Notable Alumni of Carleton College

Jack Lew 1955–

Former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury

Also attended: Georgetown University, Harvard University

Melvin Laird 1922–2016

American politician and statesman

Bachelor's degree · Economics

Also attended: University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Max Baucus 1941–

Former U.S. senator from Montana

Attended until 1960

Also attended: Stanford University

William Benton 1900–1973

Connecticut senator and Encyclopædia Britannica publisher

Attended until 1918

Also attended: Yale University

Karl Mundt 1900–1974

US senator from South Dakota

Attended until 1923

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Rush D. Holt, Jr. 1948–

Physicist and former New Jersey US Representative

Bachelor of Arts · Physics · Class of 1970

Also attended: New York University

Ernest Lundeen 1878–1940

U.S. senator from Minnesota

Also attended: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Eugenie Anderson 1909–1997

Diplomat, first woman US chief of mission at ambassador level

Also attended: The Juilliard School

Chude Pam Allen 1943–

Civil rights and women's liberation activist

Spouse: Robert L. Allen (University of California-San Francisco)

Warren P. Knowles 1908–1993

37th Governor of Wisconsin

Bachelor's degree · Economics

Also attended: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Pierce Butler 1866–1939

Associate justice of the US Supreme Court

Robert Kastenmeier 1924–2015

Former U.S. representative from Wisconsin

Also attended: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Joseph A. A. Burnquist 1879–1961

19th Governor of Minnesota

Also attended: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Michael Armacost 1937–2025

Former US ambassador to Japan, Brookings president

Bachelor's degree · Government

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Ezra Levin 1986–

Political activist, co-founder of Indivisible

Also attended: Princeton University

Arthur G. Crane 1877–1955

20th Governor of Wyoming

Bachelor of Science · Class of 1902

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York, Teachers College at Columbia University, Minot State University

Thomas L. Hughes 1925–2023

Former director of State Department intelligence bureau

Cynthia Kierscht

US ambassador to Djibouti

Also attended: Harvard University

Fred Risser 1927–

Wisconsin state senator from 1957 to 2021

Also attended: University of Oregon, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Father: Fred Risser (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Ellen Anderson 1959–

Former Minnesota state senator

Bachelor's degree · History

Also attended: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Spouse: Andy Dawkins (Hamline University, Temple University)

Susan Golding 1945–

32nd mayor of San Diego

Bachelor's degree · Government

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Jerry Relph 1944–2020

Republican Minnesota state senator

Joseph Lian 1951–

Hong Kong media figure and politician

Also attended: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Robert Gottschalk 1918–1982

Inventor and co-founder of Panavision

Bachelor's degree · Miscellaneous

Arnold W. Donald 1955–

Former CEO of Carnival Corporation

Also attended: Washington University in St Louis

Thorstein Veblen 1857–1929

Economist and sociologist, author of The Theory of the Leisure Class

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1880

Also attended: Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University

Richard E. Stearns 1936–2026

Computer scientist, 1993 ACM Turing Award winner

Bachelor of Arts · Mathematics · Class of 1958

Also attended: Princeton University

Mary-Claire King 1946–

Geneticist who showed breast cancer can be inherited via BRCA1

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1966

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, University of California-San Francisco

Donella Meadows 1941–2001

Environmental scientist, lead author of The Limits to Growth

Bachelor's degree · Chemistry

Also attended: Harvard University

Spouse: Dennis Meadows (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Carleton College)

Walter Alvarez 1940–

Geologist who co-developed the asteroid dinosaur extinction theory

Bachelor's degree · Geology

Also attended: Princeton University

Father: Luis Walter Alvarez (University of Chicago)

Dennis Meadows 1942–

Co-author of The Limits to Growth

Bachelor's degree · Chemistry

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Spouse: Donella Meadows (Harvard University, Carleton College)

Anthony Downs 1930–2021

Economist specializing in public policy

Bachelor of Arts

Also attended: Stanford University

Anne Sewell Young 1871–1961

Astronomer and Mount Holyoke College professor

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Lynn Hunt 1945–

Historian of the French Revolution

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1967

Also attended: Stanford University

Lila Abu-Lughod 1952–

Anthropologist and Columbia University professor

Bachelor of Arts · Sociology, Anthropology

Also attended: Harvard University

Spouse: Timothy Mitchell (Princeton University)

Father: Ibrahim Abu-Lughod (Princeton University)

Gail Omvedt 1941–2021

American-born Indian sociologist and activist

Robert C. Allen 1947–

Economic historian, professor at NYU Abu Dhabi

Bachelor of Arts · Economics

Also attended: Harvard University

Eric Pianka 1939–2022

Herpetologist and evolutionary ecologist

Also attended: University of Washington-Seattle Campus

Robert Bergman 1942–

Chemist and professor at UC Berkeley

Bachelor's degree · Chemistry

Also attended: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Mary E. Byrd 1849–1934

Astronomer and pioneer college astronomy teacher

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1904

Also attended: Harvard University, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Oberlin College

Carl R. Eklund 1909–1962

Ornithologist, first scientific leader of Wilkes Station

Bachelor's degree · Biology

Also attended: University of Wisconsin-Madison

Ann T. Bowling 1943–2000

Geneticist specializing in horse genetics

Also attended: University of California-Davis

Jane Elizabeth Hodgson 1915–2006

Obstetrician and gynecologist

Bachelor's degree · Chemistry

Also attended: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Peter Tork 1942–2019

Bassist of the Monkees and actor

Jack Carson 1910–1963

Canadian-born American film actor

Zach McGowan 1980–

Film, television and voice actor

Bachelor's degree · American studies

Barrie M. Osborne 1944–

Film producer of The Lord of the Rings trilogy

Bachelor's degree · Sociology

Lincoln Child 1957–

Techno-thriller and horror novelist

Jessica Abel 1969–

Cartoonist, author and educator

Also attended: University of Chicago

Jimmy Chin 1973–

Mountaineer, photographer and film director

Spouse: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (Princeton University)

Laura Veirs 1973–

Folk and alternative country singer-songwriter

Geology

Andrij Parekh 1971–

Cinematographer and television director

Also attended: New York University

Spouse: Sophie Barthes (Columbia University in the City of New York)

Ross Lee Finney 1906–1997

Composer who taught at the University of Michigan

Bachelor of Arts · Class of 1927

Brian Freeman 1963–

Author of psychological suspense novels

Bachelor's degree · English

Patricia Wrede 1953–

Fantasy author of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles

Bachelor's degree · Biology

Also attended: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Kai Bird 1951–

Author and Pulitzer winner for American Prometheus

Bachelor's degree · History

Also attended: Northwestern University

John Hanson 1942–

Film director and cinematographer

Also attended: Harvard University

Pamela Dean 1953–

Fantasy author of Tam Lin

Bachelor's degree · English

Chris Kratt 1969–

Biologist, co-creator of Wild Kratts

Bachelor's degree · Biology

Sibling: Martin Kratt (Duke University)

Garrick Utley 1939–2014

Television journalist and first full-time TV correspondent in Vietnam

Also attended: University of Chicago

Sibling: Carol Marin (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

David Roback 1958–2020

Musician and founding member of Mazzy Star

Bachelor's degree · Film studies