University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Admitted Student Profiles & Alumni

Bob Dylan

Nobel Prize-winning singer-songwriter

Attended (No degree)

1960s

Hubert H. Humphrey

Former U.S. Vice President, U.S. Senator

MA (Political Science)

1939

Walter Mondale

Former U.S. Vice President and Ambassador to Japan

BA, JD

1951, 1956

Norman Borlaug

Nobel Peace Prize-winning agronomist (“father of the Green Revolution”)

BS, MS, PhD (Agriculture)

1937, 1940, 1942

Jessica Lange

Oscar-winning actress (Tootsie, Blue Sky)

BA (Art)

1960s (left early)

Garrison Keillor

Author and host of A Prairie Home Companion

BA (English)

1966

Tony Dungy

First African-American Super Bowl-winning NFL head coach

BS (Business Admin)

1978

Eric Kaler

President Emeritus, University of Minnesota

PhD (Chemical Engineering)

1982

Brock Lesnar

WWE champion and former UFC Heavyweight Champion

BA (Sports Management)

2000

Lindsey Vonn

Olympic gold medalist alpine skier

Attended

N/A

Myron Rolle

NFL player and neurosurgeon

MPH (Public Health)

2017

Eugene McCarthy

U.S. Senator and 1968 presidential candidate

MA (Sociology)

1939

Tim Pawlenty

Former Governor of Minnesota

JD

1986

Yanni

Famed composer and pianist

BA (Psychology)

1976

Maria Bamford

Comedian and actress

BA (Creative Writing)

1992

Louie Anderson

Emmy-winning comedian and actor

Attended

N/A

Thomas Friedman

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist

BA (Mediterranean Studies)

1975

Earl Bakken

Co-founder of Medtronic; inventor of the wearable pacemaker

BS (Electrical Engineering)

1948

Ann Bancroft

Polar explorer and educator

BS (Physical Education)

1981

Sharon Sayles Belton

First African-American and first female mayor of Minneapolis

BA (Sociology)

1973

Don Fraser

Longest-serving mayor of Minneapolis

BA, JD

1944, 1948

John Berryman

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet

PhD (English Literature)

1940s

Mitch Hedberg

Stand-up comedian

Attended

N/A

William D. Nordhaus

Nobel Prize-winning economist

BA (Economics)

1963

Henry F. Halloran

Urban planning pioneer

BA (Architecture)

1910s

Carl Weser

Innovator in agricultural machinery design

BS (Mechanical Engineering)

1940s

Alan Page

NFL Hall of Famer; former MN Supreme Court Justice

JD

1978

Mark Dayton

Former Governor of Minnesota

MA (Public Administration)

1981

Carol Bly

Noted essayist and short story writer

MA (English)

1970s

J. Michael Bishop

Nobel Prize-winning immunologist

MD

1960s