List of Southwestern University alumni

Following is a list of notable alumni from Southwestern University.

• James Marion West Jr. – Texas oil, timber, and ranching tycoon

• Hiram Abiff Boaz^[1] – Methodist bishop and former president of SMU
• Stanley Hauerwas^[2] – Theologian and ethicist
• Jay W. Richards – philosopher, theologian, economist, apologist, social researcher, author
• William Angie Smith^[1] – Methodist bishop

• Hiram Abiff Boaz^[1] – Methodist bishop and former president of SMU
• Serena DeBeer – adjunct professor at Cornell University and head of department for Inorganic Spectroscopy at Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion
• Laura Kuykendall (1883–1935) – dean of women at Southwestern 1918–1935
• Margaret (Young) Menzel – Florida State University scientist (1924–1987)
• Amanda Sheffield Morris – Regents Professor of Psychology at Oklahoma State University

• Bill Engvall – stand-up comedian
• Jerry Hardin – actor
• Claude Porter White – author and composer of operas
• Susan Youens – musicologist

• William H. Atwell^[1] – U.S. district court judge
• J. Marvin Jones^[1] – U.S. Court of Claims chief judge and U.S.cCongressman from Texas (1917–1940)
• Joseph Tyree Sneed, III^[1] – U.S. court of appeals judge
• Brent Webster – acting Texas attorney general^[3]

• J. Frank Dobie^[1] – author
• Abbie Graham – author
• Hubert Renfro Knickerbocker – Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author^[4]
• John Murrell – Canadian playwright, member of the Order of Canada

• Ernesto Nieto – founder and president of the National Hispanic Institute
• Annie Clo Watson – social worker based in San Francisco

• Jessie Daniel Ames^[1] – civil rights activist
• Joan Bray – state senator in Missouri
• Robert L. Henry^[1] – U.S. congressman from Texas (1897–1917), chairman of the House Rules Committee
• J. Marvin Jones^[1] – U.S. congressman from Texas (1917–1940), U.S. Court of Claims chief judge
• Earle Bradford Mayfield^[1] – U.S. senator from Texas (1923–1929)
• Pete Sessions – U.S. congressman from Texas (2013–present), chairman of the House Rules Committee
• R. Ewing Thomason – U.S. congressman from Texas (1931–1947), mayor of El Paso
• John Tower – U.S. senator from Texas (1961–1988)

• Robert Simpson – meteorologist, former director of the National Hurricane Center, and co-developer of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

• Harry Ables^[1] – Major League Baseball pitcher
• Mike Anderson – Major League Baseball pitcher and current pro scout with the Texas Rangers
• Solon Barnett – offensive tackle and guard for the Chicago Cardinals and Green Bay Packers (1945–1946)
• Pete Cawthon^[1] – head football coach and athletic director of the Texas Tech Red Raiders
• Carlton Massey – defensive lineman and pro bowler for the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers (1954–1958)
• Carl Reynolds – Major League Baseball player and member of Texas Sports Hall of Fame; played for five teams over 12 years
• Mike Timlin – Major League Baseball pitcher