Notable Alumni of California State University-Chico

Don Young 1933–2022

Alaska U.S. representative for 49 years

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1958

Also attended: Yuba College

Mike Thompson 1951–

U.S. Representative from California

Master of Arts, Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1996

Lubna Khalid Al Qasimi 1962–

Emirati politician and former minister

Bachelor of Science · Computer science

Clair Engle 1911–1964

U.S. Senator from California

Attended until 1930

Also attended: University of California College of the Law-San Francisco

Annette Abbott Adams 1877–1956

First woman US Assistant Attorney General

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley

Matthew Axelson 1976–2005

Navy SEAL awarded the Navy Cross

Ed Rollins 1943–

Republican political consultant

Also attended: Solano Community College, Washington University in St Louis

Adnan Khashoggi 1935–2017

Saudi businessman and arms dealer

Sibling: Soheir Khashoggi (San Jose State University)

David Brevik 1968–

Blizzard North co-founder, Diablo series designer

Sandra Lerner 1955–

Co-founder of Cisco Systems

Also attended: Claremont Graduate University, Stanford University

Spouse: Leonard Bosack (University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University)

Mark Davis 1955–

Owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and Aces

Also attended: University of California-Davis

Father: Al Davis (Syracuse University, Wittenberg University)

Carolyn S. Shoemaker 1929–2021

Astronomer who discovered 32 comets

Spouse: Eugene Merle Shoemaker (California Institute of Technology, Princeton University)

Patrick Vaughan 1965–

Historian and professor at Jagiellonian University

Also attended: West Virginia University

Raymond Carver 1938–1988

Short story writer and poet

Also attended: California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt, Harvard University, Stanford University

Spouse: Tess Gallagher (University of Washington-Seattle Campus)

Amanda Detmer 1971–

Actress known for Final Destination

Also attended: New York University

Blaire White 1993–

YouTuber and conservative political commentator

Computer science

Suzette Haden Elgin 1936–2015

Linguist and science fiction writer

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1967

Also attended: University of California-San Diego, University of Chicago

Mat Kearney 1978–

American singer-songwriter based in Nashville

Matt Olmstead 1969–

Television writer and producer

Kathleen O'Neal Gear 1954–

Author and archaeologist, novels published in 29 languages

Also attended: California State University-Bakersfield

Spouse: W. Michael Gear (Colorado State University-Fort Collins)

Shirley Prestia 1947–2011

Television, film and stage actress

Kamshad Kooshan 1962–

Iranian-born American actor and filmmaker

Also attended: Holy Names University, San Francisco State University

Chris Wondolowski 1983–

Former soccer forward, MLS all-time leading scorer

Susan DeMattei 1962–

Mountain biker, 1996 Olympic bronze medalist