Notable Alumni
They were smart when they got here, but they left with something more.
From authors to Olympians, CEOs to renowned scientists, actors to presidents, and public servants to business owners, William & Mary graduates have shown success in every field. Across the board, our highly successful alumni credit their experiences at William & Mary for shaping and inspiring their future work.
We count four U.S. presidents among our alumni — so far:
- Thomas Jefferson
- James Monroe
- John Tyler
- George Washington
And while it would be impossible to list them all — though there's a long list of our notable alumni on Wikipedia — here's a sampling of impressive folks we're also proud to call our own:
Entertainment
- Glenn Close '74, D.A. '89
- Actress: 101 Dalmatians, Dangerous Liaisons
- Majors: Theatre, Speech & Dance
- Jon Stewart '84, D.A. '04
- Comedian and television host: Host of The Daily Show
- Major: Psychology
- Charles "Chip" Esten '87
- Actor: Outer Banks, Nashville
- Major: Economics
- Bill Lawrence '90
- Creator of TV series: Ted Lasso, Scrubs
- Major: English
- Patton Oswalt '91
- Comedian, Actor: Ratatouille, The King of Queens
- Major: English
- Cord Jefferson '04
- Writer, Director: American Fiction, Watchmen
- Major: Sociology
- B.J. Minor '13
- Actor: Mike, Bel-Air
- Major: Government
Government/Public Service
- Robert Gates '65, L.H.D. '98
- Former U.S. secretary of defense, W&M's 24th chancellor
- Major: History
- Jen Psaki '00
- Former White House press secretary
- Major: English
- Nicole Lynn Lewis '03
- Social entrepreneur, speaker, author and founder & CEO of Generation Hope
- Major: English
- Walt Hickey '12
- Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and editor
- Major: Mathematics with a concentration in Applied Mathematics
- Brian Jenkins '16
- Executive director, Armed Services Arts Partnership
- Major: Religious Studies
- Ike Irby M.P.P. '17, Ph.D. '17
- Senior advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris
- Major: Marine Science
Business
- Joe Plumeri '66, D.P.S. '11
- Top 100 Most Influential People in Finance
- Major: History
- Rob Estes '74
- Ted Decker '85
- Chair, president and CEO of The Home Depot
- Major: English
- Michelle Horn '89
- Senior vice president and chief strategy officer, Delta Air Lines
- Major: Economics
- Mark Smucker '92
- Todd Boehly '96
- Co-owner and chairman of Chelsea Football Club, part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, chairman of MRC, which manages Billboard, Rolling Stone, and the Hollywood Reporter
- Major: Business — Finance
- Pocket Sun '13
- Co-founder and managing partner, SoGal Ventures
- Major: Business — Marketing, International Business concentration
Athletics
- Jill Ellis '88, L.H.D. '16
- Former championship-winning head coach of the U.S. Women's Soccer National Team
- Major: English
- Mike Tomlin '95, L.H.D. '08
- Head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers
- Major: Sociology
- Sean McDermott '98
- Head coach of the Buffalo Bills
- Major: Business — Finance
Sciences
- Ellen Stofan '83, D.Sc. '16
- Former director of the National Air and Space Museum, current under secretary for science and research at The Smithsonian
- Major: Geology
- Melissa Moore '84
- Chief scientific officer emeritus for Moderna Inc.
- Majors: Biology and Chemistry
- Tracy Camp Ph.D. '93
- Executive director and CEO, Computing Research Association (CRA)
- Major: Computer Science
Want to read more about what our alumni are doing? Check out the W&M Alumni Magazine.
