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Alumni of St. Lawrence University
Relatively speaking, it’s a small group, only about 30,000 people worldwide. But they’re absolutely amazing people and they’ve been at the lead of every profession one can imagine. What’s even more impressive is their enthusiasm to help fellow Laurentians. Any member of the Laurentian family can count on any other member, at any time, for any reason. The St. Lawrence alumni understand the concept of “Laurentian for Life” and show their loyalty to fellow alumni, current students and the University.

Among St. Lawrence alumni in contemporary leadership roles:

Susan M. Collins '75

Susan M. Collins ’75 was elected to represent the State of Maine in the United States Senate in 1996 and was re-elected to a second term in 2002.

Hollywood icon, author and diplomat Kirk Douglas’39 may be the most famous alumnus. His well-known story from rags to riches has long earned him high regard. His generosity to the University and other educational and child welfare causes confirms his legacy as one of his generation’s most thoughtful philanthropists.

Tracey S. McNamara ’76 is a veterinary pathologist who first identified the West Nile virus, a discovery credited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as saving many lives.

Jeff Boyd ’78 is president and CEO of Priceline.com. He earned his law degree from Cornell Law School in 1981 and began a career in private and corporate law before taking his place in the new world of Internet marketing.

Elinor Tatum ’93 publishes The Amsterdam News, the oldest continuously published black newspaper in New York City.

Viggo Mortensen '80

Journalist Martha MacCallum ’86 is an anchor with FOX News Channel, joining FNC in January 2004. Martha hosts “The Live Desk with Martha MacCallum.”

Author Lorrie Moore ’78 is the author of two novels and three collections of stories, the most recent of which, Birds of America, was a National Book Critics’ Circle Award finalist and the winner of the Irish Times International Prize for Literature. She has also edited several anthologies and written two children’s books.

NASA senior scientist Dean Eppler ’74 develops space suits, creates research windows for the International Space Station, and leads science operations and logistics concept development for advanced planetary exploration programs.

Jay Ireland ’77 is president and CEO of GE Asset Management Incorporated, and immediate past president of NBC Universal Television Stations, with overall executive responsibility for the operations of NBC Universal’s 30 owned-and-operated NBC television stations and 16 Telemundo television stations.

As Vice-President/Chief Astronomer of the Franklin Institute Science Museum/Fels Planetarium in Philadelphia, the alignment of the stars and planets has an even greater impact on Derrick Pitts ’78’s life than it does on most people’s — it’s the subject of his daily work. He is host of the WHYY-FM public radio programs “SkyTour” and “SkyTalk.”

Elinor Tatum '93

Marion Roach Smith ’77 is the author Roots of Desire: The Myth, Meaning, and Sexual Power of Red Hair and of Another Name for Madness, a memoir of her family’s struggle with her mother’s Alzheimer’s disease, and the co-author of Dead Reckoning: The New Science of Catching Killers. A commentator on National Public Radio and the host of her own radio show on Sirius Radio, she has been published in numerous national magazines.

Mitch Thrower ’90 is co-owner of Triathlete magazine and co-founder of Active.com, which offers on-line registration for more than 5,000 athletic events, and founder, CEO and general manager of Active.com Europe.

Joseph Lekuton ’91 left his native Kenya for the first time when he traveled to St. Lawrence to study economics and government. Formerly a teacher at the Langley School in northern Virginia and now a member of the Kenyan Parliament, he remains actively involved in community development projects in rural Kenya.

Viggo Mortensen ’80 is a poet, painter, photographer, activist and actor. Mortensen has published 16 books of his poems, photographs and paintings and produced 16 CDs of music and spoken word. He founded and supports Perceval Press, an independent enterprise that publishes art, words and music from people all over the world.

Former Saint women’s hockey star Gina Kingsbury ’04 became the third Saint athlete to earn an Olympic gold medal in 2006, when she was part of the Canadian women’s hockey team’s gold medal win over Sweden.