Notable Alumni of the University of Portland

The University of Portland (UP), founded in 1901, is a private Roman Catholic university situated in north Portland, Oregon, along the east bank of the Willamette River. Affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross, its sister school is the University of Notre Dame. The university offers a comprehensive studies program across its College of Arts and Sciences and the schools of Business, Education, Nursing, and Engineering. The College of Arts and Sciences alone provides 26 majors and 20 minors in 14 departments, encompassing fields from Physics to Music. The recently renovated Clark Library offers digital lab work and an extensive collection of online material. The university's motto translates to “the truth will set you free.”

The University of Portland is ranked 877th in the world, 321st in North America, and 299th in the United States based on aggregated alumni prominence. This article highlights some of the most notable alumni who have made significant contributions in various fields.

Prominent Alumni in Arts and Entertainment

Kunal Nayyar: From The Big Bang Theory to Acclaimed Stage Actor

Kunal Nayyar is a British actor raised in India and based in the United States. He is best known for his portrayal of Raj Koothrappali on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory (2007-2019). He also voiced Vijay on the Nickelodeon animated sitcom Sanjay and Craig (2013-2016). Nayyar received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 2021 British Academy Television Awards for his role in Criminal: UK.

Paul Winfield: A Versatile Actor Across Genres

Paul Edward Winfield was an American actor known for his powerful performances. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper in the film Sounder (1972). Winfield also portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1978 television miniseries King, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award. His diverse roles included appearances in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, The Terminator, L.A. Law, and 24 episodes of the sitcom 227. He won an Emmy in 1995 for his guest role in Picket Fences.

Mel White: From Evangelical Writer to LGBTQ+ Advocate

James Melville "Mel" White is an American clergyman and author. He was a behind-the-scenes member of the Evangelical Protestant movement, writing film and television specials and ghostwriting autobiographies for televangelists such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Billy Graham. In 1994, White came out as gay and began ministering to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people, also writing extensively on the subject of gay Christians.

Notable Alumni in Sports

The University of Portland's athletic teams, known as the Pilots, compete in the NCAA Division I. Soccer has been played at the university since 1910, with home matches held at the 4800-seater Merlo Field.

Megan Rapinoe: A Champion in Women's Soccer

Megan Anna Rapinoe is an American former professional soccer player who played as a winger. She spent most of her career playing for OL Reign of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States national team. Rapinoe co-captained the national team alongside Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan from 2018 to 2020. She previously played for the Chicago Red Stars, Philadelphia Independence, and magicJack in Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), as well as Lyon Women in France's Division 1 Féminine.

Christine Sinclair: The World's All-Time Leading Goal Scorer

Christine Margaret Sinclair is a retired Canadian professional soccer player who most recently played as a forward for the Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and, from 2000 until her retirement from international soccer in 2023, was a member of the Canadian national team. An Olympic gold medallist, two-time Olympic bronze medallist, CONCACAF champion, and 14-time winner of the Canada Soccer Player of the Year award, Sinclair holds the world record for international goals scored (men or women) with 190 goals. She is also one of the most-capped international soccer players, with 331 appearances.

Erik Spoelstra: A Two-Time NBA Champion Coach

Erik Jon Spoelstra, nicknamed "Coach Spo", is an American professional basketball coach and the head coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also serves as an assistant coach for the United States men's national basketball team. Spoelstra is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the league and one of the greatest of all time, having won two NBA championships as the head coach of the Heat. A Filipino American, he is the first Asian American head coach in the history of the four major North American sports leagues and the first Asian American head coach to win an NBA title.

Greg Anthony: From NBA Player to Sports Analyst

Gregory Carlton Anthony is an American former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is now a television analyst for NBA TV and Turner Sports. Anthony also contributes to Yahoo! Sports as a college basketball analyst and serves as a co-host/analyst on SiriusXM NBA Radio.

Read also: History of the Block 'M'

Kasey Keller: A Pioneer for American Goalkeepers in Europe

Kasey C. Keller is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper for the United States national team. He is a four-time FIFA World Cup participant and was the first American goalkeeper to become a regular in the German Bundesliga, the English Premier League, and the Spanish La Liga.

Steve Cherundolo: From Bundesliga Captain to MLS Head Coach

Steven Emil Cherundolo is an American soccer coach and former player who serves as head coach of Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC. As a right-back, he was the captain of Hannover 96 of the German Bundesliga, where he spent his entire club career. He represented the United States at the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups.

Luis Robles: MLS Record Holder for Consecutive Starts

Luis Angel Robles is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. Robles holds the MLS record for most consecutive regular-season starts with 183, spanning September 2012 to May 2018.

Sophie Schmidt: Olympic Gold Medalist

Sophie Diana Schmidt is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for National Women's Soccer League club Houston Dash. From 2005 until retiring from international football in 2023, she was a member of the Canadian national team, with whom she won an Olympic gold medal in 2020 and bronze in both 2012 and 2016. She previously played her club soccer for German club FFC Frankfurt and Sky Blue FC in the NWSL.

Heath Pearce: Soccer Player and Media Personality

Heath Pearce is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defender for teams in Europe and North America. He represented his national team on 35 occasions. Pearce is the host of "The Mixer," "KPR" (Kick Power Rankings) and "WTF" (Walk Talk Football), all programs on the YouTube channel COPA90 US (formerly known as KICKTV).

Read also: Legacy of Fordham University

Eugene Jeter: From Portland Pilot to International Player and NBA Coach

Eugene "Pooh" Jeter III is an American-born naturalized Ukrainian professional basketball coach, executive and former player, currently serving as a player development coach for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and assistant GM for the Rip City Remix of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Portland Pilots and was a naturalized player for the Ukraine national team with his naturalized name being Yudzhin Dzheter (Ukrainian: Юджін Джетер).

Conor Casey: Former MLS Forward and Coach

Conor Patrick Casey is an American former soccer player. He played for 16 seasons as a forward, finishing his career with Columbus Crew SC, before turning to coaching with his former club Colorado Rapids.

Tiffeny Milbrett: Olympic Gold Medalist and National Soccer Hall of Fame Inductee

Tiffeny Carleen Milbrett is an American former professional soccer forward who was a longtime member of the United States women's national team. In May 2018, the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced Milbrett will be enshrined in the Hall. A native of Oregon, she starred at the University of Portland where she scored a then school record 103 goals during her career. She won an Olympic gold medal in 1996 in Atlanta and a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. She also played in three World Cups, winning in 1999. She is in the top five all-time in the United States national soccer team in three offensive categories.

Pat Casey: Legendary College Baseball Coach

Patrick Michael Casey is an American college baseball coach who was the head coach for the Oregon State Beavers baseball team from 1995 to 2018. He is best known for winning the 2006 College World Series for the Beavers' first-ever baseball National Championship. The following year, he led the Beavers to a repeat championship in the 2007 College World Series, the first unranked team in history to accomplish this feat. He retired from Oregon State after winning his third national championship in the 2018 College World Series.

Lee Seung-jun: Professional Basketball Player

Lee Seung-Jun is an American-born South Korean professional basketball player. He last played for Alab Pilipinas of the ASEAN Basketball League.

Shannon MacMillan: FIFA Women's World Cup Champion

Shannon Ann MacMillan is an American retired soccer player, coach, FIFA Women's World Cup champion, Olympic gold and silver medalist. Soccer Athlete of the Year for 2002, MacMillan played for the United States women's national soccer team from 1994 to 2006 and was part of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup-winning team (commonly known as the '99ers). She won gold with the team at the 1996 Summer Olympics and silver at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Josh Simpson: Canadian Soccer Star and Club President

Joshua Christopher 'Josh' Simpson is a Canadian former professional soccer player who is currently the president of Canadian Premier League team Pacific FC. During a career that included stops in England, Germany, Turkey, and Switzerland, he earned 43 caps for Canada before retiring from professional soccer after being unable to recover from a leg injury.

Laura Österberg Kalmari: Finnish Football Star

Laura Elina Österberg Kalmari is a Finnish former professional footballer. Immediately prior to her retirement in early 2012, she had been playing as a forward for American Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) team Sky Blue FC. She is the Finland women's national football team's most capped player.

Rocky Gale: Baseball Player

Rocky Michael Gale is an American former professional baseball player.

The University of Portland Women's Soccer Legacy

The women’s soccer team is the most successful athletic club at the University of Portland (UP), with multiple national championships and other awards. The team began competing in 1980 and, until the 1986 season, was part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The primary factor in the rapid growth of a small Catholic university's women's soccer team into a national powerhouse has been the high caliber of the coaching staff. The most influential and longest-serving coach for the Portland Pilots women’s soccer team was Clive Charles, who coached the team from 1989 to 2003. In Charles’s final game as a collegiate coach in 2002, the Pilots won the NCAA National Championship in overtime. The Pilots play in the Clive Charles Soccer Complex, established in 2004. The large complex consists of a number of high-quality facilities, including Harry A. Merlo Field and the Rev. Chester S. The UP women's soccer team has played a significant role in the increasing popularization of soccer in the United States. Dynamic coaches and talented players have fostered a vibrant soccer-centered culture. Alumnae of the Portland Pilots include Christine Sinclair, Tiffeny Milbrett, Shannon MacMillan, Megan Rapinoe, Stephanie Cox, and Sophie Schmidt.

Alumni in Politics and Government

Ed Murray: Former Mayor of Seattle

Edward Bernard Patrick Murray is an American politician from the state of Washington who most recently served as the 53rd mayor of Seattle from 2014 to 2017. A Democrat, he was previously a state legislator, first with the Washington State House of Representatives from 1996 to 2007, then the Washington State Senate from 2007 to 2013.

Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi: Saudi Arabian Minister of Commerce

Majid bin Abdullah bin Osman Al Qasabi is the Saudi Arabian Minister of Commerce, having held the position since May 2016. He also served as the Acting Minister of Media from 25 February 2020 to 5 March 2023 and is a member of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs. Al Qasabi has held several prominent roles throughout his career, including serving as an advisor at the Crown Prince's court from 2010 to 2011, as the head of special affairs for the Crown Prince from 2011 to 2014, and again as an advisor in the Crown Prince's court in 2014.

Nadine Woodward: Former Mayor of Spokane

Nadine Woodward is an American politician who served as the mayor of Spokane, Washington from December 30, 2019 to January 1, 2024. She succeeded David Condon in December 2019. Prior to her election, Woodward worked as a news anchor. Woodward lost her bid for reelection in 2023 and was succeeded by former Washington State Department of Commerce Director Lisa Brown.

Casten Nemra: Former President of the Marshall Islands

Casten Ned Nemra is a Marshallese politician who was President of the Marshall Islands for 17 days in January 2016. He was elected by the Nitijeļā (Parliament) as President in January 2016, following the 2015 general election, narrowly defeating Senator Alvin Jacklick, a seven-term member of Parliament, by a 17-16 vote. He was the youngest person to hold the job and the second commoner. He was ousted by a vote of no confidence after just two weeks in office by the opposition for jumping ship and joining Iroij Mike Kabua's Aelon Kein Ad party along with Senators Dennis Momotaro and Daisy-Alik Momotaro.

Edward Leavy: Judge

Edward John Leavy was an American jurist who served as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, and the United States District Court for the District of Oregon.

Alumni in Business and Technology

Jack O'Neill: Founder of O'Neill

Jack O'Neill was an American businessman and founder of the surfwear and surfboard company O'Neill.

Chris Lattner: Software Engineer

Christopher Arthur Lattner is an American software engineer and creator of LLVM, the Clang compiler, the Swift programming language and the MLIR compiler infrastructure.

Alumni in Literature

Mohammed Hasan Alwan: Saudi Arabian Novelist

Mohammed Hasan Alwan is a Saudi Arabian novelist and the Chief Executive Officer of the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission affiliated with the Ministry of Culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, appointed in 2020. He was born in Riyadh and studied Computer Information Systems at King Saud University, obtaining a bachelor's degree in 2002. He also obtained an MBA from the University of Portland, Oregon in 2008 and Ph.D from Carleton University, Ottawa in 2016.

Other Notable Alumni

Luke Sikma: Professional Basketball Player

Lucas Clayton Sikma is an American professional basketball player who last played for Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League (GBL) and the Euroleague. He is the son of former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Jack Sikma.

Laura Hottenrott: Long-Distance Runner

Laura Hottenrott is a German long-distance runner. In 2020, she competed in the women's half marathon at the 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships held in Gdynia, Poland.

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