Distinguished Alumni
Media
Roone Arledge
CC’52
Former President, ABC Sports and ABC News
Arts
Paul Auster
CC’69, GSAS’70
Author
Arts
Emanuel Ax
CC’70
Grammy Award-Winning Classical Pianist
Science and Engineering
Richard Axel
CC’67
Nobel Prize-Winning Molecular Biologist
Academia
Jacques Barzun
CC’27, GSAS’32
Historian of Ideas and Culture; Philosopher of Education; Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient
Arts
Barry Bergdoll
CC’77, GSAS’86
Meyer Schapiro Professor of Art History and Archaeology and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Columbia University
Sports
Caitlin Bilodeau
CC’87
Fencer; Two-time Olympian, Four-Time NCAA All-American
Politics and Law
Harold Brown
CC’45,GSAS’49
14th Secretary of Defense of the United States
Academia
Nicholas Murray Butler
CC 1882, GSAS 1884
12th President of Columbia University; Nobel Peace Prize Recipient
Politics and Law
Jose A. Cabranes
CC’61
First Puerto Rican to sit on a United States District Court
Business
William Campbell
CC’62, TC’64
Former Chairman, Intuit Corp.; Former Board Director at Apple
Politics and Law
Dewitt Clinton
CC 1786
Former United States Senator; 6th Governor of New York
Arts
Bill Condon
CC’76
Academy Award-Winning Film Director
Academia
Virginia Cornish
CC’91
Professor of Chemistry; NSF Career Award Recipient
Media
Alexandra Wallace Creed
CC’88
General Manager of News, Entertainment and Studios at Verizon Media
Academia
Wm. Theodore de Bary
CC’41, GSAS’53
East Asian Studies Pioneer; Columbia University Provost Emeritus; National Humanities Medal Recipient
Arts
Moira Demos
CC'96, SOA'08
Emmy Award-Winning Director
Media
David Denby
CC’65, JRN’66
Film Critic, The New Yorker
Arts
Brian Dennehy
CC’60
Tony and Golden-Globe Award-Winning Actor; Emmy Nominee
Arts
Brandon Victor Dixon
CC'03
Tony Award-Nominated Actor
Business
Daniel J. Edelman
CC’40, JRN’41
Founder, Edelman, World’s Largest Public Relations Firm
Arts
Erik Feig
CC'92
Founder & CEO of PICTURESTART, former Co-president of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group
Academia
Eric Foner
CC’63, GSAS’69
Pulitzer Prize-Winning American Historian
Business
Ben Fried
CC’88
CIO, Google
Arts
Dan Futterman
CC’89
Academy Award-Nominated Screenwriter and Actor
Politics and Law
Eric Garcetti
CC’92, SIPA’93
42nd Mayor of Los Angeles
Arts
Dede Gardner
CC’90
Academy Award-Winning Producer
Arts
Art Garfunkel
CC’65
Grammy Award-Winning Musician
Sports
Lou Gehrig
CC’25
Member, National Baseball Hall of Fame
Politics and Law
Julius Genachowski
CC’85
Former Chair, FCC
Arts
Allen Ginsberg
CC’48
Poet
Media
Robert Giroux
CC’36
Founder, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Politics and Law
Neil M. Gorsuch
CC’89
Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States
Politics and Law
Jack Greenberg
CC’45, LAW’48
Attorney, Brown v. Board of Education; 12th Dean of Columbia College
Politics and Law
Judd Gregg
CC’69
Former United States Senator and Congressman; Two-Term Governor of New Hampshire
Entrepreneurship
Ellen Gustafson
CC'02
Author; Co-Director of the Summit Institute; President of EG, Inc.; Chief Strategy Officer at Inkwell; Co-Founder of FEED; Founder of 30 Project
Science and Engineering
Carl Haber
CC’80, GSAS’85
Experimental Physicist; MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant Recipient
Arts
Katori Hall
CC'03
Award-winning Playwright and Actress
Politics and Law
Alexander Hamilton
CC 1778
Founding Father
Media
Poppy Harlow
CC'05
Emmy-nominated CNN Anchor & Correspondent
Entrepreneurship
Jared Hecht
CC’09
Co-Founder and CEO, Fundera; Co-Founder, GroupMe
Politics and Law
Toomas Hendrik Ilves
CC’76
Fourth President of Estonia
Politics and Law
Eric H. Holder Jr.
CC’73, LAW’76
82nd Attorney General of the United States
Arts
Jim Jarmusch
CC’75
Independent Film Director, Screenwriter, Actor, Producer, Editor and Composer
Politics and Law
John Jay
CC 1764
Founding Father
Media
Sara Just
CC’88
Senior Vice President and Executive Producer, PBS NewsHour
Academia
Donald Keene
CC’42, GSAS’50
Pulitzer Prize-Nominated Scholar of Japanese Studies
Arts
Jack Kerouac
CC’44
Novelist and Poet
Arts
Tom Kitt
CC’96
Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-Winning Composer
Politics and Law
Joel Klein
CC’67
Former Chancellor, New York City Department of Education
Media
John Kluge
CC’37
Television Industry Mogul
Media
Alfred Abraham Knopf
CC 1912
Publisher
Arts
Jenji Kohan
CC’91
Emmy Award-Winning Television Writer and Producer
Arts
Ed Koren
CC’57
Cartoonist, The New Yorker
Sports
Robert Kraft
CC’63
Owner, New England Patriots
Arts
Tony Kushner
CC’78
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright
Business
Jonathan Lavine
CC’88
Co-Managing Partner of Bain Capital and Chief Investment Officer of Bain Capital Credit
Science and Engineering
Robert J. Lefkowitz
CC’62, PS’66
Nobel Prize-Winning Biochemist
Business
Anita Lo
CC’88
Michelin-starred Restaurateur and Chef
Academia
Seth Low
CC 1870
11th President of Columbia University; 92nd Mayor of New York City
Business
Li Lu
CC'96, BUS'96, LAW'96
Founder and Chairman, Himalaya Capital/LL Investment Partners
Sports
Sid Luckman
CC’39
Member, Pro Football Hall of Fame
Media
John R. MacArthur
CC’78
President and Publisher, Harper’s Magazine
Politics and Law
Melissa Mark-Viverito
CC'91
Interim President, Latino Victory Fund; Former Speaker & Council Member, District 8, New York City Council
Arts
Kate McKinnon
CC'06
Emmy Award-Winning Actress
Arts
Terrence McNally
CC’60
Tony Award-Winning Playwright