The list of University of Houston people includes notable alumni, former students, and faculty of the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

. Class years usually indicate the year of a graduation unless an entry is denoted by an asterisk (*). In this case, the student did not graduate from the university, and the class year indicates the last known year a former student attended. In the case of alumni with multiple graduation years, the earliest graduation year is shown.

Legend

The following abbreviations and notes are used to represent UH schools and colleges:

Alumni

Academia

Arts and media

Architecture

, -

Entertainment and performing arts

Journalism

Literature

Visual arts

Athletics

Baseball

Basketball

Bobsled

Bodybuilding

Breakdancing

Football

Golf

Gymnastics

Swimming and diving

Tennis

Track and field

Volleyball

Business

Government, politics, and law

Government

Politics

Law and law enforcement

Religion

Science and technology

Astronauts

Other scientists and engineers

Other

Honorary degrees

Individuals who have received

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

s from the University of Houston include

Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), ''The Sandbox (play), The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), ''A Delicat ...

Donald Barthelme Donald Barthelme Jr. (pronounced ''BAR-thəl-mee''; April 7, 1931 – July 23, 1989) was an American short story writer and novelist known for his playful, postmodernist style of short fiction. Barthelme also worked as a newspaper reporter for t ...

, Irvin Borish,

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier (born 14 March 1949) was President of Costa Rica from 1990 to 1994. He was the presidential candidate of the Social Christian Unity Party for the national elections held in February 2010, but resigned his candida ...

, Ernesto Cortes,

Hugh Roy Cullen Hugh Roy Cullen (July 3, 1881 – July 4, 1957) was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Cullen was heavily involved in the petroleum industry having struck oil near Texas in 1928. He was a large supporter of multiple educational institu ...

Jan de Hartog Jan de Hartog (April 22, 1914 – September 22, 2002) was a Dutch playwright, novelist and occasional social critic who moved to the United States in the early 1960s and became a Quaker. Early life In 1914, Jan de Hartog was born to a D ...

Loretta Devine Loretta Devine (born August 21, 1949) is an American actress. She is known for numerous roles across stage and screen. Her most high profile roles include Lorrell Robinson in the original Broadway production of ''Dreamgirls'' (1981), Gloria Mat ...

Christoph Eschenbach Christoph Eschenbach (; born 20 February 1940) is a German pianist and conductor. Early life Eschenbach was born on 20 February 1940 in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) as Christoph Ringmann. His parents were Margarethe (née Jaross), a ...

, Cristina Rivera Garza,

David Gockley David Gockley (born July 13, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American opera company administrator. He served as general director of Houston Grand Opera from 1972 to 2005 and San Francisco Opera from 2006 to 2016. He was a student of Mar ...

, Glenn Goerke,

Barron Hilton William Barron Hilton (October 23, 1927 – September 19, 2019) was an American business magnate, philanthropist and sportsman. The second son and successor of hotelier Conrad Hilton, he was the chairman, president and chief executive officer of ...

, Eric Hilton, Gerald D. Hines,

Oveta Culp Hobby Oveta Culp Hobby (January 19, 1905 – August 16, 1995) was an American government official and businesswoman who served as the first United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1953 to 1955. A member of the Republican Party, ...

, William P. Hobby Jr.,

Philip Guthrie Hoffman Philip Guthrie Hoffman (6 August 1915 – 29 October 2008) was the fifth president of the University of Houston, and the first chancellor of the University of Houston System. While at the university, he was instrumental in obtaining state affil ...

, Brien Holden,

Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect who designed modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the postmodern 550 ...

, Edith Irby Jones,

Bob Lanier Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. (September 10, 1948 – May 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player. He played center (basketball), center for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). L ...

Jacques-Louis Lions Jacques-Louis Lions (; 2 May 1928 – 17 May 2001) was a French mathematician who made contributions to the theory of partial differential equations and to stochastic control, among other areas. He received the SIAM's John von Neumann Lecture p ...

Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957) Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American country singer and actor. Active since 1980, he has recorded 14 albums and released 25 singles to dat ...

Jim McIngvale James Franklin McIngvale (born February 11, 1951), also known as "Mattress Mack", is an American businessman. He is known for owning and operating the Gallery Furniture retail chain, based in Houston, Texas. Early life and education McIngval ...

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) served as the 50th president of Argentina for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as Peronism, Peronist, serving as President of the Justicialist Party for 13 years (from 1990 to 200 ...

, George P. Mitchell,

François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...

, John Moores, Robert Mosbacher,

Jim Nantz James William Nantz III (born May 17, 1959) is an American sportscaster who has worked on telecasts of the National Football League (NFL), NCAA Division I men's basketball, the NBA, and the PGA Tour for CBS Sports since the 1980s. He has ancho ...

, Edison E. Oberholtzer,

Rod Paige Roderick Raynor Paige (born June 17, 1933) is an American academic and politician who served as the 7th United States secretary of education from 2001 to 2005. Paige, who grew up in Mississippi, moved from college football coach and classroom t ...

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

Ruth Simmons Ruth Simmons (born Ruth Jean Stubblefield, July 3, 1945) is an American professor and academic administrator. Simmons served as the eighth president of Prairie View A&M University, a historically Black university (HBCU), from 2017 until 2023. Fr ...

, Dinesh Singh, Song Jian, Margaret Spellings, Ron Stone, Herman D. Suit,

Jack Valenti Jack Joseph Valenti (September 5, 1921 – April 26, 2007) was an American political advisor and lobbyist who served as a Special Assistant to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was also the longtime president of the Motion Picture Association ...

, Catalina Vasquez Villalpando, Welcome W. Wilson Sr., and

Daniel Yergin Daniel Howard Yergin (born February 6, 1947) is an American author, economic historian, and consultant within the energy and economic sectors. Yergin is vice chairman of S&P Global. He was formerly vice chairman of IHS Markit, which merged with ...

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''(Bold names indicate UH alumni.)''

Faculty and staff

Administration

Athletics

Government, politics, and law

Liberal arts

Performing arts

Visual arts

Science and technology

References

{{University of Houston, show=yes Dynamic lists * University of Houston people University of Houston people