Notable Alumni from the University of California Santa Cruz

With ten campuses across the state (nine undergraduate and one graduate only), the University of California has consistently been ranked as one of the top higher education institutions in the country. UC Berkeley is perhaps its most-known campus, for its academic achievements have ranked it as one of the best schools in the world—with two other University of California campuses in the top 20.

The University of California, Santa Cruz is renowned for its research and science programs, as well as its gorgeous location—which overlooks the city and has views of the waterfront beyond. UC Santa Cruz has a great number of famed alumni, who have contributed significantly to arts, sciences, and other fields.

bell hooks

Writer, Activist, Professor  

bell hooks (born Gloria Jean Watkins, 1952-2021) was a writer, professor, and activist, notable for her work on race, gender, and class. She completed her PhD in English from UC Santa Cruz in 1983, earning a BA from Stanford University and MA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison beforehand. 

She published several books during her lifetime, including Ain't I a Woman?: Black Women and Feminism and All About Love: New Visions, which in turn contributed significantly to academia and the intersectional feminist movement.

Susan Wojcicki

CEO

Susan Wojcicki (1968–) graduated from Harvard University, majoring in history and literature, before going on to do a Master of Science (Economics) at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Listed on Time magazine’s Most Influential People, she is the CEO of Youtube—a position which she has held since 2014.

She is a polarizing figure due to her implementation of certain policies on the Youtube platform. She is also known to advocate for women in business and STEM.

Kathryn D. Sullivan

Astronaut, Geologist, Oceanographer 

Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan (1951–) is a decorated NASA astronaut and was part of NASA Astronaut Group 8—the first group of NASA astronauts to include women and minorities. She went on three space missions and is the first American woman to walk in space. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1973 with a degree in Earth Sciences. 

Sullivan is also an oceanographer and in 2020 became the first woman to dive into the Mariana Trench at its deepest point, Challenger Deep.

Marc Okrand

Linguist, Author, Professor

Marc Okrand (1948–) graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1970, then went on to earn a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in Linguistics. His research focused on Native American languages, however Okrand is most known for inventing Klingon, the language of an alien species on Star Trek.

Okrand also worked in the closed-captioning field, wrote several books on Klingon, and later created two more languages for movies and television: Kelpian for Star Trek: Discovery and Atlantean for Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

Andy Samberg

Actor, Musician, Comedy Writer, Producer

Andy Samberg (1978–) was born in California and is perhaps most famous for his work on SNL, as well as his performance on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, for which he won a Golden Globe award for. He attended the University of California, Santa Cruz for two years, studying film, and later transferred to NYU (Tisch).

Although known for his comedic roles and music (including being part of the Lonely Island trio), the last few years have shown greater range. His upcoming projects include a Lee Miller biopic, also starring Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, and Alexander Skarsgård.

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