Columbia College Alumni Association

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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

Photo of Moira Demos

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

Photo of Brandon Victor Dixon

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

Photo of Erik Feig

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

Neil Gorsuch

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

Photo of Ellen Gustafson

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

Photo of Katori Hall

Arts

Katori Hall

CC'03

Award-winning Playwright and Actress

Politics and Law

Alexander Hamilton

CC 1778

Founding Father

Photo of Poppy Harlow

Media

Poppy Harlow

CC'05

Emmy-nominated CNN Anchor & Correspondent

Entrepreneurship

Jared Hecht

CC’09

Co-Founder and CEO, Fundera; Co-Founder, GroupMe

Photo of Toomas Hendrik Ilves by Hindrek Maasik

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

Jonathan Lavine

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

Photo of Li Lu

Business

Li Lu

CC'96, BUS'96, LAW'96

Founder and Chairman, Himalaya Capital/LL Investment Partners

Photo of Sid Luckman, Courtesy: Columbia University Athletics/Columbiana Archives

Sports

Sid Luckman

CC’39

Member, Pro Football Hall of Fame

Media

John R. MacArthur

CC’78

President and Publisher, Harper’s Magazine

Photo of Melissa Mark-Viverito

Politics and Law

Melissa Mark-Viverito

CC'91

Interim President, Latino Victory Fund; Former Speaker & Council Member, District 8, New York City Council

Photo of Kate McKinnon

Arts

Kate McKinnon

CC'06

Emmy Award-Winning Actress

Arts

Terrence McNally

CC’60

Tony Award-Winning Playwright

Photo of Katie Meili

Sports

Katie Meili

CC'13

Swimmer, Olympic Gold and Bronze Medalist

Photo of Julie (Jacobs) Menin

Arts

Julie (Jacobs) Menin

CC'89

Director of the Census for NYC and Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel for Strategic Advocacy

Business

Philip Milstein

CC’71

Principal, Ogden CAP Properties, LLC

Media

Janice Min

CC’90, JRN’91

Content Executive, Quibi

Photo of Graham Moore

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 and CEO of Rearden and Artemis Networks LLC

Photo of Nzingha Prescod

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

Former Host, NPR’s All Things Considered

Photo of Ron Simons

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 CEO, Tishman Speyer

Media

George Stephanopoulos

CC’82

Co-Founder, President, and Chief Anchor, ABC News, anchor of "Good Morning America" and anchor of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos"

Photo of Julia Stiles

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

Photo of Sean Wilentz from Princeton Alumni Weekly

Academia

Sean Wilentz

CC’72

Pulitzer Prize-Nominated American Historian

Sports

James Williams

CC’07, GSAS’09

Fencer, Two-Time Olympian

Photo of Beau Willimon

Arts

Beau Willimon

CC’99, SOA’03

Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee, Writer/Producer/Playwright

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

Photo of Marco Zappacosta

Entrepreneurship

Marco Zappacosta

CC'07

Co-Founder and CEO, Thumbtack