List of University of California, Los Angeles people

Film, television and theater

Journalism, media and news

• Gustavo Arellano – OC Weekly writer and author of the "¡Ask a Mexican!" column
• Jules Asner – entertainment journalist, television personality, and model
• Rudi Bakhtiar – national news anchor
• Errol Barnett – CBS News anchor
• Tony Blankley – commentator on The McLaughlin Group
• Cari Champion – broadcast journalist and TV personality
• Paul Colichman – founder of Here! cable TV network
• Iva Toguri D'Aquino – World War II radio propagandist, "Tokyo Rose"
• Hal Fishman – longest-running news anchor in American television; KTLA 5 News Los Angeles
• Josh E. Gross – publisher of Beverly Hills Weekly
• Todd Harris – sports announcer and reporter for NBC Sports
• Ezra Klein – blogger; journalist, Vox.com
• Flora Lewis – journalist with The New York Times
• Carol Lin – national news anchor; known for being the first news anchor to report on the 9/11 attacks, reporting for CNN
• Laura Ling – journalist with Current TV, notable for her detainment in North Korea
• Steve Sailer – blogger and journalist (VDARE)
• Ben Shapiro – conservative commentator, editor/founder of The Daily Wire
• Joel Siegel – film critic and television journalist
• Shirlee Smith – talk show host, columnist
• Marcus Stern – Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist

Law, government, and public policy

• Shahid Khaqan Abbasi – prime minister of Pakistan
• Farid Abboud – ambassador of Lebanon to United States
• Leslie Abramson – attorney, best known for the defense of Erik Menendez
• Senu Abdul Rahman – former member of the Malaysian Parliament, Malaysia's first Minister of Information
• Eugene Anderson – attorney
• Glenn M. Anderson – United States representative from California (1969–1993)
• Patrick Argüello – Nicaraguan-American revolutionary
• Howard Berman – member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Joseph Blatchford – third director of the United States Peace Corps
• Tom Bradley – mayor of Los Angeles (1973–1993)
• Joe Brown – television judge
• Janice Rogers Brown – judge for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals
• Vincent Bugliosi – attorney and writer
• Yvonne Braithwaite Burke – Los Angeles County supervisor
• John Campbell – member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Roel Campos – former commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (2002–2007)
• Cormac J. Carney – United States federal judge
• William George Carr – executive secretary of the National Education Association, 1952–1967
• Phil Carter – attorney, writer, and U.S. Army adviser in Iraq
• Benjamin Cayetano – governor of Hawaii (1994–2002)
• Judy Chu – first Chinese-American woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress
• Morgan Chu – attorney, intellectual property expert
• Frank Chuman – attorney and author
• Marcia Clark – attorney, lead prosecutor in O. J. Simpson murder case
• Margaret Hayes Clark – mayor of Rosemead, California, Rosemead City Council member, and great-granddaughter of U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes
• Johnnie Cochran – attorney
• Jeff Cohen – entertainment lawyer best known for work as child actor in The Goonies (1985)
• Lynn Compton – former judge for the California Court of Appeals; served as a commissioned officer with E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army
• James C. Corman – Los Angeles City Council member; member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• J. Curtis Counts – director, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
• Clifford B. Drake – Marine Corps major general
• Edmund D. Edelman – Los Angeles City Council member (1965–1974); Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors member (1975–1994)
• John Ehrlichman – assistant and counsel to the Richard M. Nixon presidential administration
• Elizabeth Emken – 2012 Republican U.S. Senate candidate
• Robert C. Farrell – journalist; Los Angeles City Council member (1974–1991)
• Keith Fink – attorney
• Dean Florez – member of the California State Senate, student body president at UCLA
• Vince Fong – member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Dolly Gee – U.S. District Court judge
• Kirsten Gillibrand – U.S. senator from New York
• Bruce Givner – played a minor role on the evening of the Watergate burglary
• Horace Hahn – assisted Justice Robert H. Jackson as an interrogator in the prosecution of Nazi war criminals at the Nuremberg Trials
• H.R. Haldeman – chief of staff for the Richard M. Nixon presidential administration; a key figure in the Watergate scandal
• James Day Hodgson – former United States Secretary of Labor and Ambassador to Japan
• Shawn Holley – member of O. J. Simpson murder case defense team
• Andrei Iancu – director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
• Lance Ito – retired judge, best known for presiding over the criminal trial for the O. J. Simpson murder case
• Frank B. James – U.S. Air Force general
• Mack E. Jenkins – former federal prosecutor
• Ysabel Jurado – Los Angeles City Council member
• Paul Koretz – former member of the California State Assembly; Los Angeles City Council member
• Alex Kozinski – judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
• Sheila Kuehl – former member of the California State Senate, California State Assembly, and current Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
• Jerry Lewis – member of the U.S. House of Representatives, chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations
• Calum MacDonald – former member of Parliament in the United Kingdom
• Roberto Madrazo – candidate for president of Mexico in the 2006 presidential elections
• Jim Matheson – member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Utah
• Tom McClintock – member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Tim McOsker – Los Angeles City Council member
• David McReynolds – activist and socialist political candidate
• Billy G. Mills – Los Angeles City Council member, 1963–74, Superior Court judge thereafter
• Marvin Mitchelson – attorney
• Lloyd Monserratt – California political and community leader
• Bill Morrow – member of the California State Senate
• Dorothy W. Nelson – senior judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
• Michael Newdow – plaintiff in Supreme Court case that challenged the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance
• Robert C. O'Brien – United States National Security Advisor
• Steve Parode – U. S. Navy rear admiral
• William R. Peers – U.S. Army lt. general best known for leading the army's investigation of the My Lai incident
• Daniel Petrocelli – attorney
• Harry Pregerson – judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
• Jennifer Rodgers – former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and CNN legal analyst
• Giora Romm – former deputy commander of the Israeli Air Force (IAF), director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel and of the Ministry of National Infrastructure
• Dennis Ross – U.S. diplomat to the Middle East
• Edward R. Roybal – member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• James M. Seely – U.S. Navy rear admiral and acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller) 1988–1990
• Robert Shapiro – attorney, part of defense team in O. J. Simpson murder case
• Brad Sherman – member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Thomas Shultz – U.S. Navy rear admiral
• Helen Singleton – civil rights activist and Freedom Rider
• Cheng Siwei – former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China
• William French Smith – former United States attorney general
• Todd Spitzer – member of the California State Assembly
• William R. Steiger – director, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services's Office of Global Health Affairs in the George W. Bush administration
• Ted Stevens – former senator of Alaska and alumnus of Delta Kappa Epsilon
• Peggy Stevenson – Los Angeles City Council member (1975–1985)
• Edward Tabash – constitutional attorney specializing in church and state issues; board of directors for the Center for Inquiry
• Robert Mitsuhiro Takasugi – federal judge
• A. Wallace Tashima – judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
• Alan S. Thompson – retired U.S. Navy vice admiral
• Rick Tuttle – Freedom Rider and Los Angeles City Controller
• Antonio Villaraigosa – mayor of Los Angeles; former Speaker of the California Assembly
• Joel Wachs – Los Angeles City Council member (1970–2001); president of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in New York City
• Francis B. Wai – Medal of Honor recipient
• Mimi Walters – member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Kim McLane Wardlaw – judge for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
• Diane Watson – member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Henry Waxman – member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Shirley Weber – Secretary of State of California
• Lezlee Westine – former director of the Office of Public Liaison (2001–2005)
• Harold Willens – Jewish American businessman, political donor, nuclear freeze activist
• Helena Wong – member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, lecturer at Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• Katsuo Yakura – member of the House of Councillors for Saitama Prefecture
• Zev Yaroslavsky (born 1948) – Los Angeles City Council member; Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors member
• Ehsan Zaffar – author; faculty; senior advisor on civil rights, U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security
• Ken Ziffren (J.D. 1965) – entertainment attorney, L.A.'s film czar (2014–present)

Sports

Hall of Famers in major team sports

National Baseball Hall of Fame

• Jackie Robinson (inducted in 1962)

Pro Football Hall of Fame

• Bob Waterfield (inducted in 1965)
• Tom Fears (inducted in 1970)
• Jimmy Johnson (inducted in 1994)
• Troy Aikman (inducted in 2006)
• Jonathan Ogden (inducted in 2013)
• Kenny Easley (inducted in 2017)

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Baseball

Basketball

American football / gridiron

Golf

• Patrick Cantlay – professional golfer
• Charlotte Mayorkas – professional golfer and golf instructor
• John Merrick – professional golfer
• Corey Pavin – professional golfer, 1995 U.S. Open champion, 2010 Ryder Cup captain
• Tom Pernice Jr. – professional golfer
• Monte Scheinblum – 1992 U.S. National and World Long Drive Champion
• Duffy Waldorf – professional golfer

Gymnastics

Association football / soccer

Tennis

• Arthur Ashe (1943–1993) – tennis player (ranked as high as # 1) and social activist; Wimbledon champion and member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Jimmy Connors (born 1952) – tennis player (ranked as high as # 1); two-time Wimbledon champion and member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Herbert Flam (1928–1980) – tennis player (ranked as high as # 4)
• Zack Fleishman (born 1980) – professional tennis player
• Allen Fox (born 1939) – tennis player (ranked as high as # 4) and coach
• Mike Franks (born 1936) – professional tennis player
• Justin Gimelstob (born 1977) – professional tennis player
• Julius Heldman (1919–2006) – professional tennis player was the National Junior Tennis Champion in 1936
• Anita Kanter (born 1933) – tennis player ranked in world top 10
• Tom Karp (born 1946) – tennis player
• Jeff Klaparda (born 1963) – professional tennis player, won the 1984 USTA National Amateur Clay Courts title
• Steve Krulevitz (born 1951) – professional tennis player
• Larry Nagler (born 1940) – tennis player, 1960 NCAA Tennis Singles Champion and Doubles Champion, in 1962 ranked 11th in the US in singles, inducted into the ITA Hall of Fame and the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame
• Kimberly Po – professional tennis player
• Brian Teacher (born 1954) – professional tennis player (ranked as high as # 7); Australian Open champion; and coach
• Eliot Teltscher (born 1959) – professional tennis player (ranked as high as # 6)
• Van Winitsky (born 1959) – professional tennis player ranked as high as # 7 in doubles

Track and field

• Evelyn Ashford – Olympic track and field athlete and multiple gold medalist
• Ato Boldon – Olympic track and field athlete 1997 200 meter World Champion and four-time Olympic sprint medalist
• Gail Devers – track and field runner; multiple Olympic gold medalist
• Danny Everett – Olympic bronze medalist in track and field
• Millard Hampton – track and field athlete, gold (4X100 relay) and silver (200 meters) medalist in the 1976 Montreal Olympics
• Dawn Harper – 2008 Olympics 100m hurdles gold medalist
• Joanna Hayes – Olympic gold medalist track and field 100 m hurdles record holder
• Monique Henderson – track and field runner; Olympic gold medalist in 4 × 400 m relay
• Rafer Johnson – several-time world-record holder in the decathlon, and gold medalist at the 1960 Summer Olympics
• Florence Griffith Joyner – Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in 100 meter race
• Jackie Joyner-Kersee – track and field athlete, multiple Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in the heptathlon
• Meb Keflezighi – Olympic silver medalist, NCAA championships and New York City Marathon winner
• Steve Lewis – Olympic gold medalist in track and field
• Andre Phillips – track and field athlete, 400 meter hurdles gold medalist in the 1988 Seoul Olympics
• Mike Powell – former track and field athlete, current coach and holder of the long jump world record
• Yang Chuan-kwang (also known as C.K. Yang) – former world-record holder in the decathlon, silver medalist in the decathlon in the 1960 Summer Olympics; first man to score over 9,000 points (using the tables at the time)
• Kevin Young – Olympic gold medalist in track and field, current world record holder in 400 meters hurdles

Volleyball

• Karch Kiraly – volleyball player and coach; only person to win Olympic gold medals in both indoor and beach volleyball
• Holly McPeak – beach volleyball player and Olympic bronze medalist
• Stein Metzger
• Sinjin Smith
• Elaine Youngs – beach volleyball player and Olympic bronze medalist

Water polo

• James Ferguson – 1972 Olympic bronze medalist, USA Water Polo Hall of Fame
• Natalie Golda – water polo player; Olympian
• Sienna Green (born 2004) – water polo Olympian
• Jillian Kraus (born 1986) – water polo player
• Adam Krikorian – water polo player and coach; won 14 national titles
• Monte Nitzkowski – Olympic water polo coach and swimmer
• Josh Samuels (born 1991) – Olympic water polo player
• Jovan Vavic – former head coach of the USC men's and women's water polo teams

Other

• Glenn Cowan (1952–2004) – table tennis player
• Lisa Fernandez – Olympic softball gold medalist
• Brian Goodell – swimmer; nine NCAA individual championships, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder
• Tommy Kendall – race car driver and television analyst
• Erwin Klein (d. 1992) – table tennis player
• Dan Kutler – Olympic swimmer
• Michelle Kwan – world champion figure skater; record nine-time U.S. National Champion
• Ken Pavia – former sports agent, founder of MMAagents Sports Agency, former CEO of India's first MMA Promotion Super Fight League
• Dot Richardson – softball player, Olympic gold medalist
• Mark Schultz (attended) – 3x NCAA Champion, Olympic and world champion wrestler
• Doug Shaffer – platform diving, U.S. National champion, NCAA Diver of the Year, head coach at UCLA, Minnesota and LSU
• Tim Thackrey – US National Team and Pan Am Games gold medalist

Miscellaneous

• Rodney Alcala – convicted rapist and serial killer active from 1968 to 1979, aka the "Dating Game Killer" for his successful appearance on The Dating Game
• Allen Cunningham – professional poker player
• Giada De Laurentiis – Food Network chef (Every Day Italian)
• Lori Dennis – interior designer and lecturer
• Chris "Jesus" Ferguson – World Series of Poker main event winner and poker professional
• Harvey J. Fields – Reform rabbi
• Jonathan Gold – Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic
• Kelly Goto – User experience design researcher and author of Web Redsign, Workflow that Works
• Stephen Francis Jones – architect known for high-end restaurant designs
• Kang Dong-suk – yachtsman, first Korean solo circumnavigator
• Jill Kinmont – educator, quadriplegic, alpine ski racer in the 1950s
• Ida B. Kinney – civil rights activist
• Ralph Lazo – civil rights activist, only known non-spouse and non-Japanese American who voluntarily relocated to a World War II Japanese American internment camp
• Nana Meriwether – Miss Maryland USA 2012, Miss USA 2012
• Donn Moomaw – Presbyterian minister, member of the College Football Hall of Fame
• K. Patrick Okura – Japanese American psychologist and civil rights activist
• Zoltan Pali – architect
• Brian R. Price – author, editor, publisher, martial-arts instructor of the Italian school of swordsmanship, reconstructive armorer, and dissertation fellow in history at the University of North Texas
• Ubol Ratana – princess of Thailand
• Eva Ritvo – psychiatrist, author and TV/radio personality
• Kelly Rondestvedt – hereditary princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
• Lila Rose – activist and president of Live Action)
• Daniel Thompson – inventor of the automatic bagel maker and the folding ping pong table
• J. Warner Wallace – homicide detective and Christian apologist
• Prince Chatri Chalerm Yukol of Thailand

Notable faculty

Nobel laureates

• Paul D. Boyer – professor of chemistry; recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• James M. Buchanan – professor of economics; recipient of 1986 Nobel Prize in Economics
• Donald Cram (1919–2001) – professor of chemistry; recipient of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Andrea M. Ghez – astrophysicist and professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy; in 2020, became the fourth woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics
• Louis J. Ignarro – professor of molecular and medical pharmacology; recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine
• Willard Libby (1908–1980) – professor of chemistry; recipient of the 1960 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) – mathematician and philosopher; recipient of the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Julian Schwinger (1918–1994) – professor of physics; recipient of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics
• Lloyd Shapley – professor of economics; recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Economics

Administrators

The following persons led the Southern branch of the University of California from 1919 to 1950 as provost, and after 1952 led the University of California at Los Angeles as chancellor:

Provosts (1919–1950)

Chancellors (1952–present)

Table notes:

Business

• Paul Habibi – professor of real estate and finance at UCLA Anderson School of Management
• Mark A.R. Kleiman – professor of public policy, noted expert on crime and drug policy
• William Ouchi – professor of management and best-selling author
• Richard Riordan – professor of business at UCLA Anderson School of Management

Law

Medicine

• Mario Deng – professor of medicine in the David Geffen School of Medicine
• Michael S. Gottlieb – first physician to diagnose AIDS
• Roberta Gottlieb – oncologist
• David Ho – AIDS researcher
• Sarah Meeker Jensen – FAIA, founder of Jensen Partners Healthcare Planning
• Howard Judd – menopause expert and medical researcher
• Martha Kirkpatrick (1925–2015) – clinical professor of psychiatry
• Kimberly J. Lee – reconstructive surgeon
• Linda Liau – W. Eugene Stern Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery
• Courtney Lyder – expert in gerontology; first black dean of the UCLA School of Nursing
• No-Hee Park, DMD, PhD – dean, UCLA School of Dentistry and notable researcher of oral (head and neck) cancer and aging research
• Patrick Soon-Shiong – executive director, UCLA Wireless Health Institute

Politics

• Michael Dukakis – professor of policy studies, former governor of Massachusetts and 1988 presidential candidate
• Al Gore – visiting professor, 45th vice president of the United States
• Larry Pressler – teacher and visiting fellow, former senator from South Dakota

Science and technology

• George O. Abell (1927–1983) – professor of astronomy
• Asad Ali Abidi – professor of electrical engineering; pioneer of CMOS RF circuits; member of the National Academy of Engineering
• Margaret W. "Hap" Brennecke – NASA metallurgist
• M. C. Frank Chang – professor of electrical engineering; member of the National Academy of Engineering
• Alonzo Church – known for the lambda calculus used in computing
• Steven Clarke – professor of chemistry and biochemistry; pioneer in protein repair in aging (L-isoaspartyl methyltransferase)
• Vijay K. Dhir – dean of the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science; professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering
• François Diederich – professor of chemistry
• Paul Eggert – professor of computer science
• David Eisenberg – professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and of biological chemistry; director of the UCLA-DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics
• Sergio Ferrara – professor of physics; co-discovered supergravity in 1976
• Rajit Gadh – professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; founder and director of UCLA Smart Grid Energy Research Center and Wireless Internet for Mobile Enterprise Consortium
• William Gelbart – professor of chemistry and biochemistry
• Andrea Ghez – professor of astronomy; expert in the Galactic Center and adaptive optics; Crafoord Prize recipient
• Sheila Greibach – professor of computer science, known for the Greibach normal form
• A. M. Harun-ar-Rashid – physicist; member, Nobel Committee for Physics
• Steve Horvath – professor of human genetics
• Kendall Houk – professor of chemistry
• Tatsuo Itoh – professor of electrical engineering; member of the National Academy of Engineering
• Michael E. Jung – professor of chemistry
• Richard Kaner – professor of chemistry
• Alan Kay – professor of computer science; Turing Award laureate
• John Kim – professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; member of the National Academy of Engineering
• Margaret Kivelson – professor of space physics; expert in planetary magnetospheres; member of the National Academy of Sciences
• Leonard Kleinrock – professor of computer science; Internet pioneer; recipient of the 2007 National Medal of Science
• William Scott Klug – professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; killed in the 2016 UCLA shooting
• Raphael David Levine – professor of chemistry
• Tung Hua Lin – professor of civil and environmental engineering; designer of China's first twin-engine aircraft
• Seymour Lubetzky – professor of library and information science
• Donald A. Martin – professor of mathematics and philosophy
• Mildred Esther Mathias – professor of botany (1962 – 1974), eponym of the campus' Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden
• William V. Mayer – professor of zoology
• Carlo Montemagno – associate director, California Nanosystems Institute; founding department chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering; Carol and Roy Doumani Professor of Biomedical Engineering (2001–2006); "father of bionanotechnology"
• Debra A. Murphy – professor emerita at the University of California, Los Angeles in the Department of Psychiatry
• Henry John Orchard – professor of electrical engineering; pioneer of the field of filter design
• Mangalore Anantha Pai – power engineer, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar laureate
• Stott Parker – professor of computer science
• Judea Pearl – professor of computer science; pioneer of Bayesian networks and the probabilistic approach to artificial intelligence; Turing Award laureate
• Roberto Peccei – professor of physics; former dean of the UCLA Division of Physical Sciences; Sakurai Prize recipient
• Theodore M. Porter – professor of history of science
• Abraham Robinson – professor of mathematics and philosophy
• Leonard H. Rome – professor of biochemistry; former dean of the medical school
• Joseph Rudnick – professor of physics; former dean of the UCLA Division of Physical Sciences
• Amit Sahai – professor of computer science
• Arnold Scheibel – professor of psychiatry and neuroanatomy
• Lloyd Shapley – professor of mathematics; known for the Shapley value in game theory
• Elizabeth Stern – professor of epidemiology
• Ernst G. Straus – professor of mathematics
• Terence Tao – professor of mathematics; Fields Medalist in 2006; Crafoord Prize recipient
• Sarah Tolbert – professor of chemistry
• Jean L. Turner – professor of astronomy and physics
• Edward Wright – professor of astronomy; expert in cosmology and infrared astronomy; member of the National Academy of Sciences
• Jeffrey Zink – professor of chemistry and biochemistry

Social science, arts and humanities

• Rogers Albritton – late professor of philosophy
• Perry Anderson – Marxist historian; professor emeritus of History and Sociology
• Carol Aneshensel – sociologist; professor and vice chair for the Department of Community Health Sciences in the School of Public Health
• Joyce Appleby – U.S. historian; specialist in intellectual history and the legacy of liberalism
• Ann Bergren – professor of Greek literature, winner in 1988 of the university's Distinguished Teaching Award
• William Bodiford – professor of Japanese and Buddhist studies
• James M. Buchanan – professor of economics; recipient of 1986 Nobel Prize in Economics
• Tyler Burge – professor, fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Kenny Burrell – professor of jazz studies; jazz guitarist and composer
• Rudolf Carnap – late professor of the philosophy of language
• Sue-Ellen Case – professor of critical studies in theater
• Alonzo Church – pioneer in the philosophy of language and computer science
• James Smoot Coleman – Africanist; founded the UCLA African Studies Center
• Brian Copenhaver – emeritus historian of philosophy
• Denis Cosgrove – Alexander von Humboldt Professor of Geography
• James Cuno – director of the Grunwald Center for Graphic Arts at the Hammer Museum
• Angela Davis – assistant professor of philosophy, fired in 1969 by the Board of Regents and California Governor Ronald Reagan for her membership in the Communist Party
• Jared Diamond – professor of geography and physiology, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies
• Keith Donnellan – late professor of philosophy
• Annalisa Enrile – clinical professor and social worker
• Frederick Erickson – professor emeritus of educational anthropology
• Kit Fine – former professor of philosophy
• Philippa Foot – late professor of philosophy
• Steven Forness – Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
• Andrea Fraser – professor of interdisciplinary studio
• Saul Friedländer – European historian; specialist in Holocaust studies
• Lukas Foss – late professor of music composition
• Lowell Gallagher – literary theorist
• James Gimzewski – physicist and nanotechnology pioneer
• Carlo Ginzburg – European historian; pioneer of microhistory
• Juan Gómez-Quiñones – U.S. historian; specialist in Chicano history
• Lev Hakak – professor of Hebrew Language and Literature at UCLA
• N. Katherine Hayles – literary critic
• Barbara Herman – professor of philosophy
• James N. Hill (1934–1997) – processualist archaeologist
• Thomas Hines – architectural historian; professor emeritus
• Darnell Hunt (PhD UCLA) – professor of Sociology and African American Studies, dean of Social Sciences
• Neil Peter Jampolis – professor of theater design; Tony Award-winning designer; director and designer of theater, dance, and opera
• Donald Kalish – late professor of philosophy
• Abraham Kaplan – late professor of philosophy
• David Kaplan – professor of the philosophy of language
• Edmond Keller – professor of political science; Africanist
• Harold Kelley (1921–2003) – professor of psychology; social psychologist
• Robin Kelley (PhD UCLA 1987) – distinguished professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History at UCLA
• Mark Kleiman – professor of public policy, expert on crime and drug policy
• Peter Kollock (1959–2009) – associate professor of sociology, specialist in collaboration and online participation in virtual communities
• Barbara Kruger – professor of new genres, recipient of the Leone D’Or award from the Venice Biennale
• Peter Ladefoged – professor of linguistics, specialist in phonetics
• Deborah Nadoolman Landis – professor of costume design; Oscar-nominated costume designer of Coming to America; founding director of the David C. Copley Center for Costume Design
• David Kellogg Lewis – former assistant professor of philosophy
• Ole Ivar Lovaas – professor of psychology, specialist in applied behavior analysis therapy for autism
• Michael Mann – professor of sociology; author of The Sources of Social Power volumes I and II
• Mwesa Isaiah Mapoma – Zambian musicologist
• Julián Marías – philosopher, opponent of Francisco Franco, author of History of Philosophy
• Valerie Matsumoto – historian specializing in Asian American history
• Thom Mayne – professor of architecture, architect, co-founder of firm named Morphosis
• Susan McClary – musicologist; prominent in the new-musicology movement; MacArthur Fellow; works have been translated into over twelve languages; wrote Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality
• Vasa Mihich – professor of design and media arts; artist and sculptor
• Richard Montague – late professor of philosophy
• Charles Moore – professor of architecture, author and architect, Beverly Hills Civic Center
• Richard Thacker Morris (1917–1981) – chairman of the sociology department, author
• Donald Neuen – professor of choral studies; conductor; apprentice of Robert Shaw
• Calvin Normore – professor of philosophy
• Karen Orren – professor of political science; noted for her work in American political development
• Catherine Opie – professor of photography and recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship
• Terence Parsons – professor of philosophy
• John Perry – former professor of philosophy
• Lari Pittman – distinguished professor of painting
• Hans Reichenbach – late professor of philosophy
• Amy Richlin – professor in Department of Classics
• Amy Rowat – associate professor of biophysics and Marcie H. Rothman Presidential Chair in Food Studies
• Walter H. Rubsamen – professor of musicology
• Teofilo Ruiz – European historian; specialist in medieval history
• Bertrand Russell – former professor of philosophy; taught as a guest lecturer for one year
• David Schaberg – dean of Humanities
• Arnold Schoenberg – professor of music; composer
• Seana Shiffrin – professor of philosophy and law known for her work in legal and moral philosophy
• Leo Smit – late professor in music
• Thomas Sowell – professor of economics
• Shelley Taylor – professor of psychology; social psychologist
• Dominic Thomas – chair of the department of French and Francophone Studies at UCLA
• Helen B. Thompson – professor of home economics
• Amy Villarejo – chair of the Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media; professor
• Josef von Sternberg – taught film aesthetics
• Eugen Weber – historian; author of Peasants Into Frenchmen
• Luc E. Weber – rector emeritus of the University of Geneva
• Dixon Wecter – professor of English (1939–1945)
• Louis Jolyon West – professor of psychiatry; specialist in brainwashing
• Gerald Wilson – professor of ethnomusicology, jazz studies; jazz composer, arranger and musician
• Eugene Victor Wolfenstein – professor of political science; author of Psychoanalytic-Marxism: Groundwork
• Roy Bin Wong – professor of history; pioneer in modern Chinese economic history
• Medha Yodh – professor of classical Indian dance
• John Zaller – political scientist; author of The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion
• Amy Zegart – professor of public policy and U.S. intelligence analyst; author of Spying Blind

Athletics

Athletic directors

• Fred Cozens – director of Physical Education and Athletics (1919–1942), first basketball (1919–1921) and football (1919) head coach
• Dan Guerrero, B.A. 1974 – athletic director (2002–2020)
• Martin Jarmond – athletic director (2020–present)
• Wilbur Johns, 1925 – athletic director (1948–1963), men's basketball head coach (1939–1948), basketball player
• J. D. Morgan – athletic director (1963–1979), head tennis coach (1949–1966), tennis player (1938–1941)

Basketball coaches

• Steve Alford – men's basketball head coach (2013–2018)
• Frank Arnold – men's basketball assistant coach (1971–1975)
• Gene Bartow – men's basketball head coach (1975–1977)
• Larry Brown – men's basketball head coach (1979–1981), member of the Basketball Hall of Fame
• Tasha Butts – women's basketball assistant coach
• Nikki Caldwell – women's basketball head coach (2008–2011)
• Cori Close – women's basketball head coach (2011–present), women's basketball head coach (1993–1995)
• Mick Cronin – men's basketball head coach (2019–present)
• Denny Crum, 1958 – men's basketball assistant coach (1963–1971), player (1956–1958), member of the Basketball Hall of Fame
• Gary Cunningham – men's basketball head coach (1977–1979), basketball player (1960–1962)
• Donny Daniels – men's basketball assistant coach (2003–2010)
• Larry Farmer – men's basketball head coach (1981–1984), basketball player (1970–1973)
• Mark Gottfried – men's basketball assistant coach (1987–1995)
• Jim Harrick – men's basketball head coach (1988–1996)
• Walt Hazzard – men's basketball head coach (1984–1988), basketball player (1961–1964), NBA and Olympic player
• Jack Hirsch – men's basketball assistant coach (1984–1988), player (1961–1964)
• Brad Holland, B.A. 1979 – men's basketball assistant coach (1988–1992), player (1975–1979)
• Michael Holton – men's basketball assistant coach (1996–2001), player (1979–1983)
• Ben Howland – men's basketball head coach (2003–2013); 2006 Pac-10 Coach of the Year
• Chad Kammerer – men's basketball assistant coach
• Kerry Keating – men's basketball assistant coach (2003–2007)
• Steve Lavin – men's basketball head coach (1996–2003)
• Gerald Madkins – men's basketball assistant coach, player
• Philip Mathews – men's basketball assistant coach (2010–2013)
• Billie Moore – women's basketball head coach (1977–1993), member of the Basketball Hall of Fame
• Kevin O'Connor – men's basketball assistant coach (1979–1984)
• Kathy Olivier – women's basketball head coach (1993–2008), women's basketball head coach (1986–1993)
• Lorenzo Romar – men's basketball assistant coach (1992–1996)
• Jim Saia – men's basketball assistant coach (1996–2003)
• Ivo Simović – men's basketball assistant coach (2022–2023)
• Kenny Washington – first women's basketball head coach (1974), basketball player (1963–1966)
• Greg White – men's basketball assistant coach (1995–1996)
• Sidney Wicks – men's basketball assistant coach (1984–1988), player (1968–1971)
• John Wooden – men's basketball head coach (1948–1975), won 10 NCAA championships, member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and coach
• Caddy Works – men's basketball head coach (1921–1939)
• Ernie Zeigler – men's basketball assistant coach (2003–2006)

Football coaches

• Sal Alosi – strength and conditioning coordinator
• Jerry Azzinaro – defensive coordinator (2018–2021)
• Dino Babers – assistant head coach (2004–2007)
• William F. Barnes – head football coach (1958–1964)
• Eric Bieniemy – running backs coach (2003–2005), offensive coordinator (2024)
• Gary Blackney – assistant coach (1978–1979)
• Sam Boghosian – assistant coach (1957–1964), player (1952–1954)
• Tom Bradley – defensive coordinator (2015–2017)
• Bob Chesney – head football coach (2026–present)
• James J. Cline – head football coach (1923–1924)
• George W. Dickerson – interim head football coach (1958)
• Terry Donahue – head football coach (1976–1995), football player (1965–1966), member of the College Football Hall of Fame
• Karl Dorrell – head football coach (2003–2007), football player (1983–1986)
• DeShaun Foster – head football coach (2024–2025), running backs (2017-2023), player (1998-2001)
• Justin Frye – offensive line coach (2018–2021), offensive coordinator (2019–2021)
• Edwin C. Horrell – head football coach (1939–1944), member of the College Football Hall of Fame
• Mike Johnson – interim head coach (2011)
• Chip Kelly – head football coach (2018–2024), former NFL coach
• Ed Kezirian – interim head football coach (2002), football player
• Adrian Klemm – run game coordinator and offensive line coach
• Bert LaBrucherie, 1929 – head football coach (1945–1948), football player (1926–1928)
• D'Anton Lynn – defensive coordinator (2023)
• Demetrice Martin – defensive backs coach
• Noel Mazzone – offensive coordinator (2012–2015)
• Bill McGovern – defensive coordinator (2022–2023)
• Jim L. Mora – head football coach (2012–2017)
• Rick Neuheisel, B.A. 1984 – head football coach (2008–2011), football player (1980–1983)
• Kennedy Polamalu – running backs coach
• Tommy Prothro – head football coach (1965–1970), member of the College Football Hall of Fame
• Pepper Rodgers – head football coach (1971–1973)
• Henry Russell Sanders – head football coach (1949–1957)
• Lou Spanos – defensive coordinator (2012–2013)
• William H. Spaulding – head football coach (1925–1938)
• Bob Toledo – head football coach (1996–2002)
• Harry Trotter – head football coach (1920–1922), track coach (1919–1946)
• Jeff Ulbrich – assistant head coach
• Dick Vermeil – head football coach (1974–1975)
• DeWayne Walker – interim head football coach (2007)
• Eric Yarber – wide receivers coach

Miscellaneous coaches

• Elvin C. Drake – head sports trainer, 1942–1972; head track and field coach, 1947–1964, winning the NCAA championship in 1956; coached decathletes Rafer Johnson and Yang Chuan-kwang during the 1960 Summer Olympics, in which they won the gold and silver medals; UCLA's Drake Stadium named in his honor
• Adam Krikorian – men's and women's water polo coach, won nine NCAA championships; assistant coach, won one NCAA championship; UCLA water polo player, won 1995 NCAA championship
• Al Scates – men's volleyball coach, won 19 NCAA championships
• John Smith – track and field coach, inventor of the drive phase and world record holder at event

Fictional characters

• Alex Dorpenberger – fictional professor in animated series Close Enough
• Bridgette Hashima – fictional student in animated series Close Enough

See also

• List of people from Los Angeles

References