL guard; San Francisco 49ers' first round draft pick, 17th overall (2010–2020);  Class of 2010

• Shiloh Keo - NFL safety (2011–2017); drafted by the Houston Texans, Super Bowl title with the Denver Broncos; Class of 2011

• Tony Knap - head coach at Utah State (1963–66), Boise State (1968–75), and UNLV (1976–81); Class of '39

• Jerry Kramer - NFL Hall of Fame guard, Green Bay Packers (1958–68); author; five NFL titles and two Super Bowl wins; Class of '58

• Scott Linehan - NFL head coach for the St. Louis Rams (2006–08); former Vandal quarterback; Class of '87

• Don Matthews - CFL head coach (1983–2008); five Grey Cup titles, over 200 CFL wins; Class of '64

• Ray McDonald - NFL running back (1967–69); Washington Redskins' first round draft pick, 13th overall; led nation in rushing in 1966; Class of '67

• Sam Merriman - NFL linebacker (1983–87) for the Seattle Seahawks; Class of '83

• Yo Murphy - former NFL and CFL wide receiver; Class of '92

• Jim Norton - AFL all-star safety and punter, Houston Oilers (1960–68); Class of '60

• Doug Nussmeier - NFL quarterback (1994–97), 1993 Walter Payton Award winner; Michigan offensive coordinator; Class of '94

• Ryan Phillips - NFL linebacker (1997–2001); Class of '97

• Jim Prestel - NFL defensive tackle (1960–67); Class of '60

• Bud Riley - CFL head coach for Winnipeg (1974–77) and Hamilton (1982–83); Class of '52

• Jeff Robinson - NFL tight end and long snapper (1993–2005, 2007), Super Bowl win with the Rams; Class of '93

• Mark Schlereth - NFL guard (1989–2000) with the Redskins and Broncos; three Super Bowl wins; ESPN commentator;  Class of '89

• Jake Scott - NFL guard (2004–12); Super Bowl title with the Colts; Class of '03

• Lyle Smith - head coach at Boise State (1947–67) and its athletic director (1968–81); Class of '39

• Joel Thomas - running backs coach for the New Orleans Saints

• Korey Toomer - Linebacker at Seattle Seahawks; Class of '12

• Chris Tormey - head coach at UI (1995–99) and Nevada (2000–03); assistant at Washington and Washington State; Class of '78

• Mao Tosi - former NFL defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals (2000–2001); Class of '00

• David Vobora - linebacker for the St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks; 2008 Mr. Irrelevant; Class of '08

• Wayne Walker - NFL all-star linebacker, Detroit Lions (1958–72); sportscaster; Class of '58

• Marvin Washington - NFL defensive end (1989–99); Class of '88

• John Yarno - NFL center, Seattle Seahawks (1977–82); UI's first Div-I AP first team All-American (1976); Class of '77

Faculty

 * Current
 * Douglas Q. Adams - Emeritus Professor of English
 * Kim Barnes - Professor of English
 * Daniel Bukvich - Professor of Music
 * Ruprecht Machleidt - Professor of Physics
 * Daniel Orozco - Associate Professor of English
 * J. Michael Scott - Emeritus Professor of Fish & Wildlife
 * Jean'ne Shreeve - Professor of Chemistry
 * Jack Ernest Vincent - Emeritus Professor of Political Science
 * Robert Wrigley - Professor of English
 * Dev Shrestha - Professor of Chemical & Biological Engineering


 * Former
 * John Merton Aldrich - zoology
 * Darrell Bolz - agricultural extension
 * David Comer - electrical engineering
 * James Gill - painting
 * Gustaf Wilhelm Hammar - political science
 * Ralph C. Hancock - political science
 * Lawrence H. Johnston - physics
 * Robert Peters - creative writing
 * Malcolm Renfrew - chemistry
 * Vern Rutsala - creative writing
 * Roderick Sprague - anthropology and archaeology
 * David B. Steinman - engineering
 * Yvor Winters - creative writing
 * Gordon Woods - veterinary science

Presidents of the University of Idaho
The following individuals have held the office of President of the University of Idaho.