List of Oklahoma State University people

Academia

• George S. Benson, missionary, president of Harding College, and chancellor of Alabama Christian College^[1]
• T. J. Chung, engineer; professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville^[2]
• William Costello, animal scientist; professor of animal and range science at South Dakota State University^[3]
• V. Burns Hargis, president of Oklahoma State University^[4][5]
• Anita Hill, professor of social policy, law, and women's studies at Brandeis University^[6]
• Ramchandran Jaikumar, Daewoo professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School^[7]
• Hellen Linkswiler (1939), nutrition scientist and dietician; professor of foods and nutrition at the University of Wisconsin–Madison^[8]
• Linda Livingstone, president of Baylor University^[9]
• Sidney A. McPhee, president of Middle Tennessee State University^[10]
• Katherine O. Musgrave, professor emerita of food and nutrition, University of Maine^[11]
• Gene Nichol, president of The College of William and Mary^[12]
• J. Tinsley Oden, pioneer in the field of computational mechanics; professor of aerospace engineering, engineering mechanics, mathematics, and computer science at the University of Texas at Austin^[13]
• David Noel Ramírez Padilla, rector of the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education
• John R. Rice, mathematician, computer scientist; founder of ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software, and professor at Purdue University^[14]
• Steven A. Scott, president of Pittsburg State University^[15]

Art and architecture

• Tomur Atagök, feminist painter, musicologist, and author^[16]
• Chester Gould, cartoonist and creator of the Dick Tracy comic strip^[17]
• Randy Heckenkemper, golf course architect^[18]
• Regina Holliday, artist, medical rights advocate, and founder of the Walking Gallery and the Medical Advocacy Mural Project^[19]
• Donald Sechrest (1956), golf course architect^[20]
• Jerry Slack, golf course architect

Business

• William Allen, CEO and president of Phillips Petroleum Company^[21][22][23]
• Yussur A. F. Abrar, governor of the Central Bank of Somalia^[24]
• Minnie Lou Bradley, cattlewoman and matriarch of Bradley 3 Ranch in Childress County, Texas^[25]
• Walter Clore, viticulturist for Chateau Ste. Michelle; the "father of Washington wine"^[26]
• Gordon Eubanks, CEO and president of Symantec Corporation, makers of Norton AntiVirus^[27]
• John D. Groendyke, CEO of Groendyke Transport^[28]
• Clark Hallren, managing director of Clear Scope Partners; managing director of the Entertainment Industries Group of JPMorgan^[29]
• Frank A. McPherson, CEO of Kerr-McGee^[30][31][32]
• Abdusalam H. Omer, governor of the Central Bank of Somalia; CEO for the District of Columbia Public Schools^[33]
• Neal Patterson, CEO of Cerner Corporation^[34]
• T. Boone Pickens, business magnate and financier^[35]
• William A. Scroggs, insurance agent; founder of Kappa Kappa Psi^[36]
• M. B. "Bud" Seretean, CEO of Coronet Industries, general manager of the Atlanta Hawks^[37]
• Sanjiv Sidhu, founder of software giants i2 Technologies and o9 Solutions^[38]
• Tambra Raye Stevenson, nutritionist, founder and CEO of Women Advancing Nutrition, Dietetics, and Agriculture^[39]
• Charles Watson, chairman, founder, and CEO of Dynegy Corp.; owner of the Houston Aeros professional hockey team^[40]

Entertainment

• Keith Anderson, country music singer, songwriter^[41]
• John Ashley, producer (The A-Team, Walker, Texas Ranger)^[42]
• Hoyt Axton, noted rock and folk singer-songwriter and actor^[43]
• K. K. Barrett, Academy Award-nominated production designer^[44]
• Jason Boland, country music singer, songwriter^[45]
• Garth Brooks, country music singer, songwriter and actor^[46]
• Gary Busey, actor^[47]
• Jaime Cardriche, actor (Malcolm & Eddie)^[48]
• Sarah Coburn, operatic soprano^[49]
• Jay Daniel, television producer
• Burr DeBenning, film, television and stage actor
• Ty England, country music singer^[50]
• Dave Garrett, New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys radio broadcaster
• Doug Gottlieb, ESPN analyst and syndicated sports talk radio host^[51]
• Brandon Jenkins, singer-songwriter^[52]
• Siddika Kabir, cooking show host and cookbook author^[53]
• Trey Kennedy, comedian, actor, singer^[54]
• Ted Leitner, San Diego Padres radio broadcaster^[55]
• Rex Linn, actor^[56]
• James Marsden, actor and model^[57]
• A. Frank Martin, musician, educator, and founding member of Kappa Kappa Psi^[58]
• Sharron Miller, television producer, director, and writer^[59]
• Kinga Philipps, actor, television host^[60]
• Steve Ripley, country-rock artist and guitarist^[61]
• Lise Simms, television actress and designer
• Watermelon Slim, born Bill Homans, blues artist^[62]
• Emily Wickersham, actress^{[citation needed]}

Law

• Tina Glory-Jordan, Cherokee Nation supreme court justice, secretary of state, tribal councilor^[63]
• Anita Hill, lawyer, professor and commentator^[64]
• M. John Kane, chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court^[65]
• Steven W. Taylor, Oklahoma Supreme Court justice^[66]

Literature and journalism

• June Burn, pioneering magazine writer and author
• Ally Carter, author^[67]
• Aaron Gwyn, short story author and literary critic^[68]
• Helen Holmes, journalist, historian, and Women's Army Corps officer
• Pamela Morsi, author
• Larry Thompson, humor columnist, author
• Clifford Trafzer, historian and writer

Military

• John W. Doucette, brig. general, US Air Force
• Walter E. Fountain, United States Army brigadier general, assistant adjutant general of the Oklahoma Army National Guard, acting deputy director of the Army National Guard
• Roger A. Lalich, U.S. National Guard general
• Sidney Marks, major general, United States Army
• Virgil A. Richard, brig. general, US Army
• Ray L. Smith, major general, retired, United States Marine Corps; inductee of the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame

Politics

• Joe Allbaugh, Federal Emergency Management Agency director
• Adnan Badran, prime minister of Jordan
• Henry Bellmon, United States Senate and governor of Oklahoma
• Shella Bowlin, Cherokee Nation Secretary of State
• Francis Cherry, governor of Arkansas
• Tom Coburn, United States Senate^[69]
• Nam Duck-woo, prime minister of South Korea
• Mary Fallin, governor of Oklahoma
• Ashley Grant, Cherokee Nation Tribal Councilor
• John Paul Hammerschmidt, United States House representative, Arkansas
• Ali Hamsa, Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia
• Joel Hefley, United States House representative, 5th District of Colorado
• Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, Iranian diplomat and OPEC representative^[70]
• Frank Lucas, United States House representative, 3rd District of Oklahoma
• Clem McSpadden, United States House representative, Oklahoma
• Markwayne Mullin, United States Senate; United States House representative, Oklahoma
• Don Nickles, United States Senate
• Robert Dale Price, United States House representative, Texas Panhandle
• Jim Reese, member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture
• William Royer, United States House representative, California
• Kevin Stitt, current governor of Oklahoma
• Richard A. Waterfield, late state representative from Canadian, Texas
• Wes Watkins, United States House representative, Oklahoma
• Robert A. Whitney, acting Surgeon General of the United States

Religion

• Alan J. Hawkins, Anglican bishop and COO of the Anglican Church in North America
• William B. Oden, American Methodist bishop

Science, technology and engineering

• Horace Casey, electrical engineer
• Wally Funk, first female Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board inspector; one of the Mercury 13; oldest woman in space as of July 2021
• William Pogue, ret. colonel, USAF, NASA astronaut, pilot of Skylab 4
• John R. Rice, mathematician and computer scientist; founder of ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software
• Dr. H. Edward Roberts, engineer and inventor of the personal computer
• Stuart Roosa, NASA astronaut, Apollo 14
• Ingrid Skop, pro-life obstetrician
• Wei-Wen Yu, civil engineer

Sports

Baseball

• Jerry Adair, professional baseball player and coach^[71]
• Scott Baker, MLB pitcher, Minnesota Twins^[72]
• Jeromy Burnitz, MLB baseball player^[73]
• John Farrell, manager of 2013 World Series champion Boston Red Sox^[74]
• Josh Fields, MLB baseball player, Royals^[75]
• Joe Horlen, MLB All-Star pitcher^[76]
• Pete Incaviglia, MLB baseball player, Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball newspaper College Baseball Player of the Century
• Danny Perez, MLB outfielder, Milwaukee Brewers
• Allie Reynolds, MLB pitcher
• Rusty Ryal, current MLB infielder, Arizona Diamondbacks
• Luke Scott, current MLB outfielder, Baltimore Orioles
• Mickey Tettleton, MLB baseball player
• Robin Ventura, MLB baseball player
• Donnie Walton, current MLB infielder, Seattle Mariners
• Gary Ward, baseball coach

Basketball

• Tony Allen, NBA basketball player, New Orleans Pelicans^[77]
• Markel Brown (born 1992), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Michael Cobbins (born 1992), basketball player for Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Pete Darcey, NBA basketball player^[78]
• Marcus Dove, basketball player
• Joey Graham, NBA basketball player, Toronto Raptors
• Bob Harris, NBA basketball player
• Don Haskins, NCAA men's basketball coach, University of Texas at El Paso, subject of the movie Glory Road
• Anthony Hickey (born 1992), basketball player for Hapoel Haifa in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Henry Iba, NCAA and Olympic champion basketball coach, National Basketball Hall of Fame member
• Moe Iba, Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball coach
• Bob Kurland, basketball, two-time NCAA Champion, two-time Olympic Champion, Hall of Fame
• John Lucas, current NBA basketball player, Houston Rockets
• Desmond Mason, NBA basketball player, Oklahoma City Thunder
• Bud Millikan, basketball coach of University of Maryland, College Park
• Le'Bryan Nash, basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Doyle Parrack, NBA basketball player, and NCAA coach
• Bryant Reeves, NBA basketball player, Vancouver Grizzlies
• Bill Self, current NCAA basketball head coach, University of Kansas; head coach Oral Roberts University, University of Tulsa, University of Illinois
• Marcus Smart, current NBA player for the Boston Celtics, 6th overall draft pick in 2014
• John Starks, Oklahoma State basketball player, New York Knicks guard
• Eddie Sutton, men's basketball head coach at several schools, among them Oklahoma State
• Scott Sutton, head coach of Oral Roberts University basketball
• Sean Sutton, head coach of Oklahoma State University basketball
• Lindy Waters III, Oklahoma State basketball player, current Oklahoma City Thunder guard
• Darrell Williams, basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League^[79]
• Toby Wynn (2001), head women's basketball coach for Emporia State University

Presidents

Since 1891, 20 persons have served as president of Oklahoma State University or its predecessors with an additional 2 persons serving in an acting or interim capacity.^[114] The most recent person to hold the office is Jim Hess who was appointed the 20th OSU president in 2025 after serving in an interim capacity.^[115]

Notable and current faculty

• Girish Saran Agarwal, physicist
• Ai, poet; member of OSU English faculty until her death
• Hilton Briggs, president of South Dakota State University
• Elliott D. Canonge, linguist specializing in Native American cultures
• Robert P. Celarier, leading botanist and agrostologist
• Alfred Corn, poet
• Angie Debo, leading historian of Oklahoma and Native Americans; curator of maps for Oklahoma A&M library, 1947–1955; left her papers to OSU Library^[116]
• J. Frank Dobie, author; folklorist; taught English at OSU; most remembered for his service at the University of Texas at Austin
• Brian Evenson, academic and writer of both literary fiction and popular fiction
• Wolt Fabrycky, industrial engineering scholar
• Bryan P. Glass, mammalogist
• Elbert Glover, public health expert
• Edward Goljan, medical educator
• Toni Graham, fiction writer
• Jack Harlan, agronomist
• Riffat Hassan, Pakistani-American religious scholar notable for her studies of Islamic feminism
• Helen Holmes, journalist, historian, and Women's Army Corps officer
• William Jaco, mathematician; discovered the JSJ decomposition
• George Judge, economist
• Subhash Kak, computer scientist and public intellectual
• Sheldon Katz, mathematician and string theorist (now at the University of Illinois)
• Nicholas A. Kotov, noted chemical engineering professor (now professor at University of Michigan)
• Edmon Low, pioneering university librarian
• Bohumil Makovsky, director of bands; "the Guiding Spirit of Kappa Kappa Psi"
• Robert W. MacVicar, President of Oregon State University
• J. Tinsley Oden, pioneering scholar of engineering (now at University of Texas)
• Aimee Parkison, short story writer and novelist
• Christine Salmon,architect
• Mike Sowell, journalist and sportswriter
• Robert Sternberg, one of the twenty most-cited psychologists of the 20th century
• N.V.V.J. Swamy, mathematical physicist
• Paul J. Tikalsky, civil engineer
• Elsayed Elsayed Wagih, inventor of the zymoblot
• Joseph W. Westphal, political scientist, educator, and United States Under Secretary of the Army

Former and current athletic staff

• Larry Coker, coach of University of Miami
• Butch Davis, coach of University of Miami and Cleveland Browns
• Rickie Fowler, current player in the PGA
• Edward C. Gallagher, wrestling and track and field coach, physical education professor and athletic director
• Mike Gundy, former head coach of Oklahoma State University football
• Leonard Hamilton, current coach of Florida State Seminoles basketball
• Labron Harris, first golf coach at Oklahoma State University
• Henry Iba, basketball coach and athletic director
• Jimmy Johnson, current Fox sports analyst; coach of Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins; spokesman for Extenze
• Les Miles, Former head football coach of LSU
• Doyle Parrack, won national basketball championship under Henry Iba in 1945; assistant coach under Iba; head women's basketball coach, 1978–80
• Oail Andrew "Bum" Phillips, NFL head coach of Houston Oilers; assistant coach under Jim Stanley
• John Smith, current head coach of Oklahoma State University wrestling, two-time NCAA champion, 4X World and 2X Olympic gold medal winner, National Wrestling Hall of Fame member
• Eddie Sutton, basketball coach (also alumnus)
• Dave Wannstedt, current coach of Pittsburgh Panthers; coach of Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins