Notable and famous alumni

A legacy of recognized success, a record of transformative achievement

ASU has inspired a half-million master learners, alumni who thrive in nearly every country in the world. ASU graduates have generated headlines and helped solve society’s great challenges, in disciplines from the sciences to the arts, from sustainability to entrepreneurship and every category in between.

The alumni list is populated by international government leaders; U.S. governors, congressmen and senators; founders of companies; military-service pioneers; researchers in medicine, technology and sustainability; groundbreaking entrepreneurs, pioneering educators; entertainers and more.

Barbara Barrett

’72 BS in political science, ’75 MPA, ’78 JD

Barrett is a former U.S. ambassador to Finland and U.S. secretary of the Air Force. She has served on numerous boards, including those for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Smithsonian Institution. She is a noted businesswoman, philanthropist and pilot.

Herbie Behm

’13 BS in psychology

Behm is the head coach for ASU’s men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs. He was named Big 12 Men’s Coach of the Year and Big 12 Women’s Co-Coach of the Year for leading the Sun Devils to success in his first season.

Willie Bloomquist

’01 BS in management

Bloomquist is the head coach of the Sun Devil Baseball team. He played college baseball at ASU and went on to play in the major leagues for 14 seasons before becoming ASU’s head coach in 2021.

Marc Briggs

’02 BAE in secondary education (physical education)

Briggs is the head diving coach for Sun Devil Swim and Dive. As a Sun Devil, Briggs was a three-time All-American and a conference champion. He has been pivotal in rebuilding ASU’s diving program.

Michael Burns

’80 BS in political science

Burns serves as vice chairman of the board of directors of Lionsgate Entertainment, which he helped grow from an independent studio into a diversified global entertainment company. Burns played a key role in some of the studio’s most successful films.

Malissia Clinton

’90 BA in political science

Clinton is executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of Meritage Homes. She serves on several boards, including those for 3D Systems Corporation, the ASU Foundation and Howard University’s Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts.

Reka Cseresnyes

’99 BS in finance and purchase/logistics management
’01 MBA in international management, ASU’s Thunderbird School of Global Management

Cseresnyes serves as managing director of Magecon Kft., a professional services, business management and project development company based in her native Hungary. She was the first four-time All-American in Sun Devil women's tennis history.

Matthew Desmond

’02 BS in communication and justice studies

A MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” recipient, Desmond is the Maurice P. During Professor of Sociology at Princeton University. One of his books, “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City,” won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Critics Circle Award, among others.

Christine Devine

’87 BA in broadcasting

Devine is a Los Angeles news anchor and winner of 16 Emmys, including the prestigious Governors Award. She is in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication Alumni Hall of Fame and serves on the ASU Board of Trustees.

Kenny Dillingham

’13 BA in interdisciplinary studies

Dillingham is head coach of the Sun Devil Football team. In his second season, ASU was projected to finish last in the Big 12. They exceeded expectations, winning the Big 12 Championship. For this effort, Dillingham was runner-up for AP coach of the year.

Doug Ducey

’86 BS in finance

Ducey is the 23rd governor of Arizona. He is a former Arizona state treasurer, the former CEO of Cold Stone Creamery and was inducted into the ASU W. P. Carey School of Business Hall of Fame.

Missy Farr-Kaye

’90 BA in communications

Farr-Kaye is a three-time NCAA champion for ASU Women’s Golf. She’s received the ASU Alumni Achievement award and was named the WCGA National and West Region, Golfweek National and Pac-12 Coach of the Year.