UC San Diego

Office of the Dean
Division of Arts and Humanities
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive # 0406
La Jolla, CA 92093-0406

tel: (858) 534-6270
fax: (858) 534-0091
dean-ah@ucsd.edu

Prominent Alumni

Yareli Arizmendi, M.F.A ’92 (Theatre & Dance)
Actress in "Like Water For Chocolate."

James Avery, ’76 (Theatre & Dance)
Stage, screen and television actor who co-starred with
Will Smith on the hit TV show, “Fresh Prince of Bel Air."

Jennifer Batten (Music)
Michael Jackson’s lead guitarist, now touring with Jeff Beck.

Carol Becker, Ph.D. ’76 (Literature)
Dean of Faculty, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
(first woman dean in the school’s history).

Bob Berlinger (Theatre & Dance)
Emmy Award-winning director.

Richard Boulanger, Ph.D. ’85 (Music)
Professor at Berklee College of Music.

Robert Brill (Theatre & Dance)
Scenic designer on Broadway.

Chad Butler, ’97 (History of Science)
Drummer for local rock band Switchfoot.
Article from Alumni Magazine

Ricardo Chavira, M.F.A. ’00 (Theatre & Dance)
Actor, currently plays Carlos Solis on TV’s Desperate Housewives.
Article from Alumni Magazine

Joyce Cutler-Shaw, M.F.A ’72 (Visual Arts)
Award-winning artist of public sculpture and design.

Sandra Dijkstra, Ph.D., ’77 (Literature)
Literary agent who has helped bring authors like Amy Tan,
Susan Faludi and LeLy Hayslip to prominence.

Paul Dresher (Music)
Composer, founder and director of the Paul Dresher Ensemble.

Nathan East, ’78 (Music)
Considered one of the world’s leading bass guitarists.
A long time member of the Eric Clapton Band.

Diamanda Galas (Music)
Composer/performer.

Hollis Gentry (Music)
Jazz saxophonist who has played with Freddie Hubbard, Nancy Wilson, David Benoit, Barry White and Larry Carlton.

Michael Greif, M.F.A ’85 (Theatre & Dance)
Director of “Rent” and former artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse.

Larry Groupe (Music)
Emmy award-winning composer of music for TV and films,
including the popular film “The Contender.”

Josh LeBeau (Visual Arts)
Filmmaker and technical director for Industrial Light and Magic.

Clea Lewis (Theatre & Dance)
Actor who regularly appeared on the series Ellen.

Silas Weir Mitchell (Theatre & Dance)
Actor with leading roles in ER, NYPD Blue and Prison Break.

Kazue Mizushima (Music)
Inventor of large Stringraphy string instruments.

Pauline Oliveros (Music)
Composer/performer.

Rex Pickett, ’76 (Literature & Visual Arts)
Author of Sideways.
Article from Alumni Magazine

Rusty Preisendorfer, ’78 (Visual Arts)
Rusty (surfboards and apparel) founder; known for worldwide
for his trademark “R", Rusty started shops in La Jolla and
Del Mar to have local retail space for his boards.

Kim Stanley Robinson, ’74 (Literature); Ph.D. ‘82 (Literature)
Author and two-time Nebula and Hugo Award winner.

DeAnn Salcido, ’86 (Philosophy)
Superior Court Judge for San Diego County and co-founder
of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.

Thom Sherman '88 (Theatre & Dance)
Former President of Bad Robot Productions and Executive Producer of the hit television shows Lost and Alias.

Caridad Svich (Theatre & Dance)
Award-winning, internationally renowned playwright.

Igor Vamos (Visual Arts)
Media artist and founder of Artmart.

Rolf Wallin (Music)
Norwegian composer.

Carrie Mae Weems (Visual Arts)
Nationally renowned artist.

Olav Westphalen (Visual Arts)
Featured in the 2004 Whitney Biennial.


Link to other UCSD prominent alumni...