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
Politics and Law
William P. Barr
CC’71, GSAS’79
77th Attorney General of the United States
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
Former Chief Curator of Architecture and Design, MoMA
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
Vice President of OTT Video at Oath Studios
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 Award-Winning Actor
Arts
Brandon Victor Dixon
CC'07
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
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
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
Co-Founder, FEED Projects
Science and Engineering
Carl Haber
CC’80, GSAS’85
Experimental Physicist; MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant Recipient
Arts
Katori Hall
CC'03
Playwright and Actress
Politics and Law
Alexander Hamilton
CC 1778
Founding Father
Media
Poppy Harlow
CC'05
CNN Anchor & Correspondent
Entrepreneurship
Jared Hecht
CC’09
Co-Founder and CEO, Fundera; Co-Founder, GroupMe
Politics and Law
Toomas Hendrik Ilves
CC’76
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
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
Managing Partner and CIO, Sankaty Advisors
Science and Engineering
Robert J. Lefkowitz
CC’62, PS’66
Nobel Prize-Winning Biochemist
Business
Anita Lo
CC’88
Restaurateur and Chef, Annisa
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
Publisher, Harper’s Magazine
Politics and Law
Melissa Mark-Viverito
CC'91
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
Sports
Katie Meili
CC'13
Swimmer, Olympic Gold and Bronze Medalist
Arts
Julie (Jacobs) Menin
CC'89
Commissioner of Media and Entertainment for New York City
Business
Philip Milstein
CC’71
Former Co-Chairman, Emigrant Savings Bank
Media
Janice Min
CC’90, JRN’91
Editor and Writer; Former Co-President and Chief Creative Officer of The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard Media Group
Arts
Graham Moore
CC'03
Academy Award-Winning Screenwriter and Author
Politics and Law
Gouverneur Morris
CC 1768
Founding Father
Politics and Law
Jerrold Nadler
CC’69
Congressman serving the 10th District of New York
Business
Alexander Navab
CC’87
Former Head of Americas Private Equity, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
Politics and Law
Barack Obama
CC’83
44th President of the United States
Politics and Law
Michael Oren
CC’77, SIPA’78
Former Israeli Ambassador to the United States
Entrepreneurship
Steve Perlman
CC’83
Founder, OnLive; Former Principal Scientist, Apple Computer
Sports
Nzingha Prescod
CC'15
Fencer, Two-Time Olympian
Arts
Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers
CC 1916 and CC’23
Tony Award- and Academy Award-Winning Lyricist and Emmy Award-, Tony Award-, Academy Award- and Pulitzer Prize-Winning Composer
Business
Allen Rosenshine
CC’59
Chairman Emeritus, BBDO Worldwide
Media
Louis Rossetto
CC’71, BUS’73
Founder and Former Publisher, Wired Magazine
Politics and Law
Jonathan D. Schiller
CC’69, LAW ’73
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP
Media
Claire Shipman
CC’86, SIPA’94
Senior National Correspondent, Good Morning America
Media
Robert Siegel
CC’68
Senior Host, NPR’s All Things Considered
Arts
Ron Simons
CC'82
Founder and CEO, SimonSays Entertainment; Tony Award-Winning Producer
Academia
Michael Sovern
CC’53, LAW’55
17th President of Columbia University
Business
Robert Speyer
CC’92
President and Co-CEO, Tishman Speyer
Media
George Stephanopoulos
CC’82
Chief Political Correspondent, ABC News
Arts
Julia Stiles
CC’05
Emmy Award- and Golden Globe-Nominated Actress
Media
Arthur Sulzberger
CC’51
Publisher, The New York Times
Sports
Cristina Teuscher
CC’00
Swimmer, Olympic Gold Medalist
Arts
Lionel Trilling
CC’25, GSAS’38
Literary Critic and Author
Arts
Alisa Weilerstein
CC’04
Cellist; MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant Recipient
Academia
Sean Wilentz
CC’72
Pulitzer Prize-Nominated American Historian
Sports
James Williams
CC’07, GSAS’09
Fencer, Two-Time Olympian
Arts
Beau Willimon
CC’99, SOA’03
Emmy Award-Nominated Playwright and Screenwriter
Arts
Herman Wouk
CC’34
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author
Social Service
Sheena Wright
CC’90, LAW’94
First Female CEO, United Way of New York City
Science and Engineering
George Yancopoulos
CC’80, GSAS’86, PS’87
Chief Scientific Officer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Arts
Brian Yorkey
CC’93
Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-Winning Lyricist
Entrepreneurship
Marco Zappacosta
CC'07
Co-Founder and CEO, Thumbtack
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