List of Reed College people

This page lists notable alumni of Reed College.

This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Alumni

Academia

Walter Berns (receiving the National Humanities Medal)

• Clarence Allen, 1949 - Professor Emeritus of Geology, California Institute of Technology
• Jon Appleton, 1961 - Arthur R. Virgin Professor of Music at Dartmouth College, Visiting Professor of Music at Stanford University
• John Backus, 1932 - former Professor of Physics, University of Southern California
• Michael Balls, 1966 - Professor Emeritus of Biology, University of Nottingham
• Daryl Bem, 1960 - Professor of Psychology, Cornell University
• Louis T. Benezet, 1939 - former President, Colorado College
• Sacvan Bercovitch, (did not graduate) - Professor of American Literature, Harvard University
• Walter Berns, (did not graduate) - Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
• Charles Bigelow (type designer), 1967 - Professor of Type Design and Writing, Rochester Institute of Technology
• Robert A. Brady, 1923 - former Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley
• Robert Brenner, 1964 - Professor of History, UCLA
• Joan Bresnan, 1966 - Professor of Linguistics, Stanford University
• Robert A. Brightman, 1973 - Greenberg Professor of Native American Studies, Reed College
• Peter Child, 1975 - composer, professor of music at MIT
• Diskin Clay, 1960 - Professor of Classical Studies Emeritus, Duke University
• Kalman J. Cohen, 1951 - former Professor of Economics, Duke University
• Richard Crandall, 1969 - former Professor of Physics, Reed College
• Galen Cranz, 1966 - Professor of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley
• Ann Cvetkovich, 1980- Associate Professor of English at University of Texas, Austin; author of several books including "An Archive of Feelings: Trauma, Sexuality, and Lesbian Public Cultures."
• Donald Engelman, 1962 - Professor of Biochemistry, Yale University
• Kai T. Erikson, 1953 - former President, American Sociological Association and Professor at Yale University
• Allah Verdi Mirza Farman Farmaian, 1951 - Professor Emeritus of Biology, Rutgers University
• James D. Faubion, 1980 - anthropologist, Chair of anthropology at Rice University
• Janet Fitch, 1978 - Professor of Professional Writing, University of Southern California
• David Flory, 1964 - physicist. Fairleigh Dickinson University: Professor of Physics, Chairman of the Physics Department, and Director of the School of Natural Sciences.
• Ronald F. Fox, 1964 - Regents' Professor Emeritus of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Robert Frager, 1961 - noted psychologist
• Victor Friedman, 1970 - Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Balkan and Slavic Linguistics, University of Chicago
• Peter Dobkin Hall, 1968 - Hauser Lecturer on nonprofit organizations, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
• David H. French, 1939 - anthropologist and linguist
• Rose Friedman, 1930 - author, wife of Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman, and economist in her own right; left in 1930 after her sophomore year
• Mason Gaffney, 1948 - economist
• Volney Gay, 1970 - Professor of Religion, Professor of Psychiatry, and Professor of Anthropology at Vanderbilt University and Director, Center for the Study of Religion and Culture.
• Peter Gordon (historian), 1988 - Professor of History, Harvard University
• Ted Robert Gurr, 1957 - former Professor of Political Science, Northwestern University
• Loyd Haberly, 1919 - former Dean, Fairleigh Dickinson University
• Harry Harlow, (did not graduate) - former Professor of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Sally Haslanger, 1977 - Professor of Philosophy, MIT
• Carol Heimer, 1973 - Professor of Sociology, Northwestern University
• David Hoggan, 1945 - controversial historian
• Dell Hymes, 1950 - anthropologist and linguist
• Maurice Isserman, 1973 - Professor of History, Hamilton College
• Herbert Jasper, 1928 - former Professor of Psychology, McGill University
• Lewis Webster Jones, 1921 - former President of Rutgers University
• Dale W. Jorgenson, 1955 - economist, Samuel W. Morris University Professor at Harvard University, past president of the AEA and the Econometric Society
• Don Kates, 1962 - noted criminologist
• Gail M. Kelly, 1955 - anthropologist
• Daniel S. Kemp, 1958 - Professor of Chemistry, MIT
• Jeffery Kovac, 1970-Professor of Chemistry, Director of College Scholars Program, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• Lester Lave, 1960 - Professor of Economics at Carnegie Mellon University.
• Eleanor Maccoby, 1939 - Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, member of the National Academy of Sciences
• Brendan McConville, 1987 - Professor of History at Boston University
• Wallace T. MacCaffrey, 1942 - Pre-eminent scholar of Elizabethan England. Chaired the Harvard University history department twice.
• William D. McElroy, 1939 - former Chancellor, University of California, San Diego and former Director, National Science Foundation
• Dennis B. McGilvray, 1965 - Professor of Anthropology, University of Colorado
• Lisa Nakamura, 1987 - Professor at the Institute of Communication Research and Asian American Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• Victor Nizet, 1984 - Professor of Pediatrics and Pharmacy at the University of California, San Diego
• Eric T. Olson (philosopher), 1986 - Professor of Philosophy, University of Sheffield. Also taught at Cambridge University.
• Christopher Phelps, 1988 - Professor of History, University of Nottingham
• Mark Ptashne, 1961 - Professor of Molecular Biology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• Ray Raphael, 1965 - noted historian
• Diane Silvers Ravitch, (did not graduate) - Professor of History, New York University and Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
• Kenneth Raymond, 1964 - Professor of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley
• Barbara Reskin, (did not graduate) - Professor of Sociology, University of Washington
• Howard Rheingold, 1968 - information lecturer, University of California, Berkeley
• Lawrence Rinder, 1983 - Dean of Graduate Studies at the California College of the Arts, former Curator of Contemporary Art at the Whitney Museum
• Eleanor Rosch, 1960 - Professor of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
• Jay Rosenberg, 1963 - former Professor of Philosophy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Michael Rothschild, 1963 - economist, Dean of the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University
• Stephen Shapin, 1966 - historian and sociologist of science at Harvard University. Also has taught at the University of Edinburgh
• Sydney Shoemaker, 1953 - Susan Linn Sage Professor of Philosophy at Cornell University
• Guy Sircello, 1958 - Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Irvine and scholar of aesthetics
• John Alexander Simpson, 1940 - former Professor of Physics, University of Chicago and atomic scientist on the Manhattan Project
• John Sperling, 1948 - founder of the University of Phoenix
• Ross Starr, (did not graduate) - Professor of Economics, University of California, San Diego
• Richard Steinberg, 1976 - Chair in Operations Research at the London School of Economics
• Robert K. Thomas, (did not graduate) - Academic Vice President, Brigham Young University
• Nicolaus Tideman, 1965 - economist
• Gina G. Turrigiano, 1984 - Professor of Biology, Brandeis University
• Katherine Verdery, 1970 - Julien J. Studley Faculty Scholar and Distinguished Professor, Anthropology Program, City University of New York Graduate Center
• Tom Wasow, 1967 - Professor of Linguistics and Philosophy at Stanford University
• Jon Westling, 1964 - President Emeritus and Professor of History at Boston University
• Richard Wolin, 1974 - Professor at City University of New York Graduate Center

Arts/Entertainment

• Alaleh Alamir, 1982 - artist
• Jacob Avshalomov, 1941 - composer
• Alafair Burke, 1991 - author, Court TV commentator
• Kip Berman, 2002 - lead singer of The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
• Peter Child, 1975 - composer, professor of music at MIT
• Ry Cooder, 1971 - singer, songwriter; attended Reed for one semester
• Robert O. Cornthwaite, 1939 - actor
• Lamar Crowson, 1948 - pianist
• Barret Hansen, 1963 - the radio personality also known as Dr. Demento
• Rob Heinsoo, 1987 - game designer
• Pozzi Escot, 1956 - composer
• Johanna Fateman, (did not graduate) - musician
• Simone Forti, (did not graduate) - choreographer
• Hope Lange, (did not graduate) - actress
• Peter Mars, 1982 - artist
• Robert Morris, 1953 (attended two years) - sculptor
• Bill Morrison, 1985, avant-garde filmmaker, Guggenheim fellow
• Charles Munch, 1968 - painter
• Daria O'Neill, 1993 - Portland Radio and TV Personality
• Michael Paul Oman-Reagan, 1999 - artist
• Eric Overmyer, 1973 - screenwriter, producer, playwright
• David Reed, 1968 - artist
• Lawrence Rinder, 1983 - Director of the Berkeley Art Museum
• Brian Rolland, (did not graduate) - musician
• Leo Rubinfien, 1974 - photographer
• Susan Silas, 1981 - artist
• Pat Silver-Lasky - screenwriter and actress
• David Henry Sterry, 1978 - author, actor/comic
• Igor Vamos, 1990 - contemporary artist, member of The Yes Men

Food industry

• James Beard, 1923 - chef; expelled
• Mark Bitterman, 1995 - food writer and author
• Juliet Glass, 1992 - writer and food critic
• Steven Raichlen, 1975 - television chef, author

Government

Richard L. Hanna

• Josiah H. Beeman V, 1958 - former United States Ambassador to New Zealand
• Bud Clark, 1957 - former Mayor of Portland, Oregon
• Richard Danzig, 1965 - 71st Secretary of the Navy
• Chris Garrett, 1996 - member of the Oregon Legislature
• Richard L. Hanna, 1973 - United States Representative from New York
• Cordelia Hood, 1936 - former Office of Strategic Services and CIA agent
• J. Elizabeth Mitchell, 1991 - member of the Maine Legislature
• Norman Solomon, (did not graduate) - candidate for the United States House of Representatives
• Howard Wolpe, 1960 - former Congressman (D-Michigan)

Law

• George M. Joseph, 1951 - former Chief Judge, Oregon Court of Appeals
• Berkeley Lent, 1948 - former Chief Justice, Oregon Supreme Court
• Michael E. Levine, 1962 - Senior Lecturer at the New York University School of Law and Dean Emeritus of the Yale School of Management
• Hans A. Linde, 1947 - former Justice, Oregon Supreme Court
• Jessica Litman, 1974 - Professor of Law at the University of Michigan, legal advisor
• Jacob Tanzer, (did not graduate) - former Justice, Oregon Supreme Court

Literature

Barbara Ehrenreich

• Tamim Ansary, 1970 - author of West of Kabul, East of New York
• Doon Arbus, 1967 - writer and journalist, daughter of Diane Arbus
• Alison Baker, 1975 - writer
• Mary Barnard, 1932 - poet and Greek translator
• Margaret Bechard, 1976 - science fiction writer
• Don Berry, 1931 - writer
• Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, 1969 - poet
• Lee Blessing, 1971 - playwright
• Kate Christensen, 1986 - novelist, winner of 2008 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
• Jim Compton, 1964 - noted journalist at PBS
• Gordon Dahlquist, 1984 - playwright, novelist
• William Dickey, 1951 - poet
• Katherine Dunn, 1969 - author
• Elana Dykewomon, ca. 1971 - author
• Elyssa East, 1994 - novelist
• David Eddings, 1954 - writer
• Barbara Ehrenreich, 1963 - scientist, writer and social critic
• Nancy Farmer, 1963 - novelist, winner of National Book Award for Young People's Literature
• Elyse Fenton, 2003 - poet
• Janet Fitch, 1978 - fiction writer, White Oleander
• Debra M. Ginsberg, 1984 - author
• Shadab Zeest Hashmi, 1995 - poet
• Ernest Haycox, (did not graduate) - author
• Myrlin Hermes, 1997 - author
• Jemiah Jefferson, 1994 - author
• Laleh Khadivi, 1998 - author and writer
• Lisa Dale Norton, 1976 - author
• Caroline B. Miller, 1959 - author
• Adam L. Penenberg, 1986 - writer, professor of journalism at New York University
• Steven Raichlen, 1975 - author and writer
• Howard Rheingold, 1968 - writer
• M. C. Richards, 1938 - poet
• Sheila Rogers, 1980 - journalist
• David Romtvedt, 1972 - poet
• Vern Rutsala, 1956 - poet and writer
• Leslie Scalapino, 1966 - poet, publisher, and playwright
• Anya Schiffrin, 1984 - business journalist
• Robert Smith (journalist), 1989
• Gary Snyder, 1951 - Pulitzer Prize winner and poet
• Sally Watson, 1950 - writer
• Philip Whalen, 1951 - poet
• Lew Welch, 1950 - poet

Science and engineering

Steve Jobs

• John Alroy, 1989 - paleobiologist
• Allen Bergin, (did not graduate) - psychologist
• Arlene Blum, 1966 - mountaineer and scientist
• Theodore James Courant, 1982 - mathematician
• David B. Dusenbery, 1964 - father of Sensory ecology
• Thomas William Ferguson, 1965 - noted physician
• Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, 1950 - anthropologist
• Jonathan Grudin, 1972 - computer scientist
• Steve Jobs, 1976, (did not graduate) - Apple, Co-founder and former CEO; Pixar Co-founder and former CEO; attended Reed as freshman.
• Daniel K. Kim, 2001 - transportation entrepreneur
• Daniel Kottke, 1976 - computer scientist
• Arthur H. Livermore, 1940 - biochemist
• Jayne Loader, 1973 - writer and director; produced and co-directed The Atomic Cafe
• Steven McGeady, 1980 - technologist
• Peter Norton, 1965 - creator of the Norton Utilities
• Catherine Otto, 1975 - noted physician
• Keith Packard, 1986 - software developer; known for his work on the X Window System
• Norman Packard, 1977 - chaos theory physicist
• Mario Rabinowitz, (did not graduate) - former Baker scholar and physicist
• Edward Ramberg, (did not graduate) - physicist
• Pamela Ronald, 1982 - plant and agricultural scientist
• James Russell, 1953 - inventor of the compact disc
• Larry Sanger, 1991 - co-founder of Wikipedia
• Stephen C. Sillett, 1989 - botanist
• Sumner Stone, 1967 - type face designer
• Bruce Voeller, 1956 - biologist
• C. Howard Vollum, 1936 - founder of Tektronix, inventor of the edge-triggered oscilloscope
• Roger Perlmutter, 1973 - Noted Biotechnologist and former head of Research and Development at Amgen, Inc.

Other

• Yoram Bauman, 1995 - comic and economist
• Greta Christina, 1983 - blogger
• Mike Davis, (did not graduate) - activist and scholar
• Suzan DelBene, 1983 - former CEO of Nimble Technology and former Vice President at Microsoft
• Robert Friedland, 1974 - businessman
• Randall Giles, (did not graduate) - composer
• Peter S. Goodman, 1989 - journalist
• Max Gordon, 1924 - Owner of the Village Vanguard
• Christopher Langan - Described as "America's smartest man". Won a scholarship to Reed after earning a perfect SAT score, but dropped out eventually.
• Murray Leaf, 1961 - noted anthropologist
• Mukunda Goswami, 1961 - Hare Krishna guru
• Bill Naito, 1949 - Portland, Oregon civic leader
• Michelle Nijhuis, 1996 - journalist
• Emilio Pucci, 1937 - fashion designer and member of the Italian Parliament
• Harry Wayland Randall, 1936 - member of international brigades in Spanish Civil War
• Aaron Rhodes, 1971 - Human rights advocate
• Adam Riggs, 1995 - former president, CFO, Shutterstock
• Bernard Smith, 1949 - sailboat designer
• Genny Smith, ???? - publisher
• Peter Stafford, (did not graduate) - author and writer
• Michael Teitelbaum, 1966 - program director and demographer at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
• Sean Thackrey, (did not graduate) - winemaker
• Donald Niven Wheeler, 1936 - political activist
• Peter Zuckerman, 2003 - journalist and author

Fictional alumni

• John William Barry from David Guterson's The Other
• Bill McKay (Robert Redford) from The Candidate
• Harald Petersen, Reed '27 from Mary McCarthy's The Group
• Japhy Ryder from Jack Kerouac's "The Dharma Bums"
• Hunter Scangarelo - friend of Meadow Soprano in the television series The Sopranos
• Sierra from Megan McCafferty's Charmed Thirds
• Lambert "Sharkey" Somers, from Judy Blume's Summer Sisters