Arizona State University alumni

Joaquín Bustoz Jr. (1939–2003) was an American mathematician who worked as a professor of mathematics at Arizona State University. His mathematical research concerned functional analysis, including orthogonal polynomials and special functions, but he was primarily known as a mentor to underrepresented minorities in mathematics.Bustoz was born in Tempe, Arizona; his parents worked on the local farms and also for the Tempe Elementary School District, which eventually named the Joaquin and Ramona Bustoz Elementary School after them. He graduated from Arizona State University in 1962 with a degree in mathematics, and after two years in California working for Univac returned to ASU, where he completed a doctorate in 1967 under the supervision of Walter Tandy Scott. After teaching at the University of Cincinnati from 1969 to 1976, during which he also spent a year at the National University of Colombia as a Fulbright Scholar, he returned to ASU again as an associate professor in 1976, and was promoted to full professor in 1978. He chaired the ASU mathematics department from 1982 to 1985.In 1985, Bustoz founded the Summer Math–Science Honors program for high school students, which continues at ASU as the Joaquin Bustoz Math–Science Honors Program. Bustoz also worked on mathematics education on the Navajo Nation and the Pima reservations. For his efforts, president Bill Clinton honored him in 1996 with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.He was killed by a car accident on August 13, 2003. As well as the Math–Science Honors program, the Joaquin Bustoz Jr. Professorship at ASU, held by Carlos Castillo-Chavez, is named after Bustoz.

Gary Tillery is an American writer and artist known for his biographies focusing on the spiritual lives of famous figures, and for his public sculptures. His 2009 book, The Cynical Idealist, was named the official book of the 2010 John Lennon Tribute in New York City, and he created the centerpiece sculpture of the Chicago Vietnam Veterans Memorial, dedicated in 2005.

Tony Sotomayor Carrillo (November 16, 1936 – May 9, 2020) was an American politician and educator.
Carrillo was born in Tucson, Arizona. He received his bachelor's and master's degree from Arizona State University. He served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 1963 to 1969 and was a Democrat. Carrillo received his doctorate degree in education from Wayne State University and then taught at Arizona State University. Carrillo taught at San Jose State University in San Jose, California and was chairman of the educational administration department. Carrillo served on the San Jose East Side Unified High School District Board. Carrillo died in Clovis, California.

Donald William Strauch, Jr. (April 8, 1926 – January 11, 2016), known as Don Strauch, was an American politician. He served as mayor of Mesa, Arizona, from 1980 to 1984. He had previously served on the Mesa City Council since 1972.Born in Iowa and raised in Arizona, Don was the only son and eldest child of three siblings born to Donald W. Strauch, Sr. and Mary Strauch. He served in World War II with the United States Army. After the war, Strauch attended Babson College, Phoenix College, and Arizona State University.Strauch was the president of Strauchs' Stationers, Inc. He served as a Republican in the Arizona House of Representatives for district 29 in Mesa until his defeat in 1988 in a primary. Strauch died in Scottsdale, Arizona, from complication from a fall on January 11, 2016, at the age of 89. He was survived by his wife, daughter and extended family.

Keith W. Perkins was a professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University (BYU). He has written widely on the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in the period when it was headquartered at Kirtland, Ohio. Perkins has written articles on figures in the recording of the history of the LDS Church, such as Andrew Jenson, whose work as a historian was the subject of Perkins' masters' thesis. His thesis was cited in Charles T. Morrissey's article "We Call it Oral History", which moved the accepted time of the origin of the term back from the late-1940s to the mid-1860s.Perkins was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He has a BA in History Education from Arizona State University and an MA and PhD from BYU in Church History and Doctrine. He was seminary principal at the LDS seminary adjacent to Granite High School in Salt Lake County, Utah, and then instructor at the Tempe Institute of Religion (adjacent to the campus of Arizona State University) before joining the BYU faculty in 1975. During the mid-1980s, as chair of the department of Church History and Doctrine, Perkins developed the idea for special symposium to be held in various locations related to church history. This was the beginning of the various publications in the LDS Church History in place x series, with New England, New York and Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, the Pacific, and the United Kingdom having been some of the places featured over the years in the series. He has also written articles on subjects such as the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.Among other works, Perkins compiled with Milton V. Backman Jr. Journals, Diaries, Biographies, Autobiographies and Letters of Some Early Mormons and Others Who Knew Joseph Smith, Jr. and/or His Contemporaries. With LaMar C. Barrett and Donald Q. Cannon, he edited the book Sacred Places: Ohio and Illinois, published by Deseret Book in 2001. Perkins was also a co-author with Bruce A. Van Orden, David J. Whittaker, Truman G. Madsen, John W. Welch and James P. Bell of the book Book of Mormon Scholars. Perkins compiled a book entitled Marriage is Ordained of God, which was a collection of talks on the subject by general authorities of the LDS Church.
Perkins and his wife, Vella Crowther, are the parents of four children. Perkins is a member of the LDS Church and has worked with Ezra Taft Benson, Gordon B. Hinckley and Thomas S. Monson in developing the church's visitors center and other properties and programs in Kirtland, Ohio. Among other callings in the LDS Church, Perkins has served as a bishop and a stake president.

James McGarrell (February 22, 1930 – February 7, 2020) was an American painter and printmaker known for painting lush figurative interiors and landscapes.

Russell Errett Dickenson (April 12, 1923 – February 19, 2008) began his National Park Service (NPS) career as a ranger at Grand Canyon National Park in 1946 and served in a wide range of park and central office assignments — most prominently as head of National Capital Parks, deputy director, and Pacific Northwest regional director — before ascending to the directorship in May 1980. Having risen through the traditional ranks and enjoying the respect of his colleagues, Dickenson was enthusiastically welcomed to the job and supported in his effort to restore organizational stability after a succession of short-term directors. As when Walker's deputy, he preferred improving the service's stewardship of its existing parks to seeking new ones. The only Interior Department bureau chief to be retained by the Reagan administration in 1981, Dickenson obtained its support and that of Congress for the Park Restoration and Improvement Program, which devoted more than a billion dollars over five years to park resources and facilities. Dickenson retired in March 1985.
Dickenson was born in 1922. A Marine Corps veteran and graduate of Arizona State College (now Arizona State University), Dickenson worked his way up through the NPS ranks. A native of Melissa, Texas, he began his career in 1947 as a park ranger at Grand Canyon National Park and held field assignments in several other western parks. He also served as chief, Division of Resource Management in the Midwest Regional and in 1967, transferred to WASO as Chief of New Area Studies and Master Planning. He was Regional Director of the National Capital Regional from 1969 to 1973 and served as Deputy NPS Director from 1973 to 1975. Before becoming Director in 1980, Dickenson served as Pacific Northwest Regional Director for 4 ½ years. Dickenson has received numerous awards, including the Distinguished Service Award in 1972, for his work in urban park management.

Lela Alston (born June 26, 1942) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Arizona State Senate representing District 5 since January 9, 2023. She previously represented District 24 from 2019 to 2023, and served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019, and from 2011 to 2013 in the District 11 seat, and non-consecutively in the Arizona State Legislature from 1977 until 1995 in the Arizona Senate.

Peterson Zah (December 2, 1937 – March 7, 2023) was an American politician who held several offices with the Navajo Nation. From 1983 to 1987, he was chairman of the Navajo Nation, its then head of government. At its 1991 restructuring, he became the first president of the Navajo Nation, until 1995. He then worked at Arizona State University as special adviser to the president on American Indian Affairs and consulted companies willing to work with his nation.

Ira Amond Fulton (born November 12, 1931) is an Arizona philanthropist, land developer, businessman, and founder of Fulton Homes. In 2006, BusinessWeek listed Fulton 36th on its list of "The 50 Most Generous Philanthropists.". The Arizona Legislature has also recognized his generosity.According to BusinessWeek, Fulton and his wife, Mary Lou, had given away about $265 million, approximately 60% of their net worth as of 2005. Major recipients include Arizona State University (ASU), Brigham Young University (BYU), the University of Utah, Utah Valley University (UVU), the Huntsman Cancer Institute, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A major donation project by Fulton for UVU happened in 2007, and in 2014 he pledged to donate $1 million towards BYU's new engineering building. In 2004 and 2005, the Fultons had donated $20 million to BYU to create 4 chairs named for Mary Lou Fulton. By October 2015, they had given $50 million to BYU, including $20 million donated in October 1999 to help the Lighting the Way Campaign reach a $400 million goal.Several buildings or facilities at higher education institutions are named in honor of the Fultons. These include ASU's Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, BYU's Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology, ASU's Mary Lou Fulton College of Education, BYU's (Mary Lou) Fulton Supercomputing Lab, and UVU's Ira A. Fulton and Mary Lou Fulton Library.Fulton was born in Tempe, Arizona. As a student at ASU, Fulton played football. Before becoming a real estate developer, Fulton owned a wide variety of businesses, including factories, insurance companies, auto parts stores, and tire stores. One of the most successful businesses was a men's clothing chain he owned from 1976 to 1995.Fulton was one of Arizona's presidential electors in the 2004 election.At BYU, Fulton has been a primary force behind formation of the BYU Center for Animation.Fulton's wife, Mary Lou, died in October 2015.