List of New York University alumni

This list of New York University alumni includes notable graduates and non-graduate former students of New York University.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Legend

The following abbreviations and notes are used to represent NYU schools and colleges:

Abbr.	Meaning
*	Did not graduate
CAS	College of Arts and Science
DENT	College of Dentistry
NURSING	Rory Meyers College of Nursing
GAL	Gallatin School of Individualized Study
GSAS	Graduate School of Arts and Science
IFA	Institute of Fine Arts
SPS	School of Professional Studies
ENG	School of Engineering (discontinued/merged; now Tandon)
LAW	School of Law
MED	School of Medicine
POLY	Tandon School of Engineering
SSW	Ehrenkranz School of Social Work
STEINHARDT	Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
STERN	Stern School of Business
TSOA	Tisch School of the Arts
ARTS	University College of Arts and Sciences (discontinued/merged; now CAS)
WAG	Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
SHA	New York University Shanghai
WSC	Washington Square College (discontinued/merged; now CAS)

In 1973, the New York University School of Engineering and Science merged into Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, which in turn merged into NYU to form New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering in 2014. In 2015, the school changed its name to NYU Tandon School of Engineering.

Academia and research

Educators

Name	Year	School	Degree	Notability	Reference
John S. Allen	1936	GSAS	Ph.D.	First president of the University of South Florida in Tampa; interim president of the University of Florida in Gainesville
Charles E. Anderson		POLY		Dean at University of Wisconsin, Madison
Miriam Basilio	2002	IFA	Ph.D.	Educator, author and curator at The Museum of Modern Art, NY
Jack Baskin		ENG		Founder of the Jack Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz
Samuel Baskin	1974	GSAS	Ph.D.	First president of the Union Institute & University in Cincinnati
Eleanor K. Baum		POLY		Cooper Union Engineering School Dean; served as Dean at Pratt Institute; the first female dean of an engineering school in the United States
Haim Ben-Shahar				Israeli economist and President of Tel Aviv University
Arthur Bienenstock		POLY		Vice Provost and Dean of Research at Stanford University; former director of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource
Edward J. Bloustein	1948	WSC	B.A.	Seventeenth president of Rutgers University; professor at NYU Law
Bruno A. Boley		POLY		Dean of Engineering at Northwestern University; National Academy of Engineering member
William Boylan			Master of Pedagogy	First president of Brooklyn College
Joyce F. Brown	1971, 1980	GSAS	M.S., Ph.D.	President of the Fashion Institute of Technology
Truesdel Peck Calkins				Founder and first president of Hofstra University
Herbert Carlin		POLY		Director of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University; professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and École Normale Supérieure, Paris
Rustica Carpio	1956	STEINHARDT	M.A.	Chairperson and first dean of the College of Communication of Polytechnic University of the Philippines; Dean of the College of Mass Communication at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila; Fulbright Scholar
Serena Chen	1997		Ph.D	Chair of the Psychology Department at U.C. Berkeley
Frank A. Cipriani		GSAS	M.A., Ph.D.	Fifth President of SUNY Farmingdale
K. Mani Chandy		POLY		Chair of engineering and applied sciences at the California Institute of Technology; National Academy of Engineering member
Kenneth Connor		POLY		Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering Department Head from 2001 to 2008 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; IEEE Fellow
Jessica Garretson Finch		Law	J.D.	Founding president of Finch College
Edgar Fiedler				Economist
Jeffrey P. Freidberg	1961, 1962, 1964	POLY	B.S., M.S., Ph.D.	Professor emeritus and former head of the Nuclear Science and Engineering Department at MIT (1997–2003); former associate director of MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center
John Anderson Fry	1986	Stern	M.B.A.	President, Drexel University
Elmer L. Gaden		POLY		Former chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at Columbia University; Russ Prize winner; National Academy of Engineering member
Michael J. Garanzini	1978	STEINHARDT	M.A.	President and Chancellor, Loyola University Chicago
Jerome Gavis		POLY		Chairman of the chemical engineering department at Johns Hopkins University; National Academy of Science member; helped develop methods of separating solid waste components
Alfred Gessow		ENG		Chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering and professor at the University of Maryland, College Park; professor at University of Virginia; awarded NASA Exceptional Service Medal
Dorit Geva	2006		Ph.D.	Founding Dean of undergraduate studies at Central European University
Harold S. Goldberg		POLY		Dean of the Tufts University School of Engineering; Gordon Prize winner; National Academy of Engineering member
Urban Gonnoud	1958	Stern	M.B.A.	15th President of St. Francis College
Martin H. Graham	1952	POLY	Ph.D.	Chair of the Computer Science Department at University of California, Berkeley; professor at Rice University; designer of the Rice Institute Computer; served as Secretary of the Academic Senate, University of California from 1978 to 1980
Martha Greenblatt		POLY		Chair of the Chemistry Department at Rutgers University
Charles Waldo Haskins		POLY		Founder and first dean of New York University Stern School of Business
Gabriel Hawawini	1977	GSAS	Ph.D.	Dean, INSEAD, 2000–2006
Russell K. Hotzler		POLY		President of New York City College of Technology
Michael Hudson				Economics professor
Richard Joel	1972, 1975	Law	B.A., J.D.	Fourth president of Yeshiva University, 2003–2017
Peter G. Jordan		POLY		Vice Chancellor of CUNY; President of Tarrant County College; dean at New York Institute of Technology; dean at Adelphi University; overseer for Colby College
Francis Kilcoyne				President of Brooklyn College
Kim Won-yong	1959		Ph.D.	'Father of Korean Archaeology', Prof. Seoul National University
John Sterling Kingsley		POLY		Chair of Biology at Tufts University
William B. Kouwenhoven		POLY		Inventor of closed-chest cardiac defibrillator; recipient of Edison Medal; professor at Johns Hopkins University
Jerome Krase	1973	SOC	Ph.D.	Professor Emeritus and Archivist at Brooklyn College
Paul Kurtz	1948	WSC	B.A.	The "Pope of the unbelievers"
Norman Lamm		POLY		President and chancellor of Yeshiva University
Eugene M. Lang		POLY		Chair emeritus of the Board of Swarthmore College
Howard Lesnick				Jefferson B. Fordham Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Yehuda (Leo) Levi		POLY		Rector at the Jerusalem College of Technology
Samuel Levy		Law	B.A., J.D.	Chairman of the Yeshiva University Board of Trustees
Katharine Culbert Lyall	1969	Stern	M.B.A.	President, University of Wisconsin–Madison; President of the University of Wisconsin System
Gerald W. Lynch				President of John Jay College
Amy Malek	2005		M.A.	Assistant professor, scholar, and sociocultural anthropologist; endowed Chair and Director in Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies (IPGS) at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater
Newt Margulies		POLY		Dean and Professor of Management in the College of Business Administration at California State University, San Marcos; former Dean of the School of Business, University of California, Irvine
James Milliken	1983	Law	J.D.	President of the University of Nebraska; Chancellor of the City University of New York
Cathy Minehan		STERN	MBA	Dean of the School of Management at Simmons College
Donald Moon	1958	ENG	M.S.	President of Shimer College
A. Michael Noll		POLY		Dean at University of Southern California
Leonard Peikoff	1964	GSAS	Ph.D.	Intellectual heir of Ayn Rand; leading figure of Objectivism
Fortunato de la Peña		POLY		Chairman of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at University of the Philippines College of Engineering
Shirley D. Peterson		Law	J.D.	President of Hood College; sat on the Board of Trustees of Bryn Mawr College from 1994 to 2007; currently a Trustee Emerita of Bryn Mawr College
Nicanor Reyes, Sr.	1917	Stern	B.A.	Founder and first president of the Far Eastern University in Manila, Philippines
Fazlollah Reza		POLY		Head of Sharif University of Technology and University of Tehran; professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and McGill University; Fellow of the IEEE
Virginia P. Ruesterholz		POLY		Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Stevens Institute of Technology
Wallace S. Sayre		GSAS	Ph.D.	Professor of Columbia University; namesake of Sayre's law
John P. Schaefer		POLY		President of University of Arizona
Alexander Schure		ENG		President of New York Institute of Technology
W. J. Seeley		POLY		Dean of Duke University's Edmund T. Pratt Jr. School of Engineering; served as chairman of the Electrical Engineering Department at Duke University; professor at University of Pennsylvania; director of the Naval Ordnance Laboratory
Josef Singer		POLY		President of Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Lawrence G. Smith			M.D.	Founding dean of Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine
Richard E. Sorensen		POLY		Dean of Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech
Richard S. Stein		POLY		Founder and Professor of the Polymer Science and Engineering Department at University of Massachusetts Amherst; Member of National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering; Fulbright Visiting Professor at Kyoto University; National Research Council Fellow at Cambridge University; Research Associate at Princeton University
Marian Stoltz-Loike	1984	GSAS	Ph.D.	Dean of Lander College for Women and Vice President of Touro College
Paul Tagliabue		Law	J.D.	Chairman of Board of Directors of Georgetown University
Jeremy Travis		Law	J.D.	President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Hermann Viets		POLY		President of Milwaukee School of Engineering
Iris Weinshall		WAG		Vice chancellor at the City University of New York
Herbert George Welch		POLY		President of Ohio Wesleyan University
Samuel Merrill Woodbridge	1838		B.A.	Led New Brunswick seminary as Dean and President of the Faculty from 1883 to 1901
Howard Zinn	1951	CAS	B.A.	Author of A People's History of the United States

Professors, researchers and scientists

Name	Year	School	Degree	Notability	Reference
Gerard A. Alphonse		POLY		2005 president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Geetha Angara	1984	GSAS	Ph.D.	Victim of unsolved 2005 homicide at New Jersey water treatment plant
Boris Aronov	1986, 1989	Courant	M.S., Ph.D.	Computer scientist; professor at New York University Tandon School of Engineering; Sloan Research Fellow
Sylvan Barnet	1948	CAS	B.A.	Shakespearean scholar
Tito Boeri	1990		Ph.D.	Professor at Bocconi University, Milan; director of Fondazione RDB
Daniel Draper (meteorologist)	1880	Med	Ph.D	Meteorologist and medical doctor
E. Lloyd Du Brul	1937	DENT	D.D.S.	Author of Sicher and Du Brul's Oral Anatomy
Avery Fisher	1929	ARTS	B.S.	Inventor of the first stereo radio-phonograph
Neil Garg	2000	CAS	B.S.	UCLA Professor & Kenneth N. Trueblood Endowed Chair
Caroline D. Gentile	1949		M.A.	Associate professor emeritus of education; physical education instructor; longest-serving faculty member of the University of Maine at Presque Isle
Corwin Hansch		GSAS	Ph.D.	Inventor of the Hansch equation
Martin Hellman	1966	ENG	B.S.	Invented public key cryptography; inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame; Turing Award winner
John Harvey Kellogg	1875	Med		Co-inventor of Kellogg's cereals
Barbara Keyfitz	1970	Courant	Ph.D.	Director of the Fields Institute
David Korn	1969	Courant	Ph.D.	Creator of the Korn shell
Leonard Linkow	1952	DENT	DDS	Pioneer in oral implantology; nominated for Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1969
Erwin Lutwak		POLY		mathematician, inaugural fellow of the American Mathematical Society
George W. Melville		POLY		Engineer-in-chief of the United States Navy; Congressional Gold Medal winner
Donald J. Metz		POLY		Nuclear engineer at Brookhaven National Laboratory
Ami Miron		POLY		Received two Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards
Lee Morin	1978–1982	Med	M.Sc., M.D., Ph.D.	Astronaut
Robert Qiu	1955		Ph.D.	CEO of Wiscom Technologies; professor of electrical engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University
John Wellborn Root	1969	ARTS	B.S.	Inventor of the floating raft system
Gerald Soffen			Postdoc	Chief scientist of the Viking missions to Mars in 1976
Salvatore Stolfo	1979	Courant	Ph.D.	Professor at Columbia University
Dennis Tito	1962	CAS	B.A.	First commercial space flight customer
Alfred Vail	1836		B.A.	Inventor
Barbara Wertheimer	1960		M.A	Co-founder and director, Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations
Robert M. White	1951	ENG	B.S.	Air Force test pilot
Minoru Yamasaki	1951	GSAS	M.A.	Works include the World Trade Center
Ben Zinn	1961	ENG	B.S.	International soccer player and academic at the Georgia Institute of Technology; Member of the National Academy of Engineering
Jay Kappraff		POLY		Professor at Cooper Union; NASA aerospace engineer
Torunn Atteraas Garin		POLY		Oversaw the development of the artificial sweetener aspartame and was a national spokesperson for it. Developed nontoxic processes to create food colorings and remove caffeine from coffee
Pat Villani		POLY		Author of DOS-C, the FreeDOS kernel
Peter Hänggi		POLY		Theoretical physicist best known for his original works on Brownian motion and ratchets, stochastic resonance and dissipative systems (classical and quantum)
Alexander Johnston		POLY		Professor at Princeton University
Ernest Bernbaum		POLY		Professor at Harvard University
Ines Mandl		POLY		Professor at Columbia University; American Academy of Arts and Sciences member; awarded the Garvan-Olin Medal in 1983 for her work on the enzyme collagenase
Frances Hugle		POLY		Microscopic and integrated circuitry pioneer; inventor of tape-automated bonding
James Wood		POLY		Fabricated the steel cables for the Brooklyn Bridge, making cable-lift elevators possible; contributed to the inventions of lockmaking, submarine, design of the modern refrigerator, A/C generator, electric motors, and transformer; held 240 patents
Alan Schriesheim		POLY		Director Emeritus and the retired CEO of Argonne National Laboratory; professor at University of Chicago; National Academy of Engineering member
Jay Greene		POLY		Chief Engineer of NASA Johnson Space Center
Bern Dibner		POLY		Discovered how to connect electrical conductors still used today. Assembled one of the world's most important history of science libraries, now housed at MIT and the National Museum of American History
Norman Gaylord		POLY		Played a prominent role in the development of permeable contact lenses
Charles Camarda		POLY		Astronaut; NASA scientist and mission specialist on the Return to Flight voyage of the shuttle Discovery
Paolo A. Nespoli		POLY		Italian astronaut, mission specialist at STS-120 Space Shuttle mission
Thomas J. Kelly		POLY		Scientist; "father" of the Apollo Lunar Module
Jack Ruina		POLY		DARPA director; MIT professor emeritus
Robert O'Handley		POLY	MS, PhD	MIT professor and research scientist
Michael Strano	1997	POLY	B.S.	Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Howard A. Chinn		POLY		Pioneered techniques of analog audio recording, and radio and television broadcasting; was chief audio engineer at CBS, and a researcher at MIT and Harvard.
Fredric J. Harris		POLY		Co-inventor of the Blackman-Harris Filter
Hugh John Casey		POLY		Designer of the Pentagon
Samuel Ruben		POLY		Inventor who made lasting contributions to electrochemistry and solid-state technology, including the founding of Duracell; held more than 300 patents
Ephraim Katzir		POLY		Fourth President of Israel; chief scientist of the Israel Defense Department
Bill Friend		POLY		Chairman of the University of California's President's Council on the National Laboratories; National Academy of Engineering member
Albert Macovski		POLY		Professor (Emeritus) at Stanford University; National Academy of Engineering member
Christos V. Massalas		POLY		Professor at Trinity College, Dublin; Fulbright scholar
Irwin Kra		POLY		Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Hamilton Castner		POLY		Industrial chemist; invented methods to produce sodium metal and sodium hydroxide from soda ash and salt respectively; awarded Elliott Cresson Medal
George Glauberman		POLY		Professor at University of Chicago; Fellow of the American Mathematical Society; proved the ZJ theorem and the Z* theorem
Jules Bellisio		POLY		Chief Scientist at Telcordia Technologies
Lew Tucker		POLY		Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Cisco Systems
Charles D. Strang		POLY		Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
David J. Thomson		POLY		Professor at Princeton University, Stanford University, MIT, and University of Cambridge. Invented the Multitaper
Ronald R. Yager		POLY		Professor at University of California, Berkeley; invented Ordered weighted averaging aggregation operator
Peter Pershan		POLY		Professor at Harvard University
Judea Pearl		POLY		Professor at UCLA; awarded Turing Award in 2011; Member of the National Academy of Engineering; Member of the National Academy of Sciences
Mischa Schwartz		POLY		Professor at Columbia University; National Academy of Engineering member
Erol Gelenbe		POLY		Professor at Imperial College London and Duke University; invented G-networks and random neural network
Steven L. Goldman		POLY		Professor at Lehigh University
Buddy Ratner		POLY		Professor at University of Washington; National Academy of Engineering member
Ronald Silverman		POLY		Professor of Ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medical College; Professor of Ophthalmic Science at Columbia University Medical Center
Don Torrieri		POLY		Professor at Johns Hopkins University; research engineer and fellow of the US Army Research Laboratory
Edward A. Frieman		POLY		Professor at Princeton University; Director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Guggenheim Fellow
Grigori Perelman		COURANT		Fields Medal winner; proved the soul conjecture and Thurston's geometrization conjecture
Leopold B. Felsen		POLY		Professor at Boston University; National Academy of Engineering member; Guggenheim Fellow
Erich E. Kunhardt		POLY		Professor at Stevens Institute of Technology
Bishnu S. Atal		POLY		Professor at University of Washington; Member of the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Sciences
Robert H. Lieberman		POLY		Professor at Cornell University; Fulbright scholar
Hugh Seidman		POLY		Professor at University of Wisconsin, Yale University, Columbia University, the College of William and Mary, and The New School
Clayton Hamilton		POLY		Professor at Columbia University
Linda Weiser Friedman		POLY		Professor of Statistics and Computer Information Systems at Baruch College and the CUNY Graduate Center
George Preti		POLY		Professor at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Gerald J. Popek		ENG		Professor at UCLA
Hung-Chang Lin		POLY		Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Maryland; invented the quasi-complementary (transistor) amplifier circuit, the lateral transistor, and the wireless microphone; held 61 patents
Murray S. Klamkin		POLY		Professor at University of Minnesota and SUNY Buffalo
Anthony M. Johnson		POLY		Professor at University of Maryland
Steve Wallach		POLY		Professor at Rice University; holds 33 patents; member of the National Academy of Engineering
Peter Staecker		POLY		President of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; researcher at MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Andrew Herrmann		POLY		President of the American Society of Civil Engineers
Joel B. Snyder		POLY		President of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Eli M. Pearce		POLY		President of the American Chemical Society; designed fire-resistant polymers.
Morris Janowitz		WSC		Made major contributions to sociological theory
Martin Pope		POLY		Professor emeritus at New York University
Walter Brenner		POLY		Professor at New York University
Bancroft Gherardi, Jr.		POLY		IEEE Edison Medal winner; President of American Institute of Electrical Engineers; National Academy of Sciences member
Mario Cardullo		POLY		Invented Radio-frequency identification (RFID)
Robert G. Brown		POLY		Invented the first telephone handset
Joseph Owades		POLY		Inventor of Lite beer
Len Shustek		POLY		Professor at Carnegie-Mellon University and Stanford University
Eugene Fasullo		POLY		Chief Engineer of Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Martin Schechter		POLY		Professor and founding director of the School of Population and Public Health in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia
Rossiter W. Raymond		POLY		Professor at Columbia University
Henry L. Bachman	1951, 1954	POLY	BSEE, MSEE	IEEE president in 1987; served as Vice President of BAE Systems; Fellow of the IEEE
John Gilbert		POLY		Inventor of non-stick coating as an application of Teflon; invented devices ranging from a multiple-head pasta extruder for the Ronzoni Company to miniaturized registers for the U.S. Army Signal Corps; Chief Scientist at DuPont
Henry C. Goldmark		POLY		Designed and installed the Panama Canal locks
Mario Tchou		POLY		Created Olivetti Elea, Italy's first computer
Leopold Just		POLY		Designed virtually every major bridge and tunnel in New York City, as well as Washington Metro, Ohio Turnpike and Connecticut Turnpike
Jasper H. Kane		POLY		Developed the practical, deep-tank fermentation method for production of large quantities of pharmaceutical-grade penicillin
Nathan Marcuvitz		POLY		Head of the experimental group of the Radiation Laboratory (MIT); Member of the National Academy of Engineering
Jacob Bekenstein		POLY		Wolf Prize in Physics winner; best known for his part in the discovery of what is now called Bekenstein-Hawking radiation
Jerome H. Lemelson		ENG		Holder of 605 patents; established the Lemelson Foundation; one of the most prolific inventors in American history; several of his inventions and works in the fields in which he patented have made possible, either wholly or in part, innovations like automated warehouses, industrial robots, cordless telephones, fax machines, videocassette recorders, camcorders, and the magnetic tape drive used in tape players
Ali Akansu	1983, 1987	POLY	M.S., Ph.D.	Professor at New Jersey Institute of Technology best known for his contributions to subband and wavelet transforms
Jack M. Sipress		POLY		Contributed to the development of submarine communications facilities; Member of the National Academy of Engineering
Benjamin Adler		POLY		Helped develop commercial television
Robert Zwanzig		POLY		Professor at Johns Hopkins University; Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences
Barouh Berkovits		POLY		Invented the cardiac defibrillator and artificial cardiac pacemaker
John B. MacChesney		ENG		Winner of Charles Stark Draper Prize
Gerard J. Foschini		ENG		professor at Princeton University
Lawrence J. Fogel		ENG		Inventor of active noise cancellation
Leonard Greene		ENG		Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
Michael I. Yarymovych		ENG		Chief Scientist of the U.S. Air Force (1973–1975); Guggenheim Fellow
Alexander H. Flax		ENG		Chief Scientist of the U.S. Air Force (1959–1961)
Robert S. Swarz		ENG		Co-director of the Systems Engineering Practice Office of MITRE Corporation
George Doundoulakis		POLY		Designed what was until very recently the largest radio telescope in the world
Helias Doundoulakis		POLY		Patented the suspension system for the largest radio telescope in the world
Ahmed Cemal Eringen		POLY		Turkish-American engineering scientist; professor at Princeton University; namesake of the Eringen Medal
Henrik Ager-Hanssen		ENG		Norwegian nuclear physicist and businessperson; Member of the National Academy of Engineering
Bede Liu	1956, 1960	POLY	M.E.E., D.E.E.	Pioneer in digital signal processing. Professor at Princeton University; member of the National Academy of Engineering; Life Fellow of IEEE
Subrata K. Sen		POLY		Joseph F. Cullman III professor and researcher at Yale University
Roy LoPresti		ENG		Worked on the Apollo Moon Program; served as advisor to the US Congress; designed LoPresti Fury; designed the Grumman American AA-5; Chief Engineer and Vice President of Engineering at Mooney Aviation Company, where he designed the Mooney 201
Robert Sobel				Professor of history at Hofstra University; well-known and prolific writer of business histories
Elliott Skinner				Anthropologist; Guggenheim Fellow
James Ax		POLY		Mathematics professor at Stanford University and Cornell University; won Frank Nelson Cole Prize in Number Theory; proved Ax–Grothendieck theorem and Ax–Kochen theorem; Guggenheim Fellow
Russell A. Kirsch		ENG		Developed the first digital image scanner
E. Gail de Planque	1983	GSAS	Ph.D.	Nuclear physicist; first woman to become a Commissioner at the US government's Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); National Academy of Engineering member
Jacob Wolfowitz	1942	Courant	Ph.D.	Statistician and Shannon Award-winning information theorist; professor at Cornell University, Columbia University and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; proved Wald–Wolfowitz runs test and Dvoretzky–Kiefer–Wolfowitz inequality
Solomon Berson	1939, 1945	MED	M.S., MD	Developed radioimmunoassay with Rosalyn Yalow, who received a Nobel Prize for their joint work after Berson's death.
Gabriel P. Weisberg	1963	WSC	B.A.	Art historian, Professor of Art History Emeritus, University of Minnesota
Cortney Lollar	2002	LAW	J.D.	Distinguished professor of Law at University of Kentucky

Abel Prize recipients

Name	Year	School	Degree	Notability	Reference
Louis Nirenberg	1949	Courant	Ph.D.	Abel Prize (2015) and 1995 National Medal of Science recipient
S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan	1966	Courant	postdoc	Abel Prize (2007)
Peter Lax	1947, 1949	Courant	B.A., Ph.D.	Abel Prize (2005) and 1986 National Medal of Science recipient

MacArthur Fellows

Name	Year	School	Degree	Notability	Reference
Milton Babbitt	1935	ARTS	B.A.	1986 MacArthur Fellow
George Perle	1956	GSAS	Ph.D.	1974 MacArthur Fellow
Charles Simic	1966	ARTS	B.A.	1983 MacArthur Fellow
Michelle Dorrance	2001	Gallatin	B.A.	2015 MacArthur Fellow
Mimi Lien	2003	TSOA	M.F.A.	2015 MacArthur Fellow
Basil Twist	2015	TSOA		2015 MacArthur Fellow
Majora Carter	1997	TSOA	M.F.A	2005 MacArthur Fellow
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins	2007	TSOA	M.A.	2016 MacArthur Fellow
Sylvia A. Law	1968	Law	J.D.	1983 MacArthur Fellow
Annie Baker	2003	TSOA	B.F.A.	2017 MacArthur Fellow
Gabriel Victora	2011	GSAS	Ph.D.	2017 MacArthur Fellow

National Medals for Science, Technology and Innovation, Arts and Humanities recipients

Name	Year	School	Degree	Notability	Reference
Joseph B. Keller	1943–1948	GSAS	B.A., M.A., Ph.D.	1988 National Medal of Science recipient
Peter Lax	1947, 1949	Courant	B.A., Ph.D.	1986 National Medal of Science recipient and Abel Prize (2005)
Alexandre Chorin		Courant		2014 National Medal of Science recipient
Martin David Kruskal		Courant		1993 National Medal of Science recipient
Cathleen Synge Morawetz	1951	GSAS	Ph.D.	1998 National Medal of Science recipient (first woman recipient)
Frederick Reines	1944	GSAS	Ph.D.	1985 National Medal of Science recipient and 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics
Albert Sabin	1931	Med	M.D.	1988 National Medal of Science recipient
John Archibald Wheeler	1934	GSAS	postdoc	1970 National Medal of Science recipient
John G. Trump	1929	POLY	B.S.	1983 National Medal of Science recipient
Joel S. Engel	1964	POLY	Ph.D.	1994 National Medal of Technology recipient
Richard J. Gambino	1976	POLY	M.S.	1995 National Medal of Technology recipient
Jerome Swartz		POLY	Ph.D.	1999 National Medal of Technology recipient
Tony Kushner	1984	TSOA	MFA	2012 National Medal of Arts recipient
Moisés Kaufman	1989	TSOA	BFA	2016 National Medal of Arts recipient; Guggenheim Fellow
Louis Nirenberg	1949	Courant	Ph.D.	1995 National Medal of Science recipient and Abel Prize (2015)
S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan	1966	Courant	postdoc	2010 National Medal of Science recipient
B. Gerald Cantor		Law		1995 National Medal of Arts recipient
Bernard Brodie (biochemist)	1935	GSAS	Ph.D.	1968 National Medal of Science recipient

Nobel laureates

Name	Year	School	Degree	Notability	Reference
Robert Aumann				2005 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics
Julius Axelrod	1941	Med	M.Sc.	1970 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Saul Bellow				1976 Nobel Prize in Literature
Baruj Benacerraf				1980 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Joseph Brodsky				1987 Nobel Prize in Literature
Francis Crick	1953	POLY	Postdoc	1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine
Mohamed ElBaradei	1967	Law	LL.M.	2005 Nobel Peace Prize
Gertrude B. Elion		*POLY	PhD	1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Robert Engle				2003 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
Rudolf Eucken				1908 Nobel Prize for Literature
Friedrich Hayek	1924	GSAS		1974 Bank of Sweden Prize in Economics
James Heckman				2000 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
Avram Hershko				2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Eric R. Kandel	1955	Med	M.D.	2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; Associate Professor 1965–74
Tjalling Koopmans				1975 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
Arthur Kornberg	1947	Med		1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Wassily Leontief				1973 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
Otto Loewi				1936 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Rudolph Marcus		POLY		1992 Nobel Prize in Chemistry; won Wolf Prize in Chemistry
Robert Mulliken				1966 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Gunnar Myrdal				1974 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
Severo Ochoa				1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine
George E. Palade			Postgraduate work at biology laboratory of Robert Chambers	1974 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Shimon Peres				Nobel Peace Prize
Martin Perl	1948	POLY	B.S.	1995 Nobel Prize in Physics
Edward Prescott				2004 Nobel Prize in Economics
Frederick Reines	1944	GSAS	Ph.D.	1995 Nobel Prize in Physics and 1985 National Medal of Science recipient
Elihu Root	1867	Law	LL.B.	1912 Nobel Peace Prize
Irwin Rose			Postgraduate work under Severo Ochoa	2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Thomas Sargent				2011 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences
Clifford Shull	1941	GSAS	Ph.D.	1994 Nobel Prize in Physics
Wole Soyinka				1986 Nobel Prize in Literature
George Wald	1927	WSC	B.S.	1967 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Rosalyn Yalow			coursework*	1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Academic administrators

• Joe Gow (born 1960) (attended West Chester University before transferring to New York University, later transferring to Penn State University, from where he graduated) — American academic, musician, pornographic actor, and university administrator, noted for being fired as Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse in December 2023 after being outed for filming and starring in consensual pornographic videos with his wife, which they posted to public adult websites (without ever mentioning their names, careers, or university affiliations)

Business

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Kobi Alexander	Stern, M.B.A., 1980	Founder and former CEO of Comverse Technology
Leslie Alexander	CAS B.A.	Attorney and businessman; former owner of the Houston Rockets NBA team
Nicolas Berggruen	Stern, B.S., 1981	Billionaire, founder of Berggruen Institute
Alexander Soros	CAS B.A.	Non-profit executive, heir and philanthropist; son of George Soros
Philip Jaffe	POLY, 1913–14	Co-founder of Amerasia' involved in the 1945 Amerasia espionage affair
Ursula Burns	POLY, B.S., 1980	Chairman and CEO of Xerox
Charles Ranlett Flint	POLY, B.S., 1868	Founder of IBM
Harvey R. Blau	A.B.; LLM	Chairman and former CEO of Griffon Corporation
Ronald Kramer	Stern, MBA	CEO of Griffon Corporation; former president and director of Wynn Resorts
Alex Klokus	Stern	Co-founder of Futurism, executive producer
James B. Rosenwald	Stern, MBA	Co-founder and managing partner of Dalton Investments LLC
James M. Henderson	Graduate studies	Founder of Henderson Advertising Agency in Greenville, South Carolina; Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina in 1970
Arthur C. Martinez	POLY, B.S., 1960	Former chairman and CEO of Sears
Robert J. Stevens	POLY, M.S., 1985	Chairman, President and CEO of Lockheed Martin
Thor Bjorgolfsson	Stern, B.S., 1991	Icelandic businessman and entrepreneur; known as "Iceland's first billionaire"
David Boies	Law L.L.M., 1967	Founder and Chairman, Boies, Schiller & Flexner
Jake Burton Carpenter	economics degree 1977 WSUC	Designer of modern snowboard and founder of Burton Snowboards
Ben Cohen	Art Therapy *	Founder of Ben & Jerry's
Robert B. Cohen	1947	Founded Hudson News in 1987
Jane Gordon	CAS B.A.	Jewelry designer
John J. Creedon	Stern 1955, B.S. Law 1957, J.D.	Former CEO and chairman, MetLife
Marvin Davis	ENG, B.S.	CEO of Paramount Pictures
Robert Dow	ENG	Managing partner and chairman of the board of Lord Abbett
Thomas E. Dooley	Stern, M.B.A. 1984	Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, CEO and CFO of Viacom
Israel Englander	Stern, B.S. 1972	Hedge fund manager
James Ferragamo	Stern	Businessman
Richard S. Fuld	Stern 1973, M.B.A.	CEO of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
Tom Freston	Stern, M.B.A.	MTV Networks
Abraham George	Stern, 1973, 1975, M.B.A, Ph.D.	Founder of The George Foundation and Multinational Computer Models
Kayalakakam M. George	Stern 1948, M.B.A	CEO of Palai Central Bank (1956–60)
Harvey Golub	Stern 1961, B.S.	Chairman and CEO of American Express (1994–2001); Chairman of the American International Group (AIG)
Alan Greenspan	Stern 1948 1950 1977, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.	Former chairman of the Federal Reserve
Robert Greifeld	Stern 1977, M.B.A.	CEO of NASDAQ
Scott Harrison	CAS 1998, B.A.	Founder of Charity: Water
Carl Icahn	MED*	Investor and activist shareholder
Henry Kaufman	Stern 1948, B.A., Stern 1958, Ph.D.	Wall Street financial consultant
Paul Kangas	Stern, M.B.A.	Host of Nightly Business Report
Herb Kelleher	Law 1955, LL.B.	Founder and CEO of Southwest Airlines
Eugene Kleiner	POLY	Founder of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers; co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor
Nina Freeman	POLY	Video game designer, co-founder of The Code Liberation Foundation
Alan Levin	Stern 1976, M.B.A.	CFO of Pfizer
Paul Levitz	Stern*	President of DC Comics
Martin Lipton	Law 1955, J.D.	Co-founder of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
John C. Malone	ENG, M.S.	CEO of Tele-Communications Inc.; CEO of Liberty Media; now chairman of Liberty Media, Liberty Global, and Liberty Interactive, all of which he is the majority owner; owns 49% of Starz Inc. and 29% of Discovery Communications
Michael I. Yarymovych	ENG	Vice President of Boeing Company
George Feldstein	ENG, B.S., M.S.	Founder of Crestron Electronics
Cathy Minehan	Stern 1977, M.B.A.	President of Federal Reserve Bank, Boston
Joseph Nacchio	ENG, B.S., Stern, M.B.A.	Chairman and CEO of Qwest
Roy Neuberger	coursework*	Founder of Neuberger & Berman
Marc Rich	CAS, B.A.	Commodities trader and hedge fund manager; indicted for tax evasion
Leonard Riggio	Stern 1964, M.B.A.	CEO and owner of Barnes & Noble
Edouard de Rothschild	Stern 1985, M.B.A.	Rothschild Banque
Jay Schulberg	1961	Advertising executive at Ogilvy & Mather and Bozell Worldwide; creator of the "Got Milk?" advertising campaign
W. R. Berkley	Stern	Founder, chairman and CEO of W. R. Berkley Corporation
William T. Schwendler	ENG, B.S., 1924	Co-founder, chairman and CEO of Grumman
Michael Birck	ENG	Co-founder and current chairman of Tellabs
John Catsimatidis	ENG	Businessman invested in real estate, aviation, and groceries; radio talk show host; owner, president, chairman, and CEO of Gristedes
Frederick Gluck	ENG	Chief executive at McKinsey & Company; Director at Amgen; serves on the Harvard Business School Board of Directors of the Associates, the Management Education Council of the Wharton School, the U.S. and Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Committee, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Board of the International Executive Service Corps
Walter V. Shipley	Stern 1956, B.S.	Chairman and CEO of Chase Manhattan Bank
Larry Silverstein	CAS B.A., 1952	Owner of World Trade Center site
Mark Spitznagel	Courant, M.S.	Investor, hedge fund manager
Stanley Stahl	B.A.	Real estate investor
Leonard N. Stern	Stern 1957, B.S., 1959, M.B.A.	Namesake of NYU's Stern School of Business; CEO of The Hartz Group
Juan Antonio Samaranch Salisachs	Stern, M.B.A.	Member of International Olympic Committee
Sy Syms	CAS B.A., 1946	Founder of Syms Clothing
Henry Taub	Stern 1947, B.S.	Founder of Automatic Data Processing, philanthropist
Maurice Tempelsman	Stern*	Chairman of Lazare Kaplan International Inc.; former companion of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Laurence Alan Tisch	Stern 1942, B.Sc.	Media mogul; president and chief executive officer, CBS
Christy Turlington	Gallatin 1999, B.A.	Supermodel
Agnes Varis	Stern 1979, M.B.A.	Founder of Aegis Pharmaceuticals
Peggy Yu	Stern, M.B.A.	Founder of dangdang.com, the largest online Chinese language retailer
Jack Dorsey		Creator of Twitter; founder and CEO of Block, Inc.
George W. Melville	POLY	Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering
Spencer Trask	POLY	Invested and supported entrepreneurs, including Thomas Edison's invention of the electric light bulb and his electricity network; majority shareholder and chairman of The New York Times
Hugh John Casey	POLY	Chairman of the New York City Transit Authority
Michael Horodniceanu	POLY	President of the MTA Capital Construction
Alfred Amoroso	POLY	Former chairman of Yahoo!
John Dionisio	POLY	Chairman and CEO of AECOM
Charles D. Strang	POLY	Chairman, president and CEO of Outboard Marine Corporation
Herbert L. Henkel	POLY	Chairman of Ingersoll Rand
Israel Borovich	POLY	Chairman and CEO of EL AL
Jason Hsuan	POLY	Chairman and CEO of TPV Technology
John Trani	POLY	Former chairman and CEO of Stanley Black & Decker
John Elmer McKeen	POLY	Former chairman and CEO of Pfizer; Member of the National Academy of Engineering
Alfred P. Sloan	POLY	Former chairman and CEO of General Motors
Mark Ronald	POLY	Former chairman and CEO of BAE Systems Inc.
Joseph J. Jacobs	POLY	Former chairman and founder of Jacobs Engineering Group
Paul Ferri	POLY	Founder and General Partner of Matrix Partners
Bern Dibner	POLY	Former chairman, founder and CEO of Burndy
Sunil Godhwani	POLY	Chairman and CEO of Religare
Jerome Swartz	POLY	Co-founded Symbol Technologies with POLY graduate Shelley A. Harrison
Samuel Ruben	POLY	Co-founded Duracell
Richard Santulli	POLY, B.S., M.S.	Former chairman, founder and CEO of NetJets; current chairman and founder of Milestone Aviation Group.
Paul Soros	POLY	Founder and former CEO of Soros Associates; brother of George Soros
Michael H. Kappaz	POLY	Chairman and CEO of KM Group
Vincent A. Calarco	POLY	CEO and President of Chemtura
Charles Hinkaty	POLY	Vice president at Citibank
David Sobin	POLY	CEO of BAMnet; founded a DSL company, which was subsequently sold for approximately $50M
Edward P. Gilligan	Stern	Vice Chairman, President of American Express
Glenford Myers	POLY	Founder of RadiSys and IP Fabrics
Ami Miron	POLY	Vice president of General Instrument; senior advisor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University
Stav Prodromou	POLY	Founder and former CEO of Poqet Computer Corporation; former CEO of Alien Technology and Peregrine Semiconductor; Executive Vice President of Fairchild Semiconductor
Craig G. Matthews	POLY	President, CFO and Chief Operating Officer of KeySpan
Ira Drukier	POLY	Hotelier and philanthropist
Fadi Chehadé	POLY	Founder of RosettaNet; Chief Executive Officer of ICANN
Nils Lahr	POLY	Co-founder of IBEAM Broadcasting Corporation and Synergy Sports Technology
William C. W. Mow	POLY	Chairman and CEO of Bugle Boy
Charles Waldo Haskins	POLY	Co-founder of Haskins and Sells
Zalman Bernstein	CAS	Businessman and economist
John Paulson	Stern	Hedge fund manager
Kenneth Langone	Stern	Co-founder of The Home Depot
Charles Kushner	CAS	Owner of Kushner Properties
Jared Kushner	Law	President and CEO of Kushner Properties; owner of The New York Observer
Vincent Tchenguiz	Stern	Investment adviser
Rachelle Friedman	POLY	Founder of J&R
Bill Friend	POLY	Former president of Bechtel
Alan Schriesheim	POLY	Board member of Rohm and Haas
Stephen M. Ross	Law	Real-estate developer; owner of Miami Dolphins NFL team
Robin Wilson	SPS 2004, M.S	Founder and CEO of bedding and interior design company Robin Wilson Home
B. Gerald Cantor		Founder and chairman of securities firm Cantor Fitzgerald
Charles Zegar		Computer scientists; one of the four co-founders of Bloomberg L.P.
Richard C. Perry	Stern	Hedge fund manager, owns controlling interest in Barneys New York
Ira Rennert	Stern	Private investor in mining, metals, and heavy industry
Lawrence Babbio, Jr.	Stern	Former vice chairman and president of Verizon
Mark Wilf	Law	President and co-owner of the Minnesota Vikings
Daniel E. Straus	Law	Vice Chairman of the Memphis Grizzlies
Dan Schulman	Stern, M.B.A.	President and CEO of PayPal and chairman of Symantec; co-founder and former CEO of Virgin Mobile USA
George S. Barrett	Stern, M.B.A.	Chairman and chief executive officer of Cardinal Health, Inc.
Robert W. Cremin	POLY, B.S.	Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Esterline; Chairman of Dover Corporation
Lorenzo Fertitta	Stern, M.B.A.	Co-founder of Station Casinos
Larry Zimmerman	Stern	CFO of Xerox
Charles A. Heimbold, Jr.	Stern	Chairman and CEO of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Barry Salzberg	Law	CEO of Deloitte
Evan Chesler	Law	Partner and former chairman of Cravath, Swaine & Moore
John Carrig	Law	Chief operating officer and president for ConocoPhillips
Robert I. Lipp	Law	Vice Chairman of Citigroup
Robert A. Kindler	Law	Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley
John Turitzin	Law	Vice President of Marvel Entertainment
Herb Kelleher	Law	Founder, Chairman Emeritus and former CEO of Southwest Airlines
Nick Ivanoff	POLY	President and CEO of Ammann & Whitney; elected 2014-2015 chairman of American Road and Transportation Builders Association
Peter Guber	Law	Hollywood producer; former chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment
Steven Florio	Stern	CEO and President of both Conde Nast Publications and The New Yorker, as well as publisher of GQ
Barry Zyskind	Stern, M.B.A	Chairman, CEO and President of AmTrust Financial Services
Sashi Reddi	Courant	CEO and founder of App Labs
Link Lauren	Music Business, B.S.	Online content creator, former senior campaign advisor to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Entertainment

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Lucy Alibar	TSOA	Beasts of the Southern Wild
Paul Thomas Anderson	TSOA 1993*, dropped out after two days	Magnolia, Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood
Aziz Ansari	Stern 2004, B.S	Actor, Parks and Recreation, Master of None, Human Giant, Scrubs; stand-up comedian
Ashley Argota	NURSING, current student	True Jackson, VP, Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures
Jeff Baena	TSOA	Film writer and director
Sean Baker	TSOA	Director best known for Tangerine and The Florida Project
Alec Baldwin	TSOA 1993, B.F.A.	Actor, The Hunt for Red October, Pearl Harbor, The Aviator, 30 Rock
Kristen Bell	TSOA 1998–2001*	Veronica Mars, Pulse, Heroes, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Gossip Girl
Julie Benz	TSOA 1994, B.F.A.	Jawbreaker, Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Laura Berman	SSW	Sex educator and sex therapist; host of In the Bedroom with Dr. Laura Berman on the Oprah Winfrey Network
Justin Blanchard	TSOA 2001, B.F.A.	Journey's End (Broadway), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Alexis Bledel	TSOA*	Gilmore Girls, Sin City, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Tuck Everlasting
Rachel Bloom	TSOA	Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Barry Bostwick	TSOA	Original Broadway Cast of Grease, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Spin City
Martin Brest	TSOA 1973, B.F.A.	Beverly Hills Cop, Meet Joe Black, Gigli
Lisa Bruce	TSOA	The Theory of Everything
Rustica Carpio	Steinhardt 1956, M.A.	Actress and writer; former dean of the College of Communication and Graduate School of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines; appointed to Philippine government positions
Susan Cartsonis	TSOA	President of Wind Dance Films
Vinnette Justine Carroll	ARTS 1946, M.A.	First African American woman to direct on Broadway
Lenora Champagne	ARTS 1975, M.A., 1980 PhD.	Playwright, performance artist and director
Jennifer Charles	TSOA 1990, B.F.A.	Musician, writer, and actress
Rachel Chavkin	TSOA	Tony Award nominated director of the Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812
Chris Columbus	TSOA	Both Home Alone films, Mrs. Doubtfire, Stepmom, first two Harry Potter films, Rent
Bud Cort	TSOA 1967–1969*	Harold and Maude, MASH, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Allen Covert		Grandma's Boy, The Wedding Singer
Billy Crudup	TSOA 1994, M.F.A.	Sleepers, Big Fish, Watchmen, Public Enemies
Billy Crystal	TSOA 1970, B.F.A.	Analyze This, Analyze That, City Slickers 1 & 2, When Harry Met Sally
John Cusack	TSOA*	High Fidelity, Con Air
Emira D'Spain	STEINHARDT, STERN	Model, social media influencer
Drea de Matteo	TSOA	The Sopranos, Joey
Julie Delpy	TSOA	Homo Faber, Three Colors: White, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset
Amanda Detmer	TSOA, M.F.A.	Actress
Tony DiSanto	TSOA	Producer
Michael Dougherty	TSOA, M.F.A.	X2, Superman Returns
Lisa Edelstein	TSOA 1988, B.F.A.	House
Kathryn Erbe	TSOA*	What About Bob?, Law and Order: Criminal Intent
Burcu Esmersoy	SPS*	Turkish anchorwoman, beauty pageant titleholder, journalist, model, and occasional actress
Raul Esparza	TSOA 1992, B.F.A.	Actor
Dakota Fanning	GAL, current student	Actress, I Am Sam, Charlotte's Web, Coraline, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn
Mitch Fatel	TSOA 1988*	The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Comedy Central Presents: Mitch Fatel, Super Retardo CD
Wayne Federman	TSOA 1981*	Curb Your Enthusiasm, Legally Blonde, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Silicon Valley
Malindi Fickle	B.F.A., 2002	Jacklight, Suck it Up Buttercup
Bridget Fonda	TSOA 1987, B.F.A.	Doc Hollywood, Jackie Brown
Marc Forster	TSOA 1990–1993*	Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland
Bethenny Frankel	WSC 1992	The Real Housewives of New York City, Bethenny Ever After, Bethenny; creator/owner of Skinnygirl
Griffin Frazen	GAL 2009, B.A.	Grounded For Life
Lady Gaga	TSOA	Singer
Melissa Gallo	TSOA 2003, B.F.A.	One Life to Live, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Edi Gathegi	TSOA	Gone Baby Gone, House M.D., CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Twilight, The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Jordan Gelber	TSOA	Avenue Q, The Sopranos, Law & Order: SVU
Gina Gershon	TSOA 1983, B.F.A.	The Insider, Showgirls, Bound
Tavi Gevinson	GAL*	Editor, writer, actress
Donald Glover	TSOA 2006, B.F.A	Actor, rapper under the stage name Childish Gambino
Mark Gordon	TSOA	Television and film producer; former president of the Producers Guild of America
Lou Gossett	CAS, 1959, B.A.	Roots, An Officer and a Gentleman
Bryan Greenberg	TSOA*	Prime
Rachel Griffin-Accurso, better known as Ms. Rachel	Master’s degree in music education	YouTuber, social media personality, songwriter, and educator
Peter Guber	Stern, M.B.A.	Mandalay Pictures
Matthew Gray Gubler	TSOA 2002, M.F.A.	(500) Days of Summer, Criminal Minds, RV, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Michael C. Hall	TSOA 1996, M.F.A.	Six Feet Under, Dexter
Regina Hall	GSAS 1997, M.A.	Scary Movie
Walter Hampden	POLY	Actor
Wood Harris	TSOA 1983, M.F.A.	Above the Rim
Anne Hathaway	Gallatin, TSOA*	The Princess Diaries, The Devil Wears Prada, Ella Enchanted, Rachel Gets Married, Alice in Wonderland
Ethan Hawke	CAS*	Training Day, Dead Poets Society, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset
Amy Heckerling	TSOA, B.F.A.	Look Who's Talking, Loser, Clueless
Antony Hegarty	TSOA, (E.T.W.) 1992 B.F.A.	Antony and the Johnsons: Swanlights, The Crying Light, I Am a Bird Now (UK Mercury Prize 2005)
Israel Hicks	M.F.A.	Stage director who presented August Wilson's entire 10-play Pittsburgh Cycle
Philip Seymour Hoffman	TSOA 1989, B.F.A.	Capote, Boogie Nights, Happiness, Magnolia, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Almost Famous
Todd Holoubek	TSOA 2002, B.F.A.	MTV: The State
Wendy Hoopes	TSOA 2002, B.F.A.	Spinster, Killing Cinderella, Daria
Edward Everett Horton	POLY	Character actor
Bryce Dallas Howard	TSOA	The Village, Lady in the Water, Terminator Salvation, Twilight: Eclipse
Shawn Michael Howard	TSOA, B.F.A.	Boycott, Above the Rim, 3000 Miles to Graceland
Neal Huff	TSOA, M.F.A.	Take Me Out, The Little Dog Laughed
Felicity Huffman	TSOA	Transamerica, Desperate Housewives
Mark Indelicato	GAL, current student	Actor
Jim Jarmusch	TSOA*	Stranger than Paradise, Down By Law, Broken Flowers
Tamara Jenkins	TSOA	Slums of Beverly Hills
Alexa Ray Joel	TSOA*	Singer-songwriter, pianist
Kristen Johnston	TSOA, B.F.A.	3rd Rock from the Sun
Hansol Jung	One-year exchange program	Playwright: Wolf Play, Wild Goose Dreams, No More Sad Things
Jeffrey Katzenberg	TSOA*	Shrek; co-founder of DreamWorks
Daniel Dae Kim	TSOA 1996, M.F.A.	ABC series Lost, CBS Series Hawaii Five-0
Karlie Kloss	GAL, current student	Fashion model
Stanley Kramer	TSOA 1993, B.F.A.	High Noon, Cyrano de Bergerac
Peter Krause	TSOA 1990, M.F.A.	Six Feet Under, Parenthood, 9-1-1
Martin Kunert	TSOA	Voices of Iraq, MTV's Fear
Tony Kushner	TSOA 1984, M.F.A.	Tony Award
Eriq La Salle	TSOA, B.F.A.	ER
Ang Lee	TSOA, M.F.A.	Life of Pi, Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Sense and Sensibility
Spike Lee	TSOA 1982, M.F.A.	Malcolm X, Do the Right Thing, Bamboozled, Jungle Fever
Thomas Lennon		MTV: The State, Reno 911!, Taxi (screenwriter)
Ken Leung	CAS, B.A.	Lost, X-Men: The Last Stand, Shanghai Kiss
Janet Lilly	TSOA 1982, B.A.	Principal dancer for Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
Bai Ling	TSOA 1991–??	Anna and the King
Zoe Lister-Jones	TSOA B.A.	The Little Dog Laughed
Victoria Loke	GAL	Actress
Julia Loktev	M.F.A	The Loneliest Planet, Day Night Day Night, Moment of Impact
Billie Lourd	GAL	Actress
Brigette Lundy-Paine	2015	Actor, Atypical, Bill & Ted Face the Music, I Saw the TV Glow
Bruce Mailman	M.F.A.	Theatre founder of the nightclub The Saint
Charlotte Manson		radio actress
Rooney Mara	GAL*	The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Trash, Her
Demetri Martin	Law	Comedian, actor, artist, musician, writer, and humorist
Jesse L. Martin	TSOA 1989, M.F.A.	Ed Green in Law and Order; Rent
Mary Stuart Masterson	TSOA*	Fried Green Tomatoes, The Postman
Melina Matsoukas	TSOA*	Director of "We Found Love" by Rihanna, "Diva" by Beyoncé
Dwayne McDuffie	TSOA	Television, film, and comic book writer, producer, and editor
John C. McGinley	TSOA	Intensity, Scrubs, Point Break
Camila Mendes	TSOA 2016	Veronica Lodge on Riverdale
Idina Menzel	TSOA*	Wicked, Rent, Enchanted, Rescue Me, Frozen
Ismail Merchant	Stern, M.B.A.	Co-founded Merchant Ivory Productions
Debra Messing	TSOA 1987, M.F.A.	Will and Grace, NBC's Smash
Leah Meyerhoff	TSOA 2007, M.F.A.	Twitch
Matthew Morrison	TSOA 1993, B.F.A.	Glee, The Hunt for Red October, Pearl Harbor, The Aviator, 30 Rock
Rachel Morrison	TSOA	Fruitvale Station, Cake, Sound of My Voice
Kate Mulgrew	TSOA 1976, A.A.	Star Trek: Voyager, Orange is the New Black
Javier Muñoz	TSOA	Actor who played Usnavi in the Broadway musical In the Heights; currently playing the titular role in the Hamilton musical
Jeff Nimoy	CAS, B.A.	Naruto, Digimon, Trigun
Jerry O'Connell	TSOA 1997, B.F.A.	Crossing Jordan, Mission to Mars
Charlie O'Connell	TSOA 1995, B.F.A.	Sliders, The Bachelor
Vivek Oberoi	TSOA	Indian actor
Ryan Scott Oliver	TSOA 2007, M.F.A	Musical theatre composer, Mrs. Sharp, Darling, 35MM
Ashley Olsen	GAL*	Full House, It Takes Two, Two of a Kind, New York Minute
Elizabeth Olsen	TSOA 2013	Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Godzilla, In Secret
Mary Kate Olsen	GAL	Full House, It Takes Two, Two of a Kind, New York Minute
Haley Joel Osment	TSOA 2010, B.F.A.	The Sixth Sense, Pay It Forward, AI, Secondhand Lions
Pedro Pascal	TSOA B.F.A.	Game of Thrones, Narcos, The Mandalorian, Wonder Woman 1984
Jeremy Piven	TSOA	Actor and producer; best known for his role as Ari Gold in the comedy series Entourage, for which he won a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Emmy Awards
Joya Powell	STEINHARDT 2005, M.A.	Bessie Awards winning choreographer and educator
Keith Powell	TSOA	Television actor, 30 Rock
Jorge Pupo	TSOA 1981, B.F.A.	Actor, narrator
Ted Raimi	B.A.	seaQuest DSV, Xena: Warrior Princess
Anthony Rapp	TSOA 1989*	Rent, Six Degrees of Separation, Dazed and Confused
Brett Ratner	TSOA	Tower Heist, New York, I Love You, Rush Hour
AnnaSophia Robb	GAL, current student	Actress
Meg Ryan	CAS, B.A.	When Harry Met Sally..., Sleepless in Seattle, City of Angels, You've Got Mail
Joshua Safran	TSOA	Executive producer and writer of Gossip Girl; executive producer and showrunner for the second season of Smash; creator, executive producer and showrunner of Quantico
Adam Sandler	TSOA 1991, B.F.A.	Mr. Deeds, Big Daddy, Punchdrunk Love, Funny People, Hotel Transylvania, Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, Saturday Night Live, GrownUps
Andy Samberg	TSOA 2000, B.F.A.	The Lonely Island, Saturday Night Live, Hot Rod, Brooklyn 99, Hotel Transylvania, Popstar, Celeste & Jessie Forever, Storks, The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience
Taylor Schilling	TSOA	Actress; Screen Actors Guild Awards winner
Lenny Schultz	B.S.	Comedian and gym teacher
Martin Scorsese	CAS 1964, B.A Steinhardt 1966, M.A.	The Aviator, Casino, Goodfellas, The Last Temptation of Christ, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Gangs of New York
Joshua Seth	CAS, 1991, B.A.	Digimon, Wolf's Rain, Trigun
John Patrick Shanley	Steinhardt 1977, M.A.	Moonstruck; winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Alan Shapiro	TSOA 1981, B.F.A.	The Crush, Flipper, Tiger Town, The Outsiders (series)
Sheetal Sheth	TSOA 1997, B.A.	ABCD; Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World
M. Night Shyamalan	TSOA	The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, The Village, The Last Airbender, Lady in the Water
Neil Simon	ARTS 1944–1945*	The Odd Couple; winner of the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Barry Sonnenfeld	TSOA*	Oz, Men in Black
Eulalie Spence	B.S. 1937	Her, Fool's Errand (opened on Broadway in 1927)
Cole Sprouse	GAL 2015	Friends, Big Daddy, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, The Suite Life on Deck, Narrator and Jughead Jones on Riverdale (2017 TV series)
Dylan Sprouse	GAL 2015	The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Big Daddy, The Suite Life on Deck
Morgan Spurlock	TSOA, B.F.A.	Supersize Me
Peter Steinfeld	B.A.	Drowning Mona, Be Cool, 21
Peter Sullivan	TSOA	Director, producer, and screenwriter, Secret Obsession
Maura Tierney	TSOA*	ER, Newsradio, Primary Colors
Shenaz Treasury	Took writing course	MTV's Most Wanted, Ishq Vishk, One Life to Live, Luv Ka The End
Colin Trevorrow	TSOA	Home Base, Safety Not Guaranteed, Jurassic World, The Book of Henry
Skeet Ulrich	NYU	Scream, F.P. Jones on Riverdale (2017 TV series)
Sunny Wang	Stern, Tisch, B.A., 2005	Taiwanese actor and model
Casey Wilson	TSOA, 2002	Happy Endings, Saturday Night Live
Chandra Wilson	TSOA 1991, B.F.A.	Grey's Anatomy
Mara Wilson	TSOA, 2009, B.F.A.	Matilda, Mrs. Doubtfire, Miracle on 34th Street
Rainn Wilson	TSOA, M.F.A.	The Office
Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo	TSOA 2003, B.F.A.	After.Life
Doug Wright	TSOA 1987	Quills; winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Bowen Yang	CAS B.A.	Saturday Night Live

Music

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Milton Babbitt	B.A., 1935	1986 MacArthur Fellow, 1982 Pulitzer Prize special citation
Arthur Berger	B.A., 1932	Composer
Cy Coleman	Steinhardt	Tony Award for City of Angels 1990, On the Twentieth Century 1978
Betty Comden	Steinhardt	Partner of Adolph Green, recipient of several Tony Awards
Clive Davis	CAS 1953, B.A.	Founder of Arista Records
Neil Diamond	CAS 2003, Hon. Ph.D.	Singer/songwriter
Carlos Dengler	CAS	Interpol's first bassist/keyboardist
Dave Douglas	Steinhardt, B.A.	Jazz trumpeter
Greg Drudy	Previous student	Interpol's first drummer
Hayden Dunham	GAL	Musician, performance artist, designer
Fred Ebb	B.A., 1939	1967 Tony Award, 1967 Grammy Award for Cabaret
Colleen Fitzpatrick	B.A., 1991	a.k.a. Vitamin C
Bernard Garfield	B.A., 1948	Bassoonist and composer
Stefani Germanotta	TSOA*	a.k.a. Lady Gaga
Midori Goto	GAL 2000, B.A.; NYU 2005, M.A.	Violinist
DJ Cuppy	Steinhardt	Nigerian music producer; daughter of Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola
Albert Hammond, Jr.	TSOA	The Strokes' guitarist
Antony Hegarty	TSOA	Mercury prize-winning lead singer of Antony and the Johnsons
Daniel Kessler	GAL	Interpol's guitarist/backing vocalist
Paul Banks	GAL	Interpol's guitarist/lead vocalist
Talib Kweli	previous student	member of rap duo Black Star
Elodie Lauten	Steinhardt 1986, M.A.	Composer
Tania León	Steinhardt	famous conductor, composer of "Scourge of Hyacinths",
Enoch Light	Steinhardt	pioneer of music recording
Melissa Manchester	independent studies, 1970–1971	1982 Grammy Award
Jackie McCullough	M.A. Philosophy	Gospel musician and pastor
David Portner	former student	Founding member of experimental band Animal Collective
Maggie Rogers	B.F.A., 2016	Musician
Jerry Ross	studied under Rudolph Schramm	Composer
Rick Rubin	former student, lived on campus	Co-founder of Def Jam while at NYU
Carole Bayer Sager	B.A., 1979	1987 Grammy Award
Sajeeb Saha	GAL	a.k.a. Jai Wolf
Blake Schwarzenbach	B.A., 1991	Lead singer for bands Jawbreaker and Jets to Brazil
Patti Scialfa	Gallatin; received music degree after transferring from the University Of Miami	Singer and guitarist with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band
Wayne Shorter	Steinhardt 1956, B.M.E.	Influential hard-bop and modal jazz saxophonist
Russell Simmons	former student	Co-founder of Def Jam while at NYU
William Oscar Smith	B.A., 1942	Jazz double bassist, known for 1939 Coleman Hawkins recording of Body and Soul
Eileen Southern	Steinhardt 1961, Ph.D.	First African American woman appointed a tenured full professor at Harvard
Louise Talma	B.A., 1927	Composer
Mary Wilson	Gallatin	The Supremes
Austin Wintory	Steinhardt, B.M., 2005	Grammy-nominated composer for video games and film
Arca	TSOA	Grammy-nominated musician, record producer, and DJ
Elle Varner	TSOA	Singer, songwriter, producer
Dot da Genius	POLY	Singer, record producer and mixing engineer
Dasychira (musician)	TSOA, 2019	Performer, songwriter, producer
A Great Big World	Steinhardt	Singers and songwriters, known for the Grammy Award winning song Say Something
Taylor Swift	Tisch Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree	Singer and songwriter, 11 wins for Grammy Award until 2023

Academy Award winners

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Mahershala Ali	TSOA 2000, M.F.A.	Academy Award 2017, Moonlight; 2019, Green Book
Woody Allen	TSOA 1953*	Academy Award 1977, Annie Hall; 1986, Hannah and her Sisters
Michael Arndt	TSOA 1987	Academy Award 2007, Little Miss Sunshine
Elmer Bernstein	ARTS 1942, B.A.	Academy Award 1968, Thoroughly Modern Millie
Mark Bridges	ARTS 1987, M.F.A.	Academy Award 2012, The Artist
James L. Brooks	TSOA*	Academy Award 1984, Terms of Endearment
John Canemaker	TSOA	Academy Award 2006, The Moon and the Son
Joel Coen	TSOA, 1978, B.F.A.	Academy Award 1996, Fargo; 2008, No Country For Old Men
Geoff Fletcher	TSOA 1999, M.F.A.	Academy Award 2010, Precious
Whoopi Goldberg	GSAS	Academy Award 1991, Ghost
Steve Golin	TSOA	Academy Award 2016, Spotlight
Louis Gossett Jr.	ARTS coursework*	Academy Award 1982, An Officer and a Gentleman
Marcia Gay Harden	TSOA 1981, M.F.A.	Academy Award 2000, Pollock
Anne Hathaway	GAL, TSOA	Academy Award 2012, Les Misérables
Bernard Herrmann	WSC student under Percy Grainger	Academy Award 1941, The Devil and Daniel Webster
Lora Hirschberg	TSOA 1985, B.F.A.	Academy Award 2011, Inception
Philip Seymour Hoffman	TSOA 1989, B.F.A.	Academy Award 2005, Capote
Angelina Jolie	TSOA 1993, B.F.A.	Academy Award 2000, Girl, Interrupted
Charles Kaufman	TSOA 1980	Academy Award 2004, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Burt Lancaster	TSOA coursework*	Academy Award 1960, Elmer Gantry
Ang Lee	TSOA, M.F.A.	Academy Award 2005, Brokeback Mountain; 2012, Life of Pi
Spike Lee	TSOA, M.F.A.	Academy Award 2019, BlackKklansman	-
Luke Matheny	TSOA, M.F.A.	Academy Award 2011, God of Love
Alan Menken	ARTS, B.A.	Academy Award 1995, Pocahontas; 1992, Aladdin; 1991, Beauty and the Beast; 1989, The Little Mermaid
László Nemes	TSOA	Academy Award 2016, Son of Saul
Ken Perlin	GSAS 1986, Ph.D.	Academy Award 1997, for the development of Perlin noise
Carole Bayer Sager	CAS 1979, B.A.	Academy Award 1981, Arthur's Theme
Thelma Schoonmaker	TSOA	Academy Award 2005, The Aviator
John Patrick Shanley	Steinhardt 1977, M.A.	Academy Award 1987, Moonstruck
Oliver Stone	TSOA 1970, M.F.A.	Academy Award 1978, Midnight Express; 1986, Platoon; 1989, Born on the Fourth of July
Jim Taylor	TSOA 1996	Academy Award 2004, Sideways
Marisa Tomei	TSOA 1983, B.F.A.	Academy Award 1992, My Cousin Vinny
Fred Waller	POLY	Academy Award winner; inventor of Cinerama; inventor of the Waller Gunnery Trainer; first to patent the water ski; made 200 short films for Paramount Pictures
Paul Francis Webster	ARTS 1928–1930 *	Academy Award 1953, "Secret Love"
Victor J. Zolfo	TSOA 1985	Academy Award 2009, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Emmy Award winners

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Woody Allen	TSOA 1953*	Emmy Award 1957
Aziz Ansari	STERN	Emmy Award 2016 for Master of None
Rachel Brosnahan	TSOA 2012, B.F.A.	Emmy Award 2017 for "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
Sterling K. Brown	TSOA	Emmy Award 2016 for The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Vinnette Justine Carroll	GSAS 1946, M.A.	Emmy Award 1964 for "Beyond the Blues"
Cy Coleman	Steinhardt	Emmy Award
Ayo Edebiri	TSOA 2017	Emmy Award 2024 for The Bear
Wayne Federman	TSOA	Emmy Award 2022 Producer George Carlin's American Dream
Vince Gilligan	TSOA	Emmy Award, a writer and producer for The X-Files
Emily Harper	TSOA	Emmy Award 2016 for Key & Peele
Tony Kushner	TSOA 1984, M.F.A.	Emmy Award
Harvey Leonard	ENG, M.S.	He received two New England Emmy Awards for outstanding achievement in television weathercasting
Camryn Manheim	TSOA 1987, M.F.A.	Emmy Award for The Practice
Jonathan Meath	TSOA 1979, B.A.	Emmy nominations TV production
Debra Messing	TSOA 1993, M.F.A.	Emmy Award 2003 for Will and Grace
David Milhous	TSOA 1991, B.F.A.	Emmy Award 2017 for Crime Watch Daily
Ami Miron	POLY, M.S.	He received two Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards
Olivia Smith (journalist)	Steinhardt 2011, B.S.	Emmy Award 2016 for "Dead Horse Bay: New York's Hidden Treasure Trove of Trash"
Jonathan Stern	TSOA	Emmy Award 2016 for Childrens Hospital
Paul Tazewell	TSOA	Emmy Award 2016 for The Wiz Live!
David Wain	TSOA	Emmy Award 2016 for Childrens Hospital
Jeffrey Wright	TSOA*	Emmy Award 2003

Grammy Award winners

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Ian Axel	Steinhardt	Grammy Award 2015 for Say Something
Cy Coleman	Steinhardt	1992 Grammy Award for The Will Rogers Follies
Todd Coolman	Steinhardt	1999 Grammy Award for Best Album Notes
Fred Ebb	ARTS 1955, B.A.	Grammy Award 1967 for Cabaret
Lady Gaga	TSOA* 2003–2005	Grammy Awards 2010, 2011, and 2015 recipient in several categories
Chad King	Steinhardt	Grammy Award 2015 for Say Something
Evelyn Lear		Grammy Award 1966 for her performance of the opera Wozzeck by Alban Berg
Melissa Manchester	TSOA 1970–1971	Grammy Award 1982 for "You Should Hear How She Talks About You"
Mark Ronson	TSOA*	Grammy Award 2007 for producer on Amy Winehouse's Back to Black
Rick Rubin	CAS*	Grammy Award 2012 for producer on Adele's 21, among others
Carole Bayer Sager	CAS 1979, B.A.	Grammy Award 1987 for "That's What Friends Are For"
Wayne Shorter	Steinhardt 1956, B.M.E.	Grammy Award 2004 for the album Alegria
Mary Wilson	GAL	Grammy Award 1999 and 2001 with The Supremes

Tony Award winners

Name	Relation to NYU	Tony Awards won	Reference
Nina Arianda	TSOA 2009, M.F.A.	"Best Actress in a Play" for Venus in Fur (2012)
Marc Bell	SPS 1989, M.S.R.E.	Producer; "Best Musical" for Jersey Boys (2006), "Best Play" for August: Osage County (2008), "Best Play" Stereophonic (2024)
Trazana Beverley	TSOA, M.F.A.	"Best Featured Actress in a Play" For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf (1977)
Barry Bostwick	TSOA, 1968 M.F.A.	"Best Actor in a Musical" for The Robber Bridegroom
Cy Coleman	Steinhardt	Composer, five Tony Awards from 1978 – 1991
Betty Comden	Steinhardt	Librettist, twelve Tony Awards from 1953 – 1991
Fred Ebb	ARTS 1955, B.A.	Lyricist, three Tony Awards: Cabaret (1967), Woman of the Year 1981, Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993)
Marcia Gay Harden	TSOA, 1988 M.F.A.	"Best Actress in a Play" for God of Carnage (2009)
Nikki M. James	TSOA 2003, B.F.A.	"Best Featured Actress in a Musical" for The Book of Mormon (2011)
Steve Kazee	TSOA 2005, M.F.A.	"Best Actor in a Musical" for Once (2011)
Bradley King	TSOA, M.F.A.	"Best Lighting Design in a Musical" for Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812 (2017)
Tony Kushner	TSOA 1984, M.F.A.	Playwright. "Best Play" Angels in America (part 1 in 1993, part 2 in 1994)
Mimi Lien	TSOA 2003, M.F.A.	"Best Scenic Design in a Musical" for Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812 (2017)
Idina Menzel	TSOA 1993, B.F.A.	"Best Actress in a Musical" for Wicked (2004)
Donna Murphy	TSOA 1980, B.F.A.	"Best Actress in a Musical" for Passion (1994) and The King and I (1996)
Clint Ramos	TSOA 1997, M.F.A	"Best Costume Design in a Play" for Eclipsed (2016)
John Patrick Shanley	Steinhardt 1977, M.A.	Playwright. "Best Play" for Doubt: A Parable (2005)
Stephen Spinella	TSOA, 1982 M.F.A.	"Best Featured Actor in a Play" for Angels in America (part 1, 1993), "Best Actor in a Play" for Angels in America (part 2, 1994)
Paul Tazewell	TSOA 1989, M.F.A	"Best Costume Design in a Musical" for Hamilton (2016)
Barbara Whitman	GAL 1988	Producer, four Tony Awards: Red (2010), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2014), Fun Home (2015), The Humans (2016)
Jeff Whitty	TSOA, 1997 M.F.A.	"Best Book" for Avenue Q (2003)
George C. Wolfe	TSOA, M.F.A.	"Best Direction of a Play" for Angels in America (1993), "Best Direction of a Musical" for Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk (1996)
Frank Wood	TSOA, 1987 M.F.A.	"Best Featured Actor in a Play" for Side Man (1999)
David Zinn	TSOA 1991, B.F.A	"Best Scenic Design in a Play" for The Humans (2016)

Medicine

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Julius Axelrod	Med 1941, M.Sc.	1970 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Arthur Agatston	Med 1973, M.D.	Author of The South Beach Diet
Peter B. Berger	Med 1983, M.D.	Interventional cardiologist and Director of Clinical Research at Geisinger Clinic
Barouh Berkovits	POLY	Invented the cardiac defibrillator and artificial cardiac pacemaker
Fred Chasan	B.A., 1949	Owner of The Chasan Villa
Frederick Cook	Med 1890, M.D.	Explorer
Fred Epstein	WSC 1959, B.A.	Pediatric neurosurgeon
Albert Warren Ferris	Med 1878, A.B.; 1885, A.M.	President of the New York State Commission in Lunacy and Director of Saratoga Springs State Reservation.
William Alexander Hammond	Med 1848, M.D.	Surgeon General, pioneer in neurology
Robert Jarvik	ENG	Co-Inventor, Jarvik-7 artificial heart
Jasper H. Kane	POLY	Developed the practical, deep-tank fermentation method for production of large quantities of pharmaceutical-grade penicillin
William B. Kouwenhoven	POLY	Inventor of closed-chest cardiac defibrillator
Joe Landolina	POLY	Invented Vetigel while an undergrad student
Henry Lee	Med 1974–1975, M.S., Ph.D.	Forensic scientist
Maclyn McCarty	Med 1940–1941, Research Fellow	Demonstrated that DNA transmits genetic traits
Walter Reed	Med	Discovered the mosquito transmission of yellow fever
Albert Sabin	Med 1931, M.D.	Developer of the oral vaccine for polio; President of the Weizmann Institute of Science
Arthur M. Sackler	Med, M.D.	Founder of Creedmore Institute of Psychobiological Studies
Jonas Salk	Med 1938, M.D.	Discoverer of the Salk vaccine (the first polio vaccine)
Stephen Smith	Med, M.D.	Founder of the American Public Health Association
John G. Trump	POLY	Helped design X-ray machines that provided additional years of life to cancer patients

Politics, law and government

Members of the United States House of Representatives

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Jerome Anthony Ambro	B.A., 1955	United States House of Representatives
Michael McMahon	B.A., 1979	United States House of Representatives
Martha Roby	B.M., 1998	United States House of Representatives R-AL (2011-2021)
Lawrence J. Smith		United States House of Representatives
William Bernard Barry	Law LL.B., 1925	United States House of Representatives D-NY 1935–1946
Charles Robin Britt	Law LL.M., 1976	United States House of Representatives D-NC 1983–1985
Peter Angelo Cavicchia	Law LL.B., 1908	United States House of Representatives R-NJ 1931–1937
Earl Thomas Coleman	Wagner 1963, M.P.A.	United States House of Representatives D-MO 1976–1993
Maurice Connolly	Law LL.B., 1898	United States House of Representatives D-IA 1921-1921
Irwin Delmore Davidson	B.S., 1927, Law LL.B., 1928	United States House of Representatives
Lawrence Joseph DeNardis	M.A., 1960; Ph.D., 1989	United States House of Representatives
Diana DeGette	Law J.D., 1982	United States House of Representatives (1997–)
Steven Boghos Derounian	B.A., 1938	United States House of Representatives
Isidore Dollinger	B.C.S., 1925	United States House of Representatives (1949–1959)
Fred J. Eckert	Law postgraduate work	United States House of Representatives, U.S. Ambassador
Francis Edwin Dorn	Wagner, 1936*	United States House of Representatives
Smith Ely	Law LL.B., 1846	United States House of Representatives
Leonard Farbstein	Law LL.B. 1924	United States House of Representatives (1957–1971)
Hamilton Fish IV	Law LL.B. 1957	United States House of Representatives (1969–1995)
Cornelius Edward Gallagher	Law postgraduate 1948	United States House of Representatives (1959–1973)
Jacob A. Geissenhainer	Law LL.B., 1862	United States House of Representatives
Benjamin A. Gilman	Law LL.B., 1950	United States House of Representatives (1983–2003)
Anthony Jerome Griffin	Law LL.B., 1892	United States House of Representatives (1918–1935)
Frank Joseph Guarini	Law, J.D., 1950, LL.M., 1955	United States House of Representatives (1979–1993)
Cecil Landau Heftel	Graduate Work	United States House of Representatives (1977–1986)
Rush D. Holt, Jr.	GSAS, M.S. 1974, Ph.D. 1981	United States House of Representatives (1999–)
Stanley Nelson Lundine	Law 1964, LL.B.	United States House of Representatives (1976–1987)
Mitchell Jenkins	Law 1926, LL.B.	United States House of Representatives
Edward Aloysius Kenney	Law LL.B. 1908	United States House of Representatives (1933–1938)
Franklin Bartlett	Poly 1865	United States House of Representatives (1893 – 1897)
Eugene James Keogh	Stern, B.S.	United States House of Representatives (1937–1967)
Arthur George Klein	Law 1926, LL.B.	United States House of Representatives (1946–1956)
Fiorello La Guardia	Law 1908, LL.B.,	United States House of Representatives (1916–1934)
Jefferson Monroe Levy	Law 1873, LL.B.	United States House of Representatives (1911–1915)
John MacCrate	Law 1906, LL.B.	United States House of Representatives
Vito Marcantonio	Law, LL.B.	United States House of Representatives
Raymond Joseph McGrath	M.A., 1968	United States House of Representatives (1981–1993)
Allan Langdon McDermott	Law 1877, LL.B.	United States House of Representatives (1900–1907)
Thomas Joseph Meskill	Law 1955, LL.B.	United States House of Representatives, Governor of Connecticut
Denis O'Leary	Law 1890, LL.B.	United States House of Representatives
Nathan David Perlman	Law LL.B. 1907	United States House of Representatives (1920–1927)
Anning Smith Prall	Law 1908, LL.B.	United States House of Representatives (1923–1935)
Benjamin Rabin	Law 1917, LL.B.	United States House of Representatives
Leo Frederick Rayfiel	Law 1908, LL.B.	United States House of Representatives
Charles B. Rangel	Law 1957, B.S.	United States House of Representatives
B. Caroll Reece	Law 1916, M.A.	United States House of Representatives (1921–1961)
Matthew John Rinaldo	Wagner 1979, M.P.A.	United States House of Representatives (1973–1993)
Benjamin Stanley Rosenthal	Law 1952, LL.M.	United States House of Representatives (1962–1983)
Chris Shays	Stern 1974, M.B.A. Wagner 1978, M.P.A	United States House of Representatives
Isaac Siegel	Law 1901, LL.B.	United States House of Representatives
Daniel Edgar Sickles	Law 1846, LL.B.	United States House of Representatives
Andrew Lawrence Somers	coursework*	United States House of Representatives
James Tallmadge, Jr.	1st President of NYU	United States House of Representatives (1817–1819)
Ludwig Teller	Law 1935, LL.B.	United States House of Representatives (1957–1961)
Herbert Tenzer	Law 1927, LL.B.	United States House of Representatives
Nydia Velázquez	M.A., 1976	United States House of Representatives (1992–)
Elijah Ward	Law 1843, LL.B.	United States House of Representatives
Arthur Vivian Watkins	1909–1910	United States House of Representatives
Leo C. Zeferetti	1963*	United States House of Representatives

Members of the United States Senate

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Lamar Alexander	Law 1965, J.D.	United States Senate
Rudy Boschwitz	Stern M.B.A., 1950, Law J.D., 1953	United States Senate
Edward Irving Edwards	Law, LL.B.	United States Senate (1923–1929), Governor of New Jersey
Henry Drury Hatfield	Med M.D., 1904	United States Senate (1929–1935), Governor of West Virginia
Jacob Javits	CAS 1923, B.A., Law 1926, LL.B.	United States Senate
Morgan Lewis	one of the founders of NYU	Governor of New York (1804–1807)
James Edward Murray	Law 1900, J.D.	United States Senate (1934–1961)
Tasker Lowndes Oddie	Law 1895, LL.B.	United States Senate (1921–1933)
James Aloysius O'Gorman	Law 1887, J.D.	United States Senate (1911–1917)
Bob Packwood	Law 1957, J.D.	United States Senate (1969–1995)
Abraham Alexander Ribicoff	B.A., 1929	United States Senate (1963–1981)
Elihu Root	Law 1867, LL.B.	United States Senate
Arthur Walsh	Stern 1915	United States Senate

United States Governors

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Edward Irving Edwards	Law, LL.B.	Governor of New Jersey
Henry Drury Hatfield	Med M.D., 1904	Governor of West Virginia
Samuel J. Tilden	Law 1838-1841	Governor of New York
Abraham A. Ribicoff		Governor of Connecticut
Thomas P. Salmon		Governor of Vermont
Chris Sununu	TSOA*	Governor of New Hampshire

Ambassadors

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Clay Constantinou	Law LL.M., 1986	United States Ambassador to Luxembourg
Roberto de Oliveira Campos	Postgraduate study	Brazilian politician and legislator; ambassador to the U.S. and UK
David M. Friedman	Law	United States Ambassador to Israel
John S.R. Shad	Law	United States Ambassador to the Netherlands; Chairman of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission between 1981 and 1987
David Pressman	Law	United States Ambassador to the United Nations
Robert Patrick John Finn	M.A.	United States Ambassador to Afghanistan
Patricia McMahon Hawkins	CAS	United States Ambassador to Togo
Fred J. Eckert	CAS	United States Ambassador to Fiji
Heather M. Hodges	M.A.	United States Ambassador to Moldova
Clifford Sobel	Stern B.S., 1972	United States Ambassador to the Netherlands, United States Ambassador to Brazil
Herbert Wolcott Bowen	POLY	United States Ambassador to Venezuela
George W. Landau		United States Ambassador to Venezuela
Ekwow Spio-Garbrah	Stern graduate studies	Ambassador to the U.S. of the Republic of Ghana; Minister of communication
Mary Carlin Yates	M.A., Ph.D.	United States Ambassador to Ghana
Kenneth L. Brown	M.A.	United States Ambassador to Ghana
Charles L. English		United States Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Max Kampelman	B.A., LL.B.	United States Ambassador to the CSCE
Elliott Skinner	B.A.	United States Ambassador to Burkina Faso
William Henry Draper Jr.		United States Ambassador to NATO
Charles A. Heimbold, Jr.		United States Ambassador to Sweden
Yu Tsune-chi	Sc.M. and Sc.D.	former Ambassador of the Republic of China to Italy and Spain

Judges

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Shirley Abrahamson	CAS	Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
G. Steven Agee	Law	Federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; former Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia
Julio M. Fuentes	GSAS M.A.	United States Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
John Greaney	Law	Justice, Massachusetts Supreme Court
Cynthia H. Hall	Law	Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
William C. Hill	Arts & Science, B.A, 1939 Law, J.D., 1941	Associate Justice, Vermont Supreme Court
Dennis G. Jacobs	Law	Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Judith S. Kaye	Law, LL.B., 1958	Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals
M. Blane Michael	Law	Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Pauline Newman	Law	Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
William C. Brennan	Law	Justice, New York Supreme Court
Marian P. Opala	Law LL.M.	Justice, Oklahoma Supreme Court
Thomas Buergenthal	Law J.D., 1960	Judge, International Court of Justice (2000 -)
Doris Ling-Cohan	Law J.D., 1979	Judge, New York State Supreme Court
William A. Wachenfeld	POLY	Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1946 to 1959
Nabil Elaraby	Law LL.M., 1969; J.S.D., 1971	Judge, International Court of Justice
Gonzalo Parra Aranguren	Law LL.M., 1952	Judge, International Court of Justice
Burton B. Roberts	B.A., 1943; Law 1949	Bronx New York Supreme Court judge known for his no-nonsense imperious handling of cases in his courtroom became the model for the character of Myron Kovitsky in the book The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
Richard V. Thomas	NYU Master of Laws	Chief Justice of the Wyoming high court; Member of the Wyoming Supreme Court, 1974–2001
Theodore Trautwein	Law	Judge who sentenced a reporter from The New York Times to 40 days in jail in the "Dr. X" trial of Mario Jascalevich
James Lopez Watson	B.A., 1947	Judge, United States Court of International Trade
Louis Freeh	Law LL.M., 1984	Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York; Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (1993–2001)

Attorneys

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Gloria Allred	GSAS M.A., 1971	Feminist lawyer, talk show host
David Boies	Law LL.M., 1967	United States v. Microsoft, Bush v. Gore
Amal Clooney	Law	Barrister at Doughty Street Chambers; married to George Clooney
Zachary W. Carter	Law	United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York
Martin Garbus	Law	Attorney; Fulbright Scholar
Nancy Grace	Law LL.M.	Court TV host
Martin Lipton	Law	Lawyer; a founding partner of the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; inventor of the "poison pill"; M&A Master
Anne Milgram	Law	57th Attorney General of New Jersey
Shirley D. Peterson	Law	Assistant Attorney General in the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice
Irving Picard	Law	Oversaw Madoff recoupment
Charles P. Rettig	Law (LL.M.)	Lawyer
Glenn Greenwald	Law	Lawyer and blogger
Ann Althouse	Law	Lawyer and blogger
Neil Barofsky	Law	Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2000 to 2008.
Marc Platt (producer)	Law	Entertainment attorney; film, television, and theatre producer
Bob Ferguson (politician)	Law	American attorney and politician who is the 18th and current Attorney General of Washington

United States Cabinet members, foreign government, royalty, and other

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Alessandra Biaggi	Steinhardt B.A., 2008	New York State Senator
Cristina Federica de Borbon	GSAS M.A., 1991	Princess of Spain
Elmer Ellsworth Brown		United States Commissioner of Education, fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Richard Campagna	M.A.	Libertarian Party Vice Presidential candidate
Sripati Chandrasekhar	GSAS Ph.D., 1944	Indian Minister of Health and Family Planning under Indira Gandhi
Dae-whan Chang	GSAS Ph.D., 1987, M.A., 1985	Prime Minister, South Korea
Humayun Chaudhry		Physician; CEO of the Federation of State Medical Boards
Li-an Chen	GSAS Ph.D.	Secretary of Defence, Taiwan (1990–1993), President of the Control Yuan
Demos Chiang	Stern B.S.	Great-grandson of Chiang Kai-shek
Eugene Chien	GSAS Ph.D., 1973	Foreign Minister of Taiwan
Chelsea Clinton	Wagner Ph.D. student, 2010–	Former First Daughter; child of Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton; wife of Marc Mezvinsky
George Cromwell	POLY	New York state senator
Arthur B. Culvahouse, Jr.	Law	White House Counsel, 1987–89
Stavros Dimas	GSAS M.A., 1969	European Commissioner for the Environment
William Henry Draper, Jr.	GSAS M.A., 1917	Under Secretary of War and the Army
Juan Carlos Echeverry	GSAS Ph.D., 1996	Finance Minister of Colombia
Mark Everson	GSAS M.S., 1977	U.S. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
Anthony Foxx	Law	United States Secretary of Transportation; served as the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, 2009–2013.
Jason Greenblatt	Law	United States Special Representative for International Negotiations
Carmen Fariña		Former New York City Schools Chancellor, the head of the New York City Department of Education.
Vanita Gupta	Law	Head of the Civil Rights Division at the United States Department of Justice
Ephraim Katzir	POLY	Fourth President of Israel; chief scientist of the Israel Defense Department
Henry Lee (forensic scientist)	GSAS	Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Safety
Shlomo-Yisrael Ben-Meir		Israeli politician; served as a member of the Knesset, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Deputy Speaker and Deputy Minister of Health
Carl Gatto	POLY	Member of the Alaska House of Representatives
Fortunato de la Peña	POLY	Secretary of Science and Technology at the Philippine Department of Science and Technology; former chairman of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development
Chung Sye-kyun	Wagner M.A., 1983	Speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea
Frank Padavan	POLY	New York state senator
George T. Burling	POLY	New York state senator
Ivan Itkin	POLY	Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Vincent O'Rourke	POLY	Commanding officer of a number of aviation units as well as the USS Rainier (AE-5) and USS Tripoli (LPH-10); two-time recipient of the Navy Cross, the Navy's second highest award for valor
Ed Koch	Law	Mayor of New York City
Bill de Blasio		Mayor of New York City
Maya Soetoro-Ng		Sister of US President Barack Obama; professor at University of Hawaii at Manoa
Shimon Peres		President of Israel from 2007 to 2014. Peres also served twice as the Prime Minister of Israel.
Teresa Patterson Hughes	Steinhardt	California State Senator
Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika	Steinhardt	Ambassador of the Republic of Zambia to the United States.
Lamar Alexander	Law 1965, J.D.	U.S. Secretary of Education, U.S. Senator from Tennessee
Ruth Balser	Ph.D.	Member of the Mass. House of Representatives (1998–present)
Bill Bell (mayor)		Mayor of Durham, North Carolina.
Michael Benjamin	B.A., 1992	U.S. Senate Candidate
Chi Mui	POLY	First Asian-American Mayor of San Gabriel, California
Ahmed Zaki Yamani	Law	Saudi Arabian politician; Minister of Oil (Petroleum) and Mineral Resources from 1962 to 1986; a minister in OPEC for 25 years
Shamma Al Mazrui		UAE Minister of State for Youth
Ali Khatami	POLY	Chief of staff of Iran; brother of former Iranian president, Mohammed Khatami
Phil Amicone	ENG	41st Mayor of Yonkers, New York
Rafael Piñeiro	Wagner MPA	First Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (NYPD)
Sal Albanese	Steinhardt	New York City Council member
Mohamed ElBaradei	Law LL.M., 1967	Vice President of Egypt; Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (1997–)
Neil Barofsky	Law	SIGTARP, the Special United States Treasury Department Inspector General overseeing the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), from late 2008 until his resignation at the end of March 2011
Isaac Herzog		Israeli politician; chairman of the Labor Party; was the opposition leader in the 19th Knesset
Maria Olympia		Princess of Greece and Denmark
Guillermo Endara Galimany	Postgraduate work, NYU Law	President of Panama (1989–1994)
John William Gilbert	GSAS	Secretary of State for Transport, Secretary of State for Defence
Rudy Giuliani	Law J.D., 1968	Mayor of New York City (1994–2001)
Camillo Gonsalves	BsC in Global Affairs	Permanent Representative of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to the United Nations (2007– )
John Grenier	Taxation, L.LM, 1955	United States Senate candidate, 1966; Alabama Republican Party chairman; Birmingham lawyer
Seth Harris	Law, J.D., 1990	U.S. Department of Labor, Deputy Secretary of Labor, 2009–; U.S. Department of Labor, Counselor to the Secretary, 1993–2000
Muhammad Hassanein	GSAS M.A., 1966	Minister of Finance, Arab Republic of Egypt
Lazarus Joseph	LAW 1912	N.Y. State Senator (21st District 1934–44, 24th District 1945) and Comptroller of the City of New York (1946–1954)
Meir Kahane	GSAS M.A., 1957	Leader of the Kach political party in the Israeli Knesset
Raymond W. Kelly	Law LL.M.	Police Commissioner of New York, Under Secretary of the Treasury
John F. Kennedy, Jr.	Law J.D., 1989	Son of President John F. Kennedy
Fiorello La Guardia	Law 1908, LL.B.	Mayor of New York City (1934–1945)
Samuel Levy	University of the City of New York 1894, B.S.	Manhattan Borough President (1931–1937)
Ying-jeou Ma	Law LL.M., 1976	President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)
Marie-Chantal Miller	IFA	Princess of Greece
Robert Mueller	GSAS M.A. 1967	Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under George W. Bush
Callistus Ndlovu	M.A., 1969	Zimbabwean member of parliament and cabinet minister
Giorgos Papakonstantinou	Stern	Minister of Economy & Finance, Greece
Samuel Pierce	Law LL.M., 1952	US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Louis Romano	Ed.D.	Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
Vaughn Stewart	Law J.D., 2014	Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
Queen Sylvia of Buganda	Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree 1985	Queen consort of Buganda, the traditional kingdom in central Uganda
Abraham Alexander Ribicoff	B.A., 1929	United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
Leonard M. Pomata	POLY B.S.	5th Secretary of Technology of Virginia
Elihu Root	Law 1867, LL.B.	Secretary of War (1899–1903), Secretary of State (1905–1909)
Jessica Rosenworcel	Law 1997, J.D.	Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission (2021–)
Rodney Vandergert	NYU Master of Laws	Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka
Ernst Joseph Walch	Law M.C.J., 1981	Minister of Foreign Affairs for Liechtenstein
John White	Master's degree in public administration	Louisiana State Superintendent of Education since 2012
Barbara Wright	M.A., Nursing Education	Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
Hun Manet	MA	Prime Minister of Cambodia

Activists and advocates

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Carol Bellamy	Law J.D., 1968	Executive Director of UNICEF
Abraham Foxman	Law J.D.	President of the Anti-Defamation League
Dorothy Height	ARTS B.A., GSAS M.A., 1930	Civil and women's rights activist
T. J. Jemison	Postgraduate study	President of the National Baptist Convention from 1982 to 1994
Ivan Lozowy	Law 1986, J.D.	Founder of the Institute for Statehood and Democracy of Ukraine
Anne Firth Murray	GSAS Economics	Founder of Global Fund for Women
Park Yong Sung	Stern M.B.A.	Chairman, International Chamber of Commerce
Adam Shapiro	GSAS M.A	Co-Founder of International Solidarity Movement
Martha J Somerman	D.D.S. (NYU College of Dentistry, 1975), Ph.D.	Director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
Vanessa Wruble	M.P.S. Interactive Telecommunications	Activist, co-founder of The Women's March on Washington
Jan Zaprudnik		Leader of the Belarusian community in the U.S.

Religion

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
J. David Bleich		Rabbi and authority on Jewish law and ethics
William Donohue	GSAS Ph.D., 1980	President, Catholic League
D. James Kennedy	GSAS	Pastor, evangelist, and Christian broadcaster; founded the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Evangelism Explosion International, Westminster Academy, and Knox Theological Seminary
Alexander Lyons	Ph.D., 1909	Rabbi
Sang Whang	POLY	Church leader and community advocate in Florida

Press, literature, and arts

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Kathy Acker		Author of Blood and Guts in High School
James Truslow Adams	POLY, 1898	Writer and historian; coined the term "American Dream" in his 1931 book The Epic of America
Warren Adler	B.A., 1949	Author of War of the Roses and Random Hearts
Kenny Albert	CAS 1990, B.A.	Play-by-play broadcaster, New York Rangers and Fox Sports
David Antin	GSAS 1966, M.A.	Recipient of the PEN Los Angeles Award for Poetry
Kelli Arena	TSOA 1985 B.F.A.	CNN reporter and anchor 1985-2009
Ann Shoket	1994, B.A.	Editor in Chief of Seventeen Magazine
Jacob M. Appel	GSAS 2000, M.F.A.	Author of Arborophilia, Creve Coeur; idiosyncratic bioethicist
Ted Baehr	Law, J.D.	Chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission
Maria Bartiromo	CAS, 1987 B.A.	News anchor on CNBC; author
Venia Bechrakis	M.F.A	Artist
Katherine Behar	2006, M.A	Artist
Leigh Behnke	1976, M.F.A	Artist
Ib Benoh	Steinhardt 1993, D.A.	Artist
Barbara Bloemink	M.F.A. Fine and decorative arts	Author, art historian
Judy Blume	1961 B.S., Education	Writer of children's literature and young adult fiction
Stacey Bradford	M.A., Journalism	Financial journalist, author, and commentator
Rita Mae Brown	Law 1964, M.A.	Rubyfruit Jungle
Eileen Rose Busby	earned B.A. at age 62	Author
Candace Bushnell	CAS, B.A.	Her New York Observer column became the basis for Sex and the City
Elaine Cameron-Weir	2010, MFA	Artist
Bliss Carman	visiting scholar	Canadian poet
Corrine Grad Coleman	M.A.	Women's liberation activist, co-founder of Redstockings
Suzanne Collins	TSOA 1989, M.F.A.	Television writer and novelist, author of the series The Underland Chronicles and The Hunger Games trilogy.
Howard Cosell	CAS, B.A.	Sports journalist
Countee Cullen	CAS, 1925, B.A.	Author of Ballad of the Brown Girl, Color, Color
Noon Meem Danish	Former teaching staff	Urdu poet
Miriam Davenport	IFA*	Painter and sculptor
Midge Decter	ARTS*	Journalist
Nieves Zuberbühler		Journalist
Erica De Mane	CAS	Author of The Flavors of Southern Italy
Heather Dewey-Hagborg	Master of Professional Studies in Interactive Telecommunications	Information artist
Crystal Eastman	Law 1907, LL.B.	Leader in early 20th-century feminist and civil liberties activism
Stephen Edlich	Fine Arts 1967	Artist, known for collage, sculpture, prints
Ralph Ellison	Faculty 1970–1980	American Academy of Arts & Letters
Warren Farrell	PhD in political science 1974	Educator, gender equality activist and author of seven books including The Myth of Male Power
Wayne Federman	TSOA*	Author of Maravich; comedian, The Tonight Show
Tom Ford	TSOA*	Design Director for Gucci
William Gaines	CAS 1948, B.A.	Founder of MAD magazine
Michael Gartner	Law 1972, J.D.	1997 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing
Elizabeth Gilbert	CAS B.A., 1991	Author of Eat, Pray, Love
Jorie Graham	TSOA 1973, B.F.A.	Known for complex metaphors and philosophical content
Adolph Green	WSC 1938*	Met Betty Comden at NYU
Saskia Hamilton	M.A. in English and creative writing, 1991	Poet and scholar of Robert Lowell
Raymond P. Hammond	GAL 2000, MA	Editor-in-Chief of New York Quarterly
Sean Hannity	coursework*	Co-host of Hannity and Colmes on Fox News Channel
Joseph Heller	WSC 1948	Author of Catch-22
Perez Hilton	B.A., 2000	Blogger, columnist and television personality.
Safiya Henderson-Holmes	B.A.	Poet, recipient of the William Carlos Williams Award
Don Hewitt	coursework*	Creator of 60 Minutes
Idil Ibrahim		Director and producer; founder of Zeila Films
Andrew Jacobs	studied architecture and urban design	New York Times journalist; documentary film director and producer
Jamie Johnson	GAL 2003, B.A.	Filmmaker
David Kaufman	GSAS, M.A.	Contributor to the Financial Times, The New York Times, Details, and the Fox Business Network
Swati Khurana	GAL 2001, M.A.	Artist and writer
Alen Pol Kobryn	CAS*	Poet
Sally Kohn	Law	Contributor for the Fox News Channel
William Lashner	Law, J.D.	Author of legal thrillers
Ira Levin	ARTS 1950, B.A.	Known for the broadway musical Deathtrap
Paul Levinson	WSC 1974 B.A.; Steinhardt 1979 Ph.D.	Author of The Plot To Save Socrates
Charles Battell Loomis	POLY	Author
Leonard Maltin	WSC, B.A. (journalism)	Film critic on Entertainment Tonight
Demetri Martin	Law*	Comedian, The Daily Show
Carson McCullers	GSAS*	Author of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Frank McCourt	WSC 1953, B.A.	1997 Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography or autobiographical Writing
Leonard Michaels	WSC 1953, B.A.	Essayist known for his compelling urban tales of whimsy and tragedy
Janet Mock	Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, M.A.	Author and journalist known for her 2014 memoir Redefining Realness
Davi Napoleon	TSOA 1989 Ph.D.	Arts journalist and reviewer; author of Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater
Daniel Nayeri	Studied writing	Author of Everything Sad Is Untrue
William Phillips	GSAS 1930, M.A.	Co-founder of Partisan Review
James Amos Porter	GSAS, M.A.	Painter and art historian
Dorothy Rabinowitz	GSAS 1960, Ph.D.	2001 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary
Carole Radziwill	Stern	Journalist, author, and television personality
Herman Raucher	WSC, B.A.	author and screenwriter, Summer of '42, Ode to Billy Joe
Charles Reznikoff	Law 1916, LL.B.	Objectivist poet
Charlie Rose	Stern 1968, coursework*	Emmy award-winning journalist, television producer, host of PBS's Charlie Rose Show, and correspondent for CBS's 60 Minutes
J. D. Salinger	coursework*	Author of Catcher in the Rye.
Gerald Schoenfeld	Law, J.D.	Chairman of the Shubert Organization (1972–2008)
Ben Shahn		Artist
John Patrick Shanley	Steinhardt 1977, M.A.	Recipient of Pulitzer Prize, Academy Award, Tony Award
Arleen Schloss	Education 1965, B.S.	Sound poet, performance and video artist, curator, early childhood educator
Sara Shepard	ARTS*	Author of Pretty Little Liars series and The Lying Game series
George Segal	ENG 1950, B.S.	Sculptor of monochromatic, cast plaster figures
Robert Sobel	CAS 1957, Ph.D.	Business historian; author of For Want of a Nail
Danielle Steel	TSOA 1963–1967*	Romance novel author
Darin Strauss	ENG 1996, M.F.A.	Guggenheim-winning novelist; Chang and Eng, The Real McCoy
Harold C. Schonberg	GSAS 1939, M.A.	1971 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism
Beth Ames Swartz	1959, M.A.	Artist
John Paul Thomas	GSAS 1954, M.A.	Artist and educator; studied with William Baziotes
Amy Vanderbilt	B.A. 1929	Authority on manners, mores
Brian K. Vaughan		Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Pride of Baghdad
Joel Wachs		(born 1939) — Los Angeles City Council member (1970–2001), president of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in New York City
Gene Weingarten	CAS 1972	2008 and 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing
Saul Williams	GSAS 1995, M.A.	Author of The Seventh Octave and Said the Shotgun to the Head
Robert Anton Wilson	1957–1958	Author of The Illuminatus! Trilogy
James N. Wood		Former Director and President of the Art Institute of Chicago (1980–2004); President and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust
Gary Schwartz	WSC 1961, B.A.	Art historian
Stephanie Stebich	IFA M.A.	Art historian
Edgar Peters Bowron	IFA 1969, M.A., 1979, Ph.D.	Art historian
Alix Strauss		Author

Pulitizer Prize winners

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
James Truslow Adams	POLY	1921 Pulitzer Prize for History
Milton Babbitt	ARTS 1935, B.A.	1982 Pulitzer Prize, Special Citation, "for his life's work as a distinguished and seminal American composer"
Jorie Graham	undergraduate/Film	1996 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
Michael Gartner	Law 1972, J.D.	2001 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing
Morton Gould	CAS, studied under Abby Whiteside	1995 Pulitzer Prize for Stringmusic
Galway Kinnell	professor	1982 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
Frank McCourt	CAS 1953, B.A.	1997 Pulitzer Prize for Autobiography or Autobiographical Writing
George Perle	GSAS 1956, Ph.D.	1986 Pulitzer Prize for Woodwind Quintet No. 4
Dorothy Rabinowitz	GSAS 1960, Ph.D.	2001 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary
James Ford Rhodes	CAS, 1865– *	1916 Pulitzer Prize for History of the Civil War
Harold C. Schonberg	GSAS 1939, M.A.,	1971 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism
William Schuman	Stern*	1943 Pulitzer Prize for A Free Song
John Patrick Shanley	Steinhardt 1977, M.A.	2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Charles Simic	CAS 1966, B.A.	1990 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (The World Doesn't End)
Neil Simon	CAS 1944–1945*	1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama (Lost in Yonkers)
Moneta Sleet Jr.	Master's in journalism	1969 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography (Photo of grieving widow Coretta Scott King)
Irwin Unger	professor	1965 Pulitzer Prize for History (The Greenback Era)
Gene Weingarten	CAS 1968–1972	2008, 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing
Doug Wright	TSOA 1987	2004 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Lawrence Wright	fellow, Center for Law and Security	2007 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-fiction

• Alex Pareene, editor-in-chief of Gawker
• Joel Shatzky (1943-2020), writer and literary professor

Sports

As of 2013, NYU has been associated with at least 74 men and 10 women who have participated as athletes, coaches, or managers at Olympic Games, for a total of at least 28 Olympic medals.

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Chuck Blazer	Stern, B.S.	FIFA Executive Committee member from 1996 to 2013; CONCACAF General Secretary from 1990 until 2011; Executive Vice President of the U.S. Soccer Federation
Nada Al-Bedwawi		Swimmer; competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Bob Arum	CAS, B.A.	Founder and CEO of Top Rank, one of the most successful professional boxing promotion companies in boxing history
Anjelina Belakovskaia	GSAS 2001, M.S.	U.S. Women's Chess Champion 1995, 1996, 1999
Moe Berg	ARTS 1918–1919*	Major League baseball player, spy, quiz show host
Gary Bettman	Law 1977, J.D.	NHL Commissioner
Georgina Bloomberg		Professional equestrian; daughter of former New York City Mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg
Ralph Branca	Steinhardt	Professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (1944-1956); played for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1944–53, 1956), Detroit Tigers (1953–54), and New York Yankees (1954); three-time All-Star; in 1951, he allowed a walk-off home run to Bobby Thomson, known as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World"
Howard Cann	ENG	Olympic shot putter
Tedford H. Cann	Stern	Champion swimmer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor; world record holder in swimming; Olympian
Ben Carnevale		NYU basketball player 1934–1938; Navy Basketball coach 1947–1967
Colin Cassady	CAS	Professional wrestler signed to AEW, where he performs under the ring name "Big Bill." Was formerly signed to Impact Wrestling and WWE.
Herbert Cohen (fencer)	1962	Olympic fencer
Rudy D'Amico		NBA basketball scout, and former college and professional basketball coach
Phil Edwards (runner)		Won three bronze Olympic medals
Eugene Glazer	1962	Olympic fencer
Hank Greenberg	coursework*	Major League baseball player; five-time All-Star; two-time American League MVP; elected to the Hall of Fame
Gary Gubner		World record-holding shotputter and Olympic weightlifter
Happy Hairston		NBA player, 1971 champion with the Los Angeles Lakers
Carol Heiss	CAS	Gold medal winner, Olympic Winter Games 1960
Nat Holman		Hall of Fame basketball player and coach
Samuel Jones		Olympic gold medalist, high jump, 1904
Julia Jones-Pugliese		National champion fencer and fencing coach
Barry Kramer		Pro basketball player and jurist
Martin Lang (fencer)	1972	Olympic fencer
Norman Lewis (fencer)		Olympic fencer
William H. Maddren	POLY, B.S.	Head coach of the Johns Hopkins University lacrosse team
Edith Master		Olympic bronze medalist equestrian
Shep Messing		Olympic soccer player and broadcaster
Marvin Miller	CAS, B.S.	Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) from 1966 to 1982
Irv Mondschein		Olympic decathlete and three-time U.S. champion, NCAA high-jump champion, and All-East football player
William Morrissey	Stern, B.S.	Professional wrestler known as Big Cass in WWE and W. Morrissey in Impact Wrestling
Boris Nachamkin		NBA basketball player
Reggie Pearman	Steinhardt	Middle distance runner; competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics
April Jeanette Mendez	TSOA*	Professional wrestler under the name "AJ Lee"; three-time WWE Divas Champion
Colette Nelson	PhD 1998, M.S.	IFBB professional bodybuilder
Satch Sanders		NBA player, 1961–1966; champion with the Boston Celtics, 1968–1969
Mika'il Sankofa	CAS, 1988	Olympic gold medalist, fencing, 1988, 1992
Ollie Satenstein		NFL player
Dolph Schayes		NBA player, 3-time FT% leader, 1-time rebound leader, 12-time All-Star, Hall of Fame, and coach
Babe Scheuer		NFL player
Robert Shmalo	CAS	International ice dancing competitor
Ed Smith	1934	NFL Boston Redskins, Green Bay Packers 1936–1937, Model for Heisman Trophy
Moe Spahn		American Basketball League (MVP)
Ken Strong	All-American, 1928	NFL Staten Island Stapletons, New York Giants 1929–1947, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1967
Paul Tagliabue	Law 1965, J.D.	NFL Commissioner
Bill Tanguay		NFL player
Sidney Tannenbaum		Two-time All-American basketball guard; left as NYU all-time scorer; pro player
Mary Washburn	CAS	Competed for the United States in the 1928 Summer Olympics held in Amsterdam, Netherlands in the 4 x 100 metres, where she won the silver medal
Peter Westbrook	Stern	Former sabre fencing champion and Olympic medalist
John Woodruff	GSAS 1941, M.A.	Olympic gold medalist, 800 m, 1936
Cy Block		MLB player Chicago Cubs 1942-1946
Eddie Yost		MLB player for Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers, LA Angels 1944–1962; All Star Team 1952; Coachof Washington Senators, NY Mets, Boston Red Sox 1962–1985
Peter Zaremba (athlete)	ENG	Competed for the United States in the 1932 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, United States in the hammer throw, where he won the bronze medal

• Spencer Freedman (born 1998), college basketball player for the Harvard Crimson and NYU Violets
• Jay Horwitz (born 1945), New York Mets executive

Other

Name	Relation to NYU	Notability	Reference
Sir Harold Acton	major benefactor	donated the Villa LaPietra Campus to NYU
Elmer Holmes Bobst	major benefactor	namesake of NYU's Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
Charles Butler	president of council
Adela Cojab	NYU alum, sued NYU	author and activist against antisemitism for Zionist causes
Albert Gallatin	founder of NYU	Secretary of the Treasury under Thomas Jefferson
Martin Kimmel	major benefactor	namesake of NYU's Kimmel Center for Student Life
Ruth Madoff	NYU alum	Widow of Bernie Madoff
Miles Redd	NYU alum	Interior designer
Howard Spira	NYU alum	Gambler and felon
Michael Steinhardt	major benefactor	namesake of NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
Leonard N. Stern	major benefactor	namesake of NYU's Stern School of Business
Preston Tisch	major benefactor	namesake of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts
Donald Wallance	CAS 1930, B.A.	Industrial designer
Oscar Lawton Wilkerson	NYU alum	Tuskegee Airman

Fictional

The following are characters in film, television, literature, and other media that have a connection to the university:

Name	Portrayal	Notability	Reference
Blair Waldorf	played by Leighton Meester	in Gossip Girl
Dan Humphrey	played by Penn Badgley	in Gossip Girl
Vanessa Abrams	played by Jessica Szohr	in Gossip Girl
Georgina Sparks	played by Michelle Trachtenberg	in Gossip Girl
Ross Geller, Professor of paleontology	played by David Schwimmer	in the TV show Friends
Fritz the Cat	voiced by Skip Hinnant	in the film directed by Ralph Bakshi
Will Truman	played by Eric McCormack	in Will and Grace
Grace Adler	played by Debra Messing	in Will and Grace

See also

• Category:New York University alumni
• List of NYU College of Arts and Science people
• List of NYU Stern people
• List of NYU Tandon School of Engineering people
• List of NYU Courant Institute people
• List of NYU GSAS people
• List of NYU Law School people
• List of NYU School of Medicine people
• List of NYU Tisch School of the Arts people
• List of NYU Gallatin people
• List of NYU Steinhardt people
• List of New York University honorary degree recipients
• List of New York University faculty