Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

, research university located in Lubbock, Texas. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as

Texas Technological College Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

, it is the leading institution of the

Texas Tech University System The Texas Tech University System is a state university system in Texas consisting of five universities in the state of Texas, of which three are general-academic universities, Texas Tech University, Angelo State University and Midwestern State U ...

and has the sixth largest student body in the state of Texas. It is the only school in Texas to house an undergraduate institution, law school, and medical school at the same location. Initial enrollment in 1925 was 910 students; as of 2009, the university has 30,049 students from more than 110 countries, all 50 U.S. states and the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. Since its first graduating class in 1927 of 26 students, Texas Tech has awarded more than 221,000 degrees, including 45,000 graduate and professional degrees to its alumni. The

Texas Tech Alumni Association The Texas Tech Alumni Association is the alumni association for former students of Texas Tech University. The organization was founded in 1927 and sponsors multiple programs for Texas Tech University and its alumni. History The Alumni Associati ...

, with over 27,000 members, operates more than 120 chapters in cities throughout the United States and the world. Throughout Texas Tech's history, alumni have played prominent roles in many different fields. Among the university's Distinguished Alumni is

Demetrio B. Lakas Demetrio Basilio Lakas Bahas (August 29, 1925 in Colón, PanamaNovember 2, 1999 in Panama City) was the 27th President of Panama from December 19, 1969 to October 11, 1978. Early life and education The son of Greek immigrants, Lakas was born in ...

, President of the

Republic of Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

from 1969 to 1978. Three United States Governors, Daniel I. J. Thornton, Governor of Colorado from 1951 to 1955, John Burroughs, Governor of New Mexico from 1959 to 1961, and Preston Smith, Governor of Texas from 1968 to 1972, are graduates of the university. Five astronauts, including

Rick Husband Richard Douglas Husband (July 12, 1957 – February 1, 2003) was an American astronaut and fighter pilot. He traveled into space twice: as Pilot of STS-96 and Commander of STS-107. He and the rest of the crew of STS-107 were killed when ''C ...

, the final commander of Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' and recipient of the

Congressional Space Medal of Honor The Congressional Space Medal of Honor was authorized by the United States Congress in 1969 to recognize "any astronaut who in the performance of his or her duties has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious efforts and con ...

. U.S. Marine Corps Major and

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

recipient, George H. O'Brien, Jr., is a distinguished alumnus. Richard E. Cavazos is a two-time

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

recipient and the first Hispanic and Mexican American to advance to the rank of four-star general in the U.S. Army. The school's influence on the business world is seen in such people as General Motors Chairman and CEO Edward Whitacre, Jr., Finisar CEO Jerry S. Rawls,

Belo Corporation Belo Corporation was a Dallas-based media company that owned 20 commercial broadcasting television stations and three regional 24-hour cable news television channels. The company was previously known as A. H. Belo Corporation after one of the ...

CEO Dunia A. Shive, and ExxonMobil board member Angela Braly, ranked by '' Fortune'' magazine as the most powerful woman in business. Others among the university's alumni are folk rocker John Denver, country singer

Pat Green Patrick Craven Green (born April 5, 1972) is an American Texas Country artist. Active since 1995, he has recorded a total of seven studio albums, including several independent works, three for Republic Records and two for BNA. Fifteen of his si ...

, and actor

George Eads George Eads is an American actor, known for his role as Nick Stokes on the CBS police drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. He later starred as Jack Dalton on the CBS action-adventure series ''MacGyver'' for three seasons. Biography Earl ...

. John Hinckley, Jr., who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1981, attended the university sporadically from 1973 to 1980.

Alumni

* "''—''" indicates that class year is unknown. *''To sort these tables by alumni or class year, click on the icon next to the column title.''

Arts and literature

Business

Education

Entertainment

Government, law, and public policy

Journalism and media

Military

Music

Science, technology and medicine

Honorary

Sports

Texas Tech University alumni have also made contributions to field of sports. Former Red Raiders have gone on to compete in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB), National Basketball League (NBA),

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL),

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

, and

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA). Approximately 94 alumni have been selected to the MLB Draft, 19 alumni have been selected in the NBA Draft, 149 alumni have been selected in the NFL Draft, and 9 alumni have been selected in the WNBA Draft. Texas Tech alumni have also gone on to coach collegiate and professional teams.

Notes

References

{{Texas Tech University, show=yes *

Alumni Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

Texas Tech University alumni Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by b ...