List of Cornell University alumni

Cornell's 2008 commencement ceremony at Schoellkopf Field

This list of Cornell University alumni includes notable graduates, non-graduate former students, and current students of Cornell University, an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York. Cornell counted 245,027 living alumni as of August 2008. Its alumni constitute 31 Marshall Scholars and 28 Rhodes Scholars, and Cornell is the only university with three female winners (Pearl S. Buck, Barbara McClintock, and Toni Morrison) of unshared Nobel Prizes among its graduates. Many alumni maintain university ties through Homecoming's reunion weekend, through Cornell Magazine, and through the Cornell Club of New York. In 2005, Cornell ranked #3 nationwide for gifts and bequests from alumni. Alumni are known as Cornellians.

Cornellians are noted for their accomplishments in public, professional, and corporate life. Lee Teng-hui was president of Taiwan, Mario García Menocal was president of Cuba, Jamshid Amuzegar ('50) was prime minister of Iran, Hu Shih ('14) was a Chinese reformer and representative to the United Nations, Janet Reno ('60) was the first female United States Attorney General, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg ('54) serves on the Supreme Court. Alumnus David Starr Jordan (1872) was the founding president of Stanford University, and M. Carey Thomas (1877) founded Bryn Mawr College. Additionally, alumnus Matt Urban ('41) holds the distinction as the most decorated serviceman in United States history.

Cornellians in business include: Citigroup CEO Sanford Weill ('55), Goldman Sachs Group Chairman Stephen Friedman ('59), Kraft Foods CEO Irene Rosenfeld ('75, '77, '80), Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini ('84), S.C. Johnson & Son CEO Fisk Johnson ('79, '80, '82, '84, '86), Cargill Chairman Warren Staley ('67), Chevron Chairman Kenneth T. Derr ('59), Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse ('77), Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam ('76), Mastercard CEO Robert Selander ('72), Coors Brewing Company CEO Adolph Coors ('37), Burger King founder James McLamore ('47), Loews Corporation Chairman Andrew Tisch ('71), New York Private Bank & Trust Chairman Howard Milstein ('73), Baupost Group founder Seth Klarman ('79), Hotels.com founder David Litman ('79), Palm founder Jeff Hawkins ('79), PeopleSoft founder David Duffield ('62), Priceline.com founder Jay Walker ('77), Staples founder Myra Hart ('62), Qualcomm founder Irwin M. Jacobs ('56), Atlantic Philanthropies founder Chuck Feeney ('56), Lubna Olayan CEO Olayan Financing Company, the holding entity for Olayan Group ('77), and Tata Group CEO Ratan Tata ('62).

In medicine, alumnus Robert Atkins ('55) developed the Atkins Diet, Henry Heimlich ('47) developed the Heimlich maneuver, Wilson Greatbatch ('50) invented the pacemaker, James Maas ('66; also a faculty member) coined the term "power nap", and C. Everett Koop ('41) served as Surgeon General of the United States.

A number of Cornellians have been prominent innovators. Thomas Midgley, Jr. ('11) invented Freon, Jon Rubinstein ('78) is credited with the development of the iPod, and Robert Tappan Morris developed the first computer worm on the Internet. Eight Cornellians have served as NASA astronauts, Steve Squyres ('81) is the principal investigator on the Mars Exploration Rover Mission, and Bill Nye ('77) is well known as "The Science Guy".

The Cornell Club in New York City is a focal point for alumni.

In literature, Toni Morrison ('50; Nobel laureate) is well known for her novel Beloved, Pearl S. Buck ('25; Nobel laureate) authored The Good Earth, and E. B. White ('21) authored Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little. Media personalities who have graduated from Cornell include convervative Ann Coulter ('84) and liberals Bill Maher ('78) and Keith Olbermann ('79).

Several Cornellians have also achieved critical acclaim in entertainment. Christopher Reeve ('74) played Superman, Frank Morgan was The Wizard of Oz, Jimmy Smits ('82) was in Star Wars, and Ronald D. Moore created the 2004 remake of Battlestar Galactica. On the architectural front, alumnus Richmond Shreve (1902) designed the Empire State Building, and Raymond M. Kennedy ('15) designed Hollywood's famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

In athletics, Cornell graduates include football legend Glenn "Pop" Warner (1894), former head coach of the United States men's national soccer team Bruce Arena ('73), National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman ('74), six-time Stanley Cup winning hockey goalie Ken Dryden ('69) and Toronto Raptors president Bryan Colangelo ('87). Alumni also include Super Bowl champions Kevin Boothe and Ed Marinaro ('71).

Fictional alumni have been portrayed in several films, television shows, and books. Characters include Andy Bernard of The Office, Natalie Keener of Up in the Air, and Christina Pagniacci (portrayed by Cameron Diaz) in Any Given Sunday.

Nobel laureates

Steven Weinberg

Toni Morrison

Physics

• Isidor Isaac Rabi (B.Chem. 1919; graduate study 1921–23, transferred) – Physics 1944
• Sheldon Lee Glashow (B.A. 1954 Physics) – Physics 1979
• Steven Weinberg (B.A. 1954 Physics) – Physics 1979
• Douglas D. Osheroff (M.S. 1971 Physics, Ph.D. 1973 Physics) – Physics 1996

Peace, literature, or economics

• John Mott (B.S. 1888 Philosophy) – Peace 1946
• Pearl S. Buck (M.A. 1925 English Literature) – Literature 1938
• Toni Morrison (M.A. 1955 English, A.D. White Professor-at-Large, 1997–2003) – Literature 1993
• Robert Fogel (B.A. 1948 History, Minor in Economics) – Economics 1993
• Robert F. Engle (M.S. 1966 Physics, Ph.D. 1969 Economics) – Economics 2003

Physiology or medicine

• Hermann Joseph Muller (graduate study 1911–12) – Physiology or Medicine 1946
• George Wells Beadle (Ph.D. 1930 Genetics) – Physiology or Medicine 1958
• Robert W. Holley (Ph.D. 1947 Organic Chemistry; Professor and Department Chair in Biochemistry, 1948–64) – Physiology or Medicine 1968
• Barbara McClintock (B.S. 1923 Botany, M.A. 1925 Botany, Ph.D. 1927 Cytology; Instructor in Botany, 1927–31; A.D. White Professor-at-Large, 1965–74) – Physiology or Medicine 1983
• Jack W. Szostak (Ph.D. 1977 Biochemistry) – Physiology or Medicine 2009

Government

Heads of state

Mario García Menocal

Lee Teng-Hui

• Jamshid Amuzegar (B.S. 1945 Engineering, Ph.D. 1951) – Prime Minister of Iran, 1977–78
• Václav Klaus (1969, no degree) – President of the Czech Republic, (2003–present), Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, (1992–1997).
• Lee Teng-hui (Ph.D. 1968 Agricultural Economics) – President of Taiwan, 1988–2000
• Mario García Menocal (B.S. 1888 Engineering) – President of Cuba, 1913–21

U.S. Cabinet and Cabinet-level ranks

Janet Reno

Paul Wolfowitz

• Sandy Berger (B.A. 1967 Government) – National Security Advisor to President Bill Clinton, 1997–2001
• Samuel W. Bodman (B.S. 1961 Chemical Engineering) – Deputy Secretary of Commerce, 2001–03; Secretary of Energy, 2005–2009
• Lincoln D. Faurer (attended, did not graduate) – Director, National Security Agency 1981–85
• Stephen Hadley (B.A. 1969 Government) – National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush, 2005–2009
• Eugene K. Jones – (M.A. 1908 Social Science) Member of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Black Cabinet, Executive Secretary of the National Urban League, Founder of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity
• C. Everett Koop (M.D. 1941) – Surgeon General of the United States under president Ronald Reagan, 1982–89
• Henry Morgenthau, Jr. (undergrad 1909–10, 1912–13, dropped out) – Secretary of the Treasury, 1934–45
• Edmund Muskie (LL.B. 1939) – Governor of Maine, 1955–59; Senator from Maine, 1959–80; Vice Presidential Candidate, 1968; Secretary of State, 1980–81
• Samuel Pierce (B.A. 1947, J.D. 1949; Trustee, 1972–77, 1978–82) – Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Ronald Reagan, 1981–89
• Thomas C. Reed (B.S. 1956 Mechanical Engineering) – Secretary of the Air Force under Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, 1976–77
• Janet Reno (B.A. 1960 Chemistry; Professor) – Attorney General under Bill Clinton, 1993–2001
• William P. Rogers (LL.B. 1937) – Attorney General, 1957–61), Secretary of State, 1969–73), Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, 1973
• Louis Wade Sullivan (Medical College Resident) – Founder and Dean of Morehouse School of Medicine, 1975, Secretary of Health and Human Services under George H. W. Bush, 1989–93
• Paul Wolfowitz (B.A. 1965 Mathematics and Chemistry) – Deputy Secretary of Defense under George W. Bush, 2001–05, President of the World Bank, 2005–2007

U.S. senators, governors and Supreme Court justices

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

• Joseph B. Foraker (B.A. 1869) – Governor of Ohio, 1886–90). Senator, Ohio, 1897–1909). One of eight members of Cornell's first graduating class.
• Douglas H. Ginsburg (B.S. 1970) – U.S. Supreme Court nominee
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg (B.A. 1954 Government) – U.S. Supreme Court associate justice
• Thomas C. Hennings, Jr. (1924) – Representative, Missouri 11th District, 1935–40). Senator, Missouri, 1951–60).
• Philip H. Hoff (J.D. 1951) – Governor of Vermont, 1963–69). First Democrat to serve in that position since the Civil War.
• Mark Kirk (B.A. 1981 History) – Illinois 10th District, 2001–2011; Senator, 2011–present
• Goodwin Knight (graduate study 1919–20) – Governor of California, 1953–1959
• Chuck Robb (undergrad 1957–58, transferred) – Senator, Virginia, 1989–2001
• John T. Morrison (LL.B. degree 1890) - sixth Governor of Idaho 1903-1905

U.S. congressmen

Gabrielle Giffords

• John G. Alexander (J.D. 1916) – Minnesota 3rd District, 1939–41
• Rob Andrews (J.D. 1982) – New Jersey 1st District, 1990–present
• Andrew Biemiller (B.A. 1926) – Wisconsin, 1945–47, 1949–51
• Frederick Van Ness Bradley (1921) – Michigan, 1939–47
• Abraham Lincoln Brick (undergrad) – Indiana, 1899–1908
• Hansen Clarke (B.F.A.) - Michigan 13th District, 2010–present
• Barber Conable (B.A. 1942 Medieval History, LL.B. 1948) – New York 37th District, 1965–73; 35th District, 1973–83; 30th District, 1983–85; President of the World Bank, 1986–91
• Maurice Connolly (1897) – Iowa, 1913–15
• Thomas Joseph Downey (B.S. 1970) – New York 2nd District, 1975–93
• Bob Filner (B.A. 1963 Chemistry, Ph.D. 1973 History of Science) – California 50th District, 1993–2003, 51st District, 2003–present
• Gabrielle Giffords (M.R.P. 1996) – Arizona, 8th District, 2007–2012
• Norman Judd Gould (M.E. 1899) – New York, 1915–23
• Gilbert Gude (B.S. 1948) – Maryland 8th District, 1967–77
• Edwin Arthur Hall – New York, 1939–53
• Nan Hayworth (M.D. 1985) – New York 19th district, 2011 – present
• Joseph Clifford Hendrix (studies 1870–73; Trustee) – New York, 1893–95
• Frank Horton (L.L.B. 1947) – New York 36th District, 1963–73), 34th District, 1973–83), 29th District, 1983–93
• Charles Samuel Joelson (B.A. 1937, L.L.B. 1939) – New Jersey, 1961–69
• Clarence Evans Kilburn (1916) – New York, 1940–65
• Mark Kirk (B.A. 1981 History) – Illinois 10th District, 2001–2011; Senator, 2011–present
• Gary Alcide Lee (graduate study 1963) – New York, 1979–83
• Norman F. Lent (L.L.B. 1957) – New York 5th District, 1971–73), 4th District, 1973–93
• Lewis Henry, 1909) – New York, 1922–23
• Richard Dean McCarthy (graduate study) – New York, 1965–71
• Clement Woodnutt Miller, 1946 Industrial & Labor Relations) – California, 1959–62
• Robert J. Mrazek (B.A. 1967 Government) – New York 3rd District, 1983–93
• James R. Olin (B.E.E. 1943) – Virginia, 1983–93
• Richard Ottinger (B.A. 1950) – New York, 1965–71, 1975–85); Founder and second staff member of the Peace Corps, 1961–64); Dean of Pace Law School, 1994–99
• Edward Worthington Pattison (B.A. 1953, L.L.B. 1957) – New York, 1975–79
• James Parker (1887) – New York 29th District, 1913–33
• John Raymond Pillion (L.L.B. 1927) – New York, 1953–65
• Alexander Pirnie (1924, J.D. 1926) – New York 34th District, 1959–63), 32nd District, 1963–73
• Daniel A. Reed (1898) – New York 43rd District, 1919–45, 1953–59), 45th District, 1945–53
• Henry Schoellkopf Reuss (B.A. 1933) – Wisconsin, 1955–83
• Howard Winfield Robison (1937, law 1939) – New York, 1958–75
• James A. Roe (School of Military Aeronautics 1917) – New York, 1945–47
• George Shiras III (1881) – Pennsylvania, 1903–05
• Henry P. Smith III (law 1936) – New York, 1965–75
• Sam Steiger – (Arizona), 1946–47, attended two years
• Elmer E. Studley (1894) – New York, 1933–35
• Frank Sundstrom (1924) – New Jersey 11th District, 1943–49
• Paul Harold Todd, Jr. (B.S. 1942) – Michigan, 1965–67), CEO of Planned Parenthood, 1967–70
• William Edgar Tuttle, Jr. (undergrad 1887–89) – New Jersey, 1911–15
• George Ernest Waldo (undergrad 1868–70) – New York, 1905–09
• John De Witt Warner (1872) – New York, 1891–95
• John S. Wold (M.S. 1939) – Wyoming, 1969–71

Diplomats

Alan Keyes

Chan Heng Chee

• William Brownfield (1974) – U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, 2004–present
• Chan Heng Chee (M.A. 1967 Government) – Singapore's ambassador to the U.S., 1996–present
• Arthur Hobson Dean (B.A. 1921, L.L.B. 1923) – international law expert, chief U.S. negotiator at Panmunjeom, assisted with negotiations for Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, delegate to the United Nations,
• Alan Keyes (undergrad 1968–69, transferred) – Diplomat, U.S. Presidential candidate, 1996, 2000; U.S. Senate candidate from Maryland (1988, 1992) and Illinois (2004)
• Jerome H. Holland (B.S. 1939, M.S. 1941) – First black member of the New York Stock Exchange; President of Delaware State University (1953–60) and Hampton University (1960–70); U.S. ambassador to Sweden, 1970–73; chairman of the American Red Cross, 1979–85
• Edwin Jackson Kyle (M.S. 1902) – U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala, 1945–48; namesake of Kyle Field
• Sol Linowitz (J.D. 1938, Trustee, 1966–95) – Diplomat, Ambassador, Chairman of Xerox, 1960–66; Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, 1998
• Jacob Gould Schurman, Professor of Philosophy, President (1892–1920). Ambassador to Germany (1925–1929)
• Hu Shih (B.A. 1914) – China's ambassador to the U.S., 1938–42; philosopher; poet
• Sao-Ke Alfred Sze (B.A. 1901) – China's ambassador to the U.S. and later UK, founding member of World Bank; First Chinese student to attend Cornell
• Willard Straight (B.Arch. 1901) – American diplomat, investment banker, publisher, World War I veteran, namesake of Willard Straight Hall
• Andrew Dickson White, co-founder, first President (1866–1885), and Professor of History. Ambassador to Germany (1879–1881, 1897–1902), Ambassador to Russia (1892–1894); namesake of White Hall and the Andrew Dickson White House

Judges and lawyers

Douglas H. Ginsburg

• Floyd Abrams (B.A. 1956) – Co-Counsel, The New York Times "Pentagon Papers" case
• Mary Donlon Alger (LLB 1920) – U.S. Customs Court Judge and first female editor-in-chief of the Cornell Law Quarterly and of a US law review
• Mark J. Bennett (J.D. 1979) – Attorney General of Hawaii
• Boris Bittker (B.A. 1938) – Prominent professor
• Leonie Brinkema (J.D. 1976) – U.S. District Court Judge
• George B. Clementson (B.L. 1892) – Author of The Road Rights and Liabilities of Wheelmen, the first treatise on bicycle law.
• Harry T. Edwards (B.A. 1962 Industrial & Labor Relations) – Chief justice, U.S. Court of Appeals
• Peter T. Farrell (B.A. 1922), Queens County Court judge who presided over the trial of bank robber Willie Sutton.
• Charles Garside (J.D. 1923) – New York City municipal judge, active in New York State Government
• Hon. Douglas H. Ginsburg (B.A. 1970) – Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, planned presidential nomination to U.S. Supreme Court announced.
• Michael Goldsmith (B.S 1972, J.D. 1975) – leading Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) expert and ALS Advocate.
• William E. Grauer (B.A. 1971, J.D. 1974) – Partner, Cooley LLP
• Judge Frank H. Hiscock (A.B. 1875) Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals (1916–1926), Chairman of Cornell Board of Trustees, and decided the Chester Gillette murder case.
• Edith Jones (B.A. 1971 Economics) – Judge, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
• H. David Kotz (J.D. 1990) – Inspector General of the SEC
• Walter Chadwick Noyes (1888) – Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• Philip Perry (J.D. 1990) – General Counsel for the Department of Homeland Security
• Robin S. Rosenbaum (B.A. 1988) - Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
• Max Rosenn (B.A. 1929) – Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• Jan Schlichtmann (J.D. 1977) – Civil action lawyer whose story was made into the film A Civil Action, in which Schlichtmann is played by John Travolta
• Leah Ward Sears (B.S. 1976) – Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia
• Elbert Tuttle (B.A. 1918, LL.B. 1923) – Chief judge, U.S. Court of Appeals; ruled on many fundamental 1954 civil-rights cases
• Honorable Paul A. Crotty (LL. B 1967) - Judge, Southern District of New York

Others

• George Bell, Jr. (LL.B., 1894), United States Army Major General who commanded the 33rd Infantry Division in World War I and later the United States VI Corps.
• Parley Parker Christensen, Utah and California politician, Esperantist
• Ernest E. Cole (B.S. 1895) – Commissioner of Education of the State of New York, 1940–1942
• Edwin L. Crawford, first county executive of Broome County, New York
• Alan Louis Eggers, a sergeant in the United States Army during World War I. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions in combat near Le Catelet, France.
• Stephen Friedman (B.A. 1959; Trustee, 1993–) – Chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (2005–), former assistant for economic policy to President George W. Bush (2002–04) and director of the United States National Economic Council, 2003–04; former chairman of The Goldman Sachs Group, 1990–94.
• Jesse Root Grant (undergrad 1874–77, dropped out) – Son of U.S. President Ulysses S Grant
• Mark J. Green (B.A. 1967) – Government consumer-affairs activist, New York Public Advocate, 1994–2001
• Howard Hart – Central Intelligence Agency officer
• Donald Kerr (B.S. 1963) – Assistant Director of the F.B.I., former Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory
• Isaac Herzog, Israeli politician
• Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai (Ph.D. 1950) – Governor of Bihar, India, 1979–85, 1993–98
• Stephen D. Krasner (B.A. 1963) – Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. State Department, professor of political science at Stanford University
• Edward M. House (undergrad 1877–80, dropped out) – Foreign policy advisor for Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• Florence Kelley (B.A. 1882) – Political and social reformer
• Celso Lafer (Ph.D. 1970) – Foreign Minister (1992–1992, 2001–2002) and Commerce Minister (1999–1999) of Brazil
• Harold O. Levy (B.A. 1974, J.D. 1977) – Chancellor of New York City Schools 2000–2002
• Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol (LL.M. 2002, J.S.D. 2005) – Princess of Thailand
• Kyle E. McSlarrow (Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy
• Benjamin Nichols (B.S. 1946, M.S. 1949) – Cornell professor of electrical and computer engineering and Socialist mayor of Ithaca (1989–1995).
• Roberto Prats (B.A. 1990 Public Political Analysis and Economics) – Senator of Puerto Rico
• Charles Gilbert Peterson Mayor of Lockport, NY and contractor
• Anna E. Roosevelt (did not graduate) – Daughter of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt
• Gligor A. Tashkovich (B.A. 1987, M.B.A. 1991) - Minister for Foreign Investment, Government of the Republic of Macedonia (2006–2008)
• David William Thomas (B.A. prior to 1900) – Louisiana journalist, attorney, educator, politician
• Tsai Ing-wen (LL.M. 1980) – Chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan and former Vice Premier
• Lt. Col. Matt Urban (B.A. 1941, History, Government) – Recipient of the Medal of Honor and numerous other decorations for valor during World War II
• William Wallace, Baron Wallace of Saltaire (Ph.D.) – scholar and Liberal Democrat peer
• Roy P. Wilcox (LL.B. 1897) – Wisconsin politician

Natural sciences and related fields

Mathematics

William F. Friedman

• Norbert Wiener (graduate study 1910–1911, transferred) – Mathematician, founder of the study of cybernetics
• William F. Friedman (B.S. 1914 Genetics) – Considered by many to be one of the greatest cryptologists of all time^{[citation needed]}

Physics

See also: List of Cornell Manhattan Project people

• Malcolm Beasley (B.E.P. 1962, Ph.D. 1968) – Physicist
• Kenneth Bowles (PhD 1955) – Jicamarca Radio Observatory, UCSD Pascal
• Harry Kroger (Ph.D. 1962) – Physicist and electrical engineer
• Hubert Reeves (Ph.D. 1960) – Astrophysicist
• Ted Taylor (Ph.D. 1956 Theoretical Physics) – Director of Project Orion and designer of many small nuclear weapons
• Ralph Walter Graystone Wyckoff (Ph.D. 1919) -Crystallographer, pioneer of X-ray crystallography.

Astronomy

Steve Squyres

• Isabel Martin Lewis (A.B. 1903, A.M. 1905) – Eclipse expert, popularizer of astronomy; first woman hired by the United States Naval Observatory.
• Frank Drake (B.A. 1952 Engineering Physics; Professor of Astronomy, 1964–84) – SETI researcher, known for the Drake equation
• Vera Rubin (M.A. 1951) – Astronomer known for contributions to the study of dark matter
• Steven Squyres (B.A. 1978 Geology, Ph.D. 1982 Planetary Science; Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy) – Astronomer, principal science investigator for the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity

Chemistry

• Harry Coover (M.S. 1943, Ph.D. 1944) – Prolific product inventor, notably cyanoacrylate adhesives (Super Glue); member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame
• Walter McCrone (B.S. 1938 Chemistry, Ph.D. 1942 Organic Chemistry) – Leading expert in microscopy, best known for work on the Shroud of Turin and the Vinland map
• Alexander Dounce (Ph.D. 1935) – Biochemist, inventor of the Dounce homogenizer
• Thomas Midgley, Jr. (M.E. 1911) – Inventor of Freon and tetraethyllead
• Eugene G. Rochow (B.S. 1931, Ph.D. 1935) – Inorganic chemist award the Perkin Medal
• Benjamin Widom (Ph.D. 1953; Goldwin Smith Professor of Chemistry 1954–) – Physical chemist awarded the Boltzmann Medal

Computer science and engineering

• Edmund M. Clarke (M.S. 1974, Ph.D. 1976) – winner of the 2007 Association for Computing Machinery A.M. Turing Award, winner of the IEEE Computer Society Harry H. Goode Memorial Award
• Robert L. Cook (M.S. 1981 Computer Graphics) – Academy Award for creation of RenderMan rendering software
• Paul Francis – Responsible for IP Nesting
• Andrew C. Greenberg (B.S. 1979) – Co-creator of the massively successful early computer game Wizardry
• Donald P. Greenberg (B.C.E. 1958, Ph.D. 1968) – Computer graphics pioneer and educator
• Morton Heilig (1943) – Early virtual reality pioneer, inventor
• William Higinbotham (graduate study) – Developer of Tennis for Two, 1958, one of the earliest video games
• Jon Kleinberg (B.S. 1993, Professor of Computer Science) – MacArthur Fellow, researcher of combinatorial network structure
• Jai Menon(PhD, 1992 and M.S. 1989) – Winner of InformationWeek Global CIO 50 (USA, 2009), NASSCOMM IT Innovation Award 2006, Director of Technology, Bharti Enterprises, 30+ patents (Rich Media), Implemented innovative S1 contract with IBM for Bharti Airtel
• Robert S. Langer (B.S. 1970 Chemical Engineering) – Leading figure in biochemical engineering, author of over 500 patents and 800 scientific papers
• Marc Levoy (B.Arch. 1976, M.S. 1978 Architecture) – Developed technology and algorithms for digitizing 3D objects that led to the Digital Michelangelo Project
• Shu-tian Li (Ph.D. 1928) -Studied hydaulic issues in China, grandfather of Steven Chu
• Douglas McIlroy (B.E.P. 1954) – Inventor of the pipes and filters architecture of Unix and the concept of software componentry
• Al Seckel – Creator of the Darwin Fish
• Steven Sinofsky (B.S. 1987) -Microsoft computer engineer, president of Windows division, 2009-2012.
• John A. Swanson (B.S. 1962, M.S. 1963) – founder of ANSYS and John Fritz Medal winner
• William J. Wilgus (correspondence student, 1883-1885) - designer and chief engineer for the building of Grand Central Station in New York City, 1902-1913
• Robert Woodhead – Co-creator of the massively successful early computer game Wizardry and co-founder of AnimEigo
• Padmasree Warrior (M.S., Chemical Engineering) – Chief Technical Officer at Cisco

Industrial and labor relations

• Francine D. Blau (B.S. 1966 Industrial and Labor Relations) – economist at the National Bureau of Economic Research, first woman to receive the IZA Prize in Labor Economics

Biology, ecology, botany and nutrition

• Robert C. Baker (B.S. 1943; Professor) – Inventor of the chicken nugget
• Stephen Moulton Babcock, developed the "single-grain experiment" (in 1907–11) that would lead to the development of nutrition as a science.
• Frank E. Buck, Canadian horticulturalist.
• John Henry Comstock (B.S. 1874; Professor) – Pioneer in entomology research and education
• Milislav Demerec (Ph.D. 1923 Genetics) – Geneticist and long serving director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
• Keith Downey (Ph.D. 1961) – Inventor of canola oil
• Arthur Rose Eldred (B.S. 1916 Agriculture) – America's first Eagle Scout, 1912), agriculturalist
• Louis Agassiz Fuertes (B.A 1897; Lecturer 1923–?) – Ornithologist and illustrator
• Veranus Alva Moore (B.S. 1887; Professor of Veterinary Medicine 1896–1908, Dean of Vet School, 1908–29) – Bacteriologist and pathologist
• Roger Morse (B.S. 1950, M.S. 1953, Ph.D. 1955; Professor) – Apiculture author, teacher, researcher
• Theobald Smith (B.Phil 1881) – microbiologist and pathologist who discovered the causes of several infectious and parasitic diseases, and anaphylaxis
• Philip Edward Smith (Ph. D. 1912, Anatomy) – Endocrinologist who demonstrated function of pituitary gland by performing hypophysectomies in rats.

Medicine

Benjamin Spock

• Robert Atkins (M.D. 1955) – Creator of the Atkins Diet and an author on health and nutrition
• Emily Dunning Barringer (B.S. 1897) – First female ambulance surgeon in the U.S.
• Joshua B. Bederson (B.A. 1979) – Chief of Neurosurgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City and author of Treatment of Carotid Disease: A Practitioner's Manual
• Dean Edell (B.A. 1963 Zoology, M.D. 1967) – Physician and media personality
• Alfred Freedman (B.S. 1937) – Psychiatrist who led move to destigmatize same sex orientation; former president of American Psychiatry Association
• Wilson Greatbatch (B.E.E. 1950) – Engineer and inventor who advanced the development of early implantable pacemakers and lithium ion batteries
• Henry Heimlich (B.A. 1941, M.D. 1943) – Inventor of the Heimlich maneuver
• David Lederman (B.S. 1968, Ph.D. 1973) - Pioneer of the artificial heart
• Philip Levine (M.D. 1923) – Immunohematologist; discovered the Rh factor in blood in 1939.
• Robert Millman (undergrad; Saul P. Steinberg Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Public Health, Medical College) – Drug abuse expert, former Medical Director for Major League Baseball
• Cecilia Mettler (Ph.D. 1938)- medical historian
• Lt. Gen. James Peake, US Army (ret) (M.D. 1972) – former Surgeon General of the United States Army
• Gregory Goodwin Pincus (B.S. 1924) – Co-inventor of the combined oral contraceptive pill.
• Alvin F. Poussaint (M.D. 1960) – Child-rearing expert
• Daniel Elmer Salmon (B.S. 1872, D.V.M. 1872) – Namesake of salmonella; first D.V.M. in the United States
• Benjamin Spock (medical residency; Professor of Pediatrics, Medical College, 1933–47) – Author of The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, one of the best selling books of all time
• Ida S. Scudder (M.D. 1899, Medical Missionary in India; Founder of Christian Medical College & Hospital, Vellore, Tamilandu)
• Kevin J. Tracey (neurosurgery residency, 1992) – President, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, neurosurgeon and immunologist who discovered the Inflammatory Reflex

NASA astronauts

Mae Jemison

• Ellen S. Baker (M.D. 1978) – Lead Astronaut for Medical Issues, Johnson Space Center
• Daniel T. Barry (B.S.E.E. 1975) – Astronaut, contestant on CBS reality program Survivor: Exile Island
• Jay C. Buckey, Jr. (B.S.E.E. 1977, M.D. 1981) – Astronaut
• Martin J. Fettman (B.S. 1976 Animal Nutrition, M.S. 1970 Nutrition, D.V.M 1970; Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Lecturer 1994) – Payload specialist
• Mae Jemison (M.D. 1981; A.D. White Professor-at-Large 1999–2005) – First African-American woman to travel in space; member of National Women's Hall of Fame; chemical engineer, physician, teacher
• G. David Low (B.S.M.E. 1980) – Astronaut
• Edward T. Lu (B.S.E.E. 1984) – Astronaut and physicist
• Donald A. Thomas (M.S. 1980 Materials Science, Ph.D. 1982 Materials Science) – Astronaut

Social sciences

Anthropology and sociology

• Edward Bernays (B.S. 1912 Agriculture) – Public relations practitioner, author of Propaganda
• Ken Blanchard (B.A. 1961, Ph.D. 1967) – Management consultant, co-author of The One Minute Manager
• Alfred Blumstein (B.A., Ph.D.) – Criminologist and former dean of the Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University
• Kimberle Crenshaw: Founder of Critical Race Theory, highly influential black feminist and race theorist
• Harry Edwards (Ph.D. 1970) – sociologist noted for work on race and sports, Professor Emeritus at University of California, Berkeley
• Daniel A. Foss (B.A.) – Sociologist, author of Beyond Revolution: A New Theory of Social Movements (1986), Freak Culture: Life Style and Politics (1972)
• John Naisbitt (Best-selling writer in the area of futures studies
• Tom Peters (B.C.E. 1965, M.C.E. 1966) – Business management motivational guru
• G. William Skinner (B.A. 1948, Ph.D. 1954) - anthropologist and sinologist best known for his delineation of the physiographic macroregions of China
• Julian Steward (B.A. 1925 Zoology and Biology) – Anthropologist best known for his development of a scientific theory of cultural evolution

Economics

Alan B. Krueger

• Ricardo Hausmann (Ph.D. 1981) – a former Venezuelan Minister and ex-Chairman of the IMF – World Bank Development Committee
• Frank H. Knight (Ph.D. 1916) – Influential scholar-economist, one of the original leaders of the "Chicago School" of economic theory
• Alan Krueger (B.S. 1983) – Noted labor economist and former Chief Economist for the US Department of Labor
• Sendhil Mullainathan – Behavioral economist at Harvard, co-founder of MIT Poverty Action Lab, MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" recipient
• James Needham – Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange
• George Rea (1915) – First paid president of the New York Curb Exchange
• Thorstein Veblen (graduate study 1891–92, transferred) – Economist, author of The Theory of the Leisure Class
• Claudia Goldin (B.A. magna cum laude 1968) – Economist

Government

John Mearsheimer

• Benedict Anderson (Ph.D. 1967) – Aaron L. Binenkorb Professor Emeritus of International Studies, Government & Asian Studies at Cornell University, and is best known for his book Imagined Communities
• Gordon G. Chang (B.A. 1973, J.D. 1976) – Author of The Coming Collapse of China and Nuclear Showdown : North Korea Takes On the World, one of the original set of Student Trustees
• George Friedman (Ph.D. 1976) - Director of the political analysis and forecasting think tank "Stratfor", Author of The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century (2009).
• John Mearsheimer (Ph.D. 1980) – International Relations theorist and Professor of Political Science at University of Chicago. Known for his book on offensive realism, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics and his New York Times best-seller The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.
• Stephen Skowronek (Ph.D. 1979) – Pelatiah Perit Professor of political and social science at Yale
• William Irwin Thompson (Ph.D. 1966; Professor) – Cultural historian, social critic, poet, philosopher of science
• James Weinstein (B.A. 1949 Government) – Author and publisher of In These Times

Psychology

• Edwin G. Boring (1908, Ph.D. 1915 Psychology; Instructor of Psychology 1913–18) – Historian of psychology
• Urie Bronfenbrenner (B.A. 1938 Psychology and Music; Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Human Development and Psychology) – Psychologist, pioneer in developmental psychology (Ecological Systems Theory), founder of field Human Ecology, co-founder of national Head Start program
• Joyce Brothers (B.S. 1947) – Author, psychologist, and television personality
• James Maas (M.A., Ph.D.; Professor of Psychology) – Psychologist, coined the term "power nap"
• Abraham Maslow (undergrad 1928–29, transferred) – Psychologist best known for his Hierarchy of Human Needs
• Frank Parsons (B.S. Civil Engineering) Founder of the field of vocational psychology.

Humanities

Philosophy

• John Arthur (B.A.) – an expert in legal theory, constitutional theory, social ethics, and political philosophy
• Francis Fukuyama (B.A.) – an American philosopher, political economist, and professor at Johns Hopkins University
• Edmund Gettier – American philosopher and Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; owes his reputation to a single three-page paper published in 1963 called "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?"
• Sterling Harwood (J.D. 1983, M.A. 1986 & Ph.D. 1992) – Philosopher, author of "Eleven Objections to Utilitarianism"
• John Warwick Montgomery (A.B. 1952) American lawyer, professor, theologian and academic known for his work in the field of Christian Apologetics.
• Thomas Nagel (B.A. 1958) – Philosopher, author of What is it like to be a bat?
• George Ashton Oldham (A.B. 1902) – Episcopal Bishop, peace activist, and writer
• May Gorslin Preston Slosson (Ph.D. 1880) - Suffragist, first woman in the United States to get her Ph.D. in philosophy
• Samuel Weber (Ph.D. 1960) – Avalon Foundation Professor of Humanities at Northwestern University, as well as a professor at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland
• Paul Ziff (B.F.A. 1949, Ph.D. 1951) – American artist and philosopher specializing in semantics and aesthetics

Literature

Kurt Vonnegut

E.B. White

• Diane Ackerman (M.F.A. 1973 Poetry, M.A. 1976, Ph.D. 1978) – Author, poet, and naturalist
• Gerald Taiaiake Alfred (M.S. 1992, Ph.D. 1994) – Scholar, author, and adviser to indigenous nations
• Morris Bishop (B.A. 1913, M.A. 1914, Ph.D. 1926; Professor of Romance Literature) – Biographer, author, humorist, wrote the preeminent history of the university, A History of Cornell
• Harold Bloom (B.A. 1952) – Literary and cultural scholar-critic
• Susan Brownmiller (B.A. 1956) – Feminist author and activist
• Murray Burnett (B.A. 1931) – Author of the play Everybody Comes to Rick's, which was turned into the film Casablanca
• George Lincoln Burr (B.A. 1881; John Stambaugh Professor of History 1888–?) – U.S. historian, diplomat, author, and educator
• Fiona Cheong (B.A. 1986, M.F.A. 1987) – Author and associate professor
• George Cockcroft (B.A. 1954) – Author, The Dice Man, uses the pen name Luke Rhinehart
• Junot Díaz (M.F.A. 1995) – Critically acclaimed, Pulitzer-Prize-winning short-story writer
• Alice Dunbar-Nelson – Poet, journalist, political activist, Harlem Renaissance influence
• Barry Eisler (J.D. 1989) – Author, novelist
• Roger Evans (B.A. 1974) – Author, Old Buck: Sexuality, Secrets and the Civil War
• Richard Fariña (B.A. 1962 English) – Author, Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me, folk singer
• Jessie Redmon Fauset (B.A. 1905) – author from the Harlem Renaissance
• Alice Fulton (M.F.A. 1982; Ann S. Bowers Distinguished Professor of English) – Poet, author, feminist, MacArthur Fellow
• William H. Gass (Ph.D. 1954 Philosophy) – Author, essayist
• Martin Hägglund (Ph.D. 2009 Comparative Literature) – Literary theorist, philosopher
• Lynne Hanley (B.A. English) – Literary critic
• E. D. Hirsch (B.A., 1950) literary critic and educational theorist
• Laura Howes (B.A. English) - Scholar of Middle English literature
• Minfong Ho (B.A. Economics) – Chinese-American author
• Laura Z. Hobson – Author, Gentleman's Agreement
• Clifford Irving (B.A. 1951) – Author of the Howard Hughes biography hoax
• Anne LaBastille (B.A. 1955, Ph.D. 1969) – Author and award-winning conservationist
• James H. Morey, medievalist
• Lorrie Moore (M.F.A. 1982) – Prize-winning short-story writer and novelist
• Ira B. Nadel (Ph.D. 1970) - Prize-winning biographer and literary critic
• George Jean Nathan (1904) – Author, critic
• Nicholas Nicastro (B.A. 1985 English, M.A. 1991 Archaeology, Ph.D. 2003 Psychology) – Historical novelist
• Téa Obreht (MFA 2009) – novelist, The Tiger's Wife
• Julie Orringer (B.A. 1994 English) - short-story writer and novelist
• Thomas Perry (B.A. 1969) – Novelist, Edgar Award winner.
• Thomas Pynchon (B.A. 1959 English) – Author, Gravity's Rainbow and The Crying of Lot 49
• Kenneth Roberts (B.A. 1908) – Novelist, Northwest Passage
• Laura Riding (attended 1918–21) – Poet, novelist, essayist, short story writer, leader in modernism.
• Matt Ruff (B.A. 1988) – Author, Fool on the Hill
• Joanna Russ (B.A. 1957 English; Professor) – Feminist author, The Female Man
• Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick (undergrad) – Critical theorist, literature professor
• Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (Ph.D. 1967 Comparative Literature) – Post-colonialist theorist, Can the Subaltern Speak? Winner of Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy
• William Stokoe (B.A. 1941, Ph.D. 1946 English) – Pioneered research on American Sign Language. Co-authored A Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles (1965), the first attempt to systematically represent and characterize ASL phonology.
• William Strunk Jr. (Ph.D. 1896; Professor) – Author of The Elements of Style
• Hendrik Willem van Loon (1905; Professor of History 1915–17) – Author of the first book to be awarded the Newbery Medal for an outstanding contribution to children's literature
• Kurt Vonnegut (undergrad 1941–1943, dropped out) – Author, Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat's Cradle, and Breakfast of Champions.
• Lauren Weisberger (B.A. 1999 English) – Author, The Devil Wears Prada and Everyone Worth Knowing
• E. B. White (B.A. 1921) – Author, Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little; Co-author, The Elements of Style
• Dick Wimmer—(B.A. 1958) – novelist
• Seksan Prasertkul

History

• Glenn C. Altschuler (Ph.D. 1976) – Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies and Vice President for University Relations at Cornell University
• Barbara Watson Andaya (Ph.D. 1975) – Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Hawaii and Director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies
• Leonard Andaya (Ph.D. 1972) – Professor of Southeast Asian History at the University of Hawaii
• Charnvit Kasetsiri (Ph.D. 1972) – Thai historian and former President of Thammasat University
• William McNeill (Ph.D. 1947) – Historian, author of The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community
• Anthony Milner (Ph.D.) – Basham Professor of Asian History, School of Culture, History & Language, Australian National University
• Milton Osborne (Ph.D.) – Australian historian, author, and consultant specializing in Southeast Asia.
• Merle Calvin Ricklefs (Ph.D.) – Scholar of the history and current affairs of Indonesia
• Kazys Varnelis (M.A. 1990, Ph.D. 1994) – historian and theorist of architecture, specializing in network culture
• David K. Wyatt (Ph.D. 1966) – John Stambaugh Professor of History and Asian Studies, Emeritus, Cornell University

Music

• Robert Alexander Anderson (1916) – Composer, wrote Christmas song Mele Kalikimaka
• Herbert Barrett (B.A. 1930) – Talent manager for hundreds of famous artists from the 1930s up into the 2000s
• Harry Chapin (dropped out) – Folk musician, Cat's in the Cradle
• Henrique de Curitiba (M.F.A. 1981) – Polish-Brazilian composer
• Mack David – Eight-time Academy Award nominee for songs including Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo
• Joscelyn Godwin (Ph.D. 1969 Musicology) – Musicologist, translator, historian of the esoteric
• Greg Graffin (Ph.D. 1991 Evolutionary Biology) – Lead singer and co-founder of Bad Religion
• Laurens Hammond (B.S. 1916 Mechanical Engineering) – Inventor of the Hammond organ
• Jesse Harris (B.A.) – Grammy-award winning songwriter who wrote "Don't Know Why" and "Come Away with Me", songs popularized by the artist Norah Jones
• John S. Hilliard (D.M.A. 1983) – Classical Composer
• Huey Lewis (undergrad 1967–69, dropped out) – Rock musician, Huey Lewis and the News
• Robert Moog (Ph.D. 1965) – Inventor of the Moog synthesizer
• Steve Reich (B.A. 1957) – Pulitzer Prize-winning composer
• Cary Sherman (1968) – Chairman and CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America
• Christopher Rouse (D.M.A. 1977) – Classical composer, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music
• Steven Stucky (D.M.A. 1978; Professor of Music Composition) – Pulitzer Prize winning composer
• Paul Francis Webster (undergrad 1927–28, transferred) – Academy and Grammy Award-winning lyricist
• Peter Yarrow (B.A. 1959) – Folksinger, Peter, Paul and Mary

Architecture and design

• Edmund Bacon (B.Arch. 1932) – Urban planner, reshaped Philadelphia, 1949–70
• Albert Cassell (B.Arch. 1919) – Designed buildings for Howard University, Morgan State University, and Virginia Union University
• Gilmore David Clarke (B.S. 1913 Landscape Architecture and Civil Engineering) – Designed the Central Park Zoo and the Unisphere
• Peter Eisenman (B.Arch. 1955) – A foremost practitioner of deconstructivism in American architecture
• Lee S Jablin (B.Arch. 1971) – Founding Partner of Harman Jablin Architects
• Robert Trent Jones, 1931) – Designer of about 500 golf courses
• Raymond M. Kennedy (B.Arch. 1915) – Designed Grauman's Chinese Theatre
• Rem Koolhaas (M.Arch.) – Dutch architect, journalist, and screenwriter
• David Macpherson (Civil Engineering) – City planner for San Antonio, Texas, designed Santa Fe Railroad
• Tomás Mapúa (B.Arch. 1911) – Founded the Mapúa Institute of Technology. First Filipino to earn a degree in Architecture.
• Richard Meier (B.Arch. 1957, Professor) – Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal winner
• Charles Morse Stotz (B.Arch. 1921, Master's) - Architect, historian, and preservationist of Western Pennsylvania.
• William Henry Miller (B.Arch 1872) – Designed many iconic buildings on Cornell's Ithaca campus
• Enrique Norten (M.Arch. 1980) – Mexican architect, professor, 2003 World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition jury member
• Nathaniel A. Owings (B.Arch. 1927) – founding partner of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill which popularized the International style after World War II
• Richmond Shreve (B.Arch.) – Partner of architectural firm Shreve, Lamb and Harmon that designed the Empire State Building
• Vertner Tandy (M.Arch.) – Architect whose most famous commission was probably Villa Lewaro, the mansion of Harlem millionairess Madam C.J. Walker, Founder of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity
• Vuko G. Tashkovich (B.Arch. 1962) - A latter-day Master Builder who integrated design and construction into the profession with 57 estates to his credit in Westchester and Fairfield Counties.
• Jan V. White (B.Arch. 1951) – Communication designer, educator and writer
• Philip Will, Jr (B.Arch. 1928) – Partner of architectural firm Perkins+Will and President of the American Institute of Architects
• E. Stewart Williams (B.Arch.) – Palm Springs, California-based architect with a distinctive modernist style

Fine arts and photography

• Elfriede Abbe (1940) - Sculptor
• Susan Rothenberg (B.F.A. 1967) – Painter
• Pat Lipsky (B.F.A. 1963) – Painter
• John Rosenbaum (M.E.P. 1957) – Kinetic Artist, Educator
• Frederick Sommer (M.A. 1927 Landscape Architecture) – Photographer
• Hugh Troy (undergrad 1922–27, did not graduate) – Artist, famous prankster
• James De La Vega – Muralist, street artist in Harlem, NY
• Jill Magid (B.F.A 1995) – Performance Artist
• Thomas N. Armstrong (B.F.A. 1954-Art History) – Director of the Whitney Museum

Media

Journalism

Keith Olbermann

Kate Snow

• Eric Alterman (B.A. 1982 History and Government) – Author and columnist
• Margaret Bourke-White (B.A. 1927) – Photojournalist
• Rodney A. Brooks (B.S. 1975 – Personal Finance Editor, USA TODAY
• Julius Chambers (B.A. 1870) – author, editor, journalist, travel writer, and activist against psychiatric abuse.
• C.J. Chivers (B.A. 1987) – Foreign correspondent, The New York Times
• Charles Collingwood (B.A. 1939) – Broadcast journalist and foreign correspondent
• Ann Coulter (B.A. 1984 History) – Book author and columnist
• S.E. Cupp (B.A. 2000 Art History) - Co-host of MSNBC's The Cycle
• Michael Dirda (Ph.D. 1975, Comparative Literature) – Pulitzer Prize winning book critic for the Washington Post
• Jeffrey Gettleman (B.A. 1994) – Foreign correspondent, The New York Times
• Philip Gourevitch (B.A. 1986) – Editor, The Paris Review
• Steven Lagerfeld (B.A. 1977) – Editor, The Wilson Quarterly
• Carolyn Gusoff (B.A. 1984) – reporter and anchor with WNBC in New York City
• Austin H. Kiplinger (B.A. 1939) – Journalist, editor of The Kiplinger Letter, founder of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, winner of the Peabody Award
• John S. Knight – Major newspaper publisher and editor, Pulitzer Prize winner
• Eric Lichtblau (B.A. 1987 English and Political Science) – Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for national reporting with The New York Times
• James C. McKinley, Jr. (B.A. 1984) – foreign correspondent, The New York Times
• Philip Merrill (B.A. 1955 Government, Trustee) – Owner and publisher of The Capital Daily Newspaper in Annapolis, MD and Washingtonian magazine; international statesman; adviser to U.S. Presidents
• China Okasi (B.A. 2001 English) - Editor, journalist and political commentator
• Keith Olbermann (B.S. 1979 Communication) – Sportscaster, news anchor and political commentator; hosted Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC.
• John Andrew Rea (B.A. 1869) – Editor of The Olympian, Minneapolis Tribune, Bismarck Tribune and the Dakota edition of the St. Paul Pioneer Press
• Dave Ross KIRO-FM
• Dick Schaap (B.S. 1955) – Sports newscaster on ABC and ESPN, two Emmy Awards, author and co-author of 33 books
• Kate Snow (B.S. 1991 Communication) – Journalist, co-anchor of Good Morning America
• Andrew Ross Sorkin (B.S. 1999 Communication) – Journalist, co-anchor of Squawk Box, Author of Too Big to Fail
• Howard Taubman (B.A. 1929) – Chief Music Critic and Chief Theater Critic for The New York Times in the 1950s and 1960s
• William T. Vollmann (B.A. 1981 Comparative Literature) – Journalist, Author of numerous books on war, including a seven volume treatise on violence
• Whit Watson, (B.A., English, 1993) – Announcer on Golf Channel, formerly at ESPN and Sun Sports, winner of 4 Emmy Awards and former Sports Director at WVBR
• Sheryl WuDunn (B.A. 1981 European History) – Journalist at The New York Times, co-winner in 1990 of the Pulitzer Prize for her coverage on the Tienanmen Square protests of 1989, winner of the George Polk Award in 1989, and winner of the Overseas Press Club in 1990.

Film, radio, television and theatre

• Ted Berkman (1933) – Screenwriter, authored Bedtime for Bonzo
• Josh Bernstein (B.A. 1993 Anthropology and Psychology) – Host of Digging for the Truth on the History Channel
• Lee Bienstock (B.S. 2005 Policy Analysis & Management) – Businessman and 2nd place on the fifth edition of the NBC reality show The Apprentice
• Murray Burnett, co-wrote the play, Everybody Comes to Rick's which was adapted into the film Casablanca
• Dane Clark (bachelors 1930s) – Actor, Moonrise
• Jordan Clarke (B.A. 1973 Philosophy, M.F.A. 1973 Acting) – Actor, starred in Guiding Light, winner of a Daytime Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
• Bob Clendenin – Actor, Starred in 10 Items or Less
• Ellen Albertini Dow (B.A. 1935 Theater, M.A. 1938 Theater) – Actress, Wedding Crashers, the rapping grandmother in The Wedding Singer
• Dan Duryea (B.A. English) – Actor
• Art Fleming – Original Jeopardy! host, 1964–75
• David Folkenflik - (B.A. 1991 Arts and Sciences) - media correspondent for NPR.
• Steven Franken - (B.A. 1950) actor, best known for his role in The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
• David F. Friedman (1942, Electrical Engineering) film maker
• Allen Funt (B.A. 1934 Fine Arts) – Producer, created Candid Camera
• Eric Garcia (transferred 1992) – Writer, author of Matchstick Men
• Joel Gertner (1993–1996, dropped out) – Former ECW personality
• Harold Gould (M.A. 1948 Theater, Ph.D. 1953 Dramatic Speech and Literature; Professor of Speech and Drama) – Stage, screen, and television actor
• Howard Hawks (eMechanical Engineering) – Noted American film director, producer and writer of the classic Hollywood era; directed Scarface, His Girl Friday, The Big Sleep, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, among others
• Catherine Hicks (M.F.A. 1976?) – Annie Camden on 7th Heaven
• Sidney Kingsley (B.A. 1928) – Playwright, screenwriter, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1934 for the drama Men in White
• Jamie Kovac (B.S. 2001, M.Eng. 2002) – "Fury" on American Gladiators
• Arthur Laurents (B.A. 1937 English) – Playwright, screenwriter, director, author, credits include West Side Story, Rope, and Gypsy
• David Seidler (1959) – Screenwriter, won 83rd Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Kings Speech (2010)
• Jane Lynch (M.F.A Theater) – Actress
• Bill Maher (B.A. 1978 English) – Comedian and Politically Incorrect satirist
• Carol Mendelsohn (B.A. 1973) – Television producer, credits include C.S.I.
• Adolphe Menjou (B.S. Engineering) – Actor, famous for his roles in The Sheik, The Three Musketeers, and Paths of Glory
• Ronald D. Moore (failed out 1985) – Writer/Producer of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica; two-time Hugo Award winner, nominated for Emmy Award
• Frank Morgan (undergrad 1908–09, dropped out) – Actor, played The Wizard in The Wizard of Oz, Academy Award recipient
• Bill Nye (B.S. 1977 Mechanical Engineering, M.Eng. 1977, Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of '56 University Professor, 2001–06) – Star of Bill Nye the Science Guy; science education advocate
• Keith Olbermann (B.S. 1979 Communication Arts) – Sports commentator, MSNBC news anchor, co-host of Football Night in America of NBC
• Peter Ostrum (D.V.M. 1984) – Charlie Bucket from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
• Richard Price (B.S. 1971) – Author, The Wanderers and 6 other novels; Academy Award nominated screenwriter for The Color of Money and Clockers
• Keith Raywood (Architecture 1980)- Emmy Award winning Production Designer.
• Christopher Reeve (B.A. 1974 Theater Arts and English) – Actor, best known for starring in Superman and its sequels
• Jason Reich (B.S. Communication 1998) – Emmy Award winning writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
• Christopher Rich (M.A. Theater Arts) – Miller Redfield on Murphy Brown
• Andrea Savage (B.A. Political Science and Spanish, minor in Law Studies) – Actress, Dog Bites Man
• Vivian Schiller (B.A. Russian)-former CEO NPR
• Thelma Schoonmaker (B.A. 1961) – Film editor, received the Academy Award for Raging Bull, The Aviator, and The Departed
• Robert Smigel (undergrad 1978–80, transferred) – Puppeteer behind Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog; first head writer of Late Night with Conan O'Brien; author of "TV Funhouse" animations on Saturday Night Live
• Jimmy Smits (M.F.A. 1982) – Actor
• Mark Stenzler (B.A. 1982 Physics) - Host of Blues Zeppelin on Swiss Community Radio, Radio RaBe in Berne, Switzerland
• Yale Summers (Bachelor's Business with honors, 1955) – Actor and governing member of the Screen Actors Guild
• Ken Sunshine (1970) – Publicist
• Tim Squyres (B.A. 1981) – Academy Award nominated film editor, best known for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
• Jennifer Tipton (B.A. 1958) – Award-winning theatre and dance lighting designer
• Franchot Tone (undergrad) – Actor, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for Mutiny on the Bounty
• Ming Tsai (Hotel Administration) – Celebrity Chef; Ming's Quest, a cooking show featured on the Fine Living Network, and Simply Ming on American Public Television
• Mary Woronov (did not graduate) – Actress, member of Andy Warhol's The Factory
• Brian Hallisay (degree in Economics and History) – Actor from the television show Privileged

Education

• William Bagley (Ph.D. 1900 Psychology and Education) – American educator and editor
• Henry Bienen (B.S. 1960) – President of Northwestern University, 1995–2009
• Karen Boroff, Dean of Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University
• John Casper Branner (B.S. 1882) – President of Stanford University, 1913–15); geologist
• William W. Destler (Ph.D. 1972 Applied physics) – President of Rochester Institute of Technology, 2007–present
• Daniel Mark Fogel (B.A. 1969 English, M.F.A 1974 Creative Writing, Ph.D. 1976 English) – President of the University of Vermont, 2002–present
• Joseph Glover (B.A. 1974 Mathematics) – Provost of the University of Florida 2008–present
• Emil Q. Javier (Ph.D. 1969) – President of the University of the Philippines, 1993–99
• David Starr Jordan (M.S. 1872, honorary LL.D. 1886) – Founding President of Stanford University, 1891–1913), President of Indiana University, 1885–91), Smithsonian Institution associate
• Leslie Jacobs (B.A. 1981) – Founder of Educate Now, Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, Instrumental in transforming the moribund Orleans Parish School System after Hurricane Katrina
• Charnvit Kasetsiri (Ph.D. 1972) – President of Thammasat University, 1994–95
• Steven Knapp (M.S. 1977, Ph.D. 1981) current President of The George Washington University
• Henry T. Yang (Ph.D.) – President of University of California, Santa Barbara (1994–)
• Jay O. Light (B.S.E. 1963) – Dean of Harvard Business School, 2006–2010
• Tomas Mapua (B.Arch. 1911) – Founder of the Mapúa Institute of Technology and accomplished architect
• Michael C. McFarland (B.A. 1969 Physics) – President of College of the Holy Cross, 2000–present
• Lemuel Moss (M.S. 1872) – President of Indiana University (1875–1884)
• Steven Muller – President of Johns Hopkins University, 1972 to 1990
• Ernest Fox Nichols (M.S. 1893, Ph.D. 1897) – President of MIT, 1921–22) and Dartmouth, 1909–16), Professor of physics at Colgate, 1892–98), Dartmouth, 1898–1903), Columbia, 1903–09), and Yale
• Frederick D. Patterson (Ph.D. 1933) – President of what is now Tuskegee University, 1935–53); Founder of the United Negro College Fund; 1987 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient
• Michelle Rhee (B.S. 1992 Government) – founder of and President of The New Teacher Project, appointed Superintendent of Washington, DC Public Schools in 2007.
• Eugene G. Sander (M.S. 1959, Ph.D. 1965 Biology) – President of the University of Arizona, 2011– present
• Carlos E. Santiago (Ph.D. 1982 Economics) – Chancellor, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
• Kathleen Sullivan (B.A. 1976) – Dean of Stanford Law School (1999–2004), Professor at Harvard Law School (1984–93), Professor at Stanford Law School (2004–present)
• M. Carey Thomas (B.A. 1877) – Founder and second President of Bryn Mawr College (1894–1922); suffragist
• George R. Throop (Ph.D. 1905) – Chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis (1927–1944)
• Randi Weingarten (B.S. 1980 Labor Relations) – President of the United Federation of Teachers
• Eric W. Weisstein (B.A. 1990 Physics, minor Astronomy) – Encyclopedist, created and maintains MathWorld, ScienceWorld, and other encyclopedias
• Eliot Wigginton (B.A. 1965) – High school teacher, founder and editor of the Foxfire books
• Kenneth E. Wing (B.A., M.A., Ph.D) – Former president of the State University of New York at Cobleskill
• George T. Winston (B.A. 1874 Literature, Professor) – President of University of North Carolina, (1891–1896), the University of Texas (1896–1899), and North Carolina State University (1899–1908)
• E.T. York (Ph.D. 1955) – President of the University of Florida (1973–1974); Chancellor of the State University System of Florida (1974–1980)

Business

Founders

• Robert Alter (B.S. 1973 Hotel Administration) – Founder and Chairman of Sunstone Hotel Investors
• Richard Baker (B.S. 1988, Hotel Administration) – Founder, President, and CEO of NRDC Equity Partners and Hudson's Bay Company, the owner of Lord & Taylor, The Bay, Home Outfitters, Zellers, and Fields
• Amit Bhatia (B.S. 2001) – Founder of Swordfish Investments; Vice Chairman of Queen's Park Rangers
• Willis Carrier (M.E. 1901) – Founder of Carrier Corporation; inventor of air conditioning
• Joseph Coors (B.Chem. 1939, Chem. E. 1940) – Co-founder of Heritage Foundation
• Mac Cummings (B.A. 2001) Co-founder of Terakeet Corporation; Director of Internet Finance
• David Duffield (B.E.E. 1962, M.B.A. 1964) – Co-founder of PeopleSoft and Workday
• David Edgerton (B.A. 1947, Hotel Administration) – Co-founder of Burger King Corporation
• David Einhorn (B.A. 1991) – Founder and President of Greenlight Capital, a noted hedge fund manager
• Chuck Feeney (B.S. 1956 Hotel Administration) – Founder of Duty Free Shoppers Group, Founder & Director of Atlantic Philanthropies, Founder of General Atlantic
• Robert Felton (B.S. 1961) – Founder, Chairman, CEO of Indus International
• Frank Gannett (B.A. 1898) – Founder of Gannett, the largest U.S. newspaper publisher; namesake of Gannett Health Center
• Paul Graham (B.A.) – Co-founder of Viaweb, sold for $46.6 million to Yahoo! and became Yahoo! Stores; Lisp programmer, author
• David M. Greenberg (J.D. 2006) – Founder and CEO of Updater
• Leroy Grumman (M.E. 1916) – Founder of Grumman Aerospace Corporation
• Bjorn Hanson (B.S. 1973 Hotel Administration) – Founder of PriceWaterhouseCoopers Global Hospitality Consulting
• John Harney (B.S. 1956, Hotel Administration) – Founder of Harney and Sons
• Myra Hart (B.A. 1962, M.B.A. 1981, Trustee, 1999–) – One of four founders of Staples, Inc., Professor at Harvard Business School
• Jeff Hawkins (B.S. 1979 Electrical Engineering) – Founder of Palm, Inc. and Handspring; inventor of the Palm Pilot
• Christopher Hemmeter (B.S. 1962, Hotel Administration) – Founder and Chairman of Hemmeter Companies
• Charles S. Henry (B.S. 1974, Hotel Administration) – Founder and President of Hotel Capital Advisers
• Walter Isenberg (B.S. 1980, Hotel Administration) – Founder and CEO of Sage Hospitality
• Irwin M. Jacobs (B.E.E. 1956) – Co-founder and Chairman of Qualcomm; UCSD and MIT engineering professor, pioneer of CDMA wireless technology, philanthropist
• Stephen A. Jarislowsky (B.S 1946 Mechanical Engineering) – Businessman and philanthropist; Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Jarislowsky Fraser Limited
• Seth Klarman (B.A. 1979) – Founder and Chairman of the Baupost Group, a noted hedge fund manager
• J. Peter Kline (B.S. 1969 Hotel Administration) – Founder and CEO of Bristol Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest owner of Holiday Inns and Crowne Plaza Hotels, with 130 hotels throughout North America; President of Children's Medical Center Foundation Dallas
• Rob Kline (B.S. 1984 Hotel Administration) – Founder and CEO of Chartres Lodging Group, LLC
• Jules B. Kroll (B.A. 1963) - Founder of Kroll Inc. and the modern investigations, intelligence, and security industry; responsible for tracking the assets of Jean-Claude Duvalier, Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, and Saddam Hussein
• David Litman (1979, 1982) – Founder and CEO of Hotels.com
• Linda Mason (B.A. 1976) – Founder and President of Bright Horizons
• Kevin McGovern (B.A. 1970) – Founder, Chairman, CEO of McGovern Capital LLC and founder/key shareholder in more than 15 companies including TriStrata, SoBe, KK Industries, and Angstrom Publishing
• James McLamore (B.A. 1947, Hotel Administration) – Co-founder of Burger King Corporation
• Gary Mendell (B.S. 1979 Hotel Administration) – Founder, Chairman, and CEO of HEI Hotels & Resorts
• Howard Milstein (B.A. 1973) – an American real estate developer, financier, and philanthropist; Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of New York Private Bank & Trust
• Edward Leamington Nichols (B.S. 1875, Professor) – Founder of the Physical Review
• Drew Nieporent (B.S. 1977 Hotel Administration) – Founder of Myriad Restaurant Group
• Barbara Novick (B.A. 1981) – One of the founders of BlackRock
• Franklin W. Olin (B.C.E. 1886) – Founder of Olin Corporation; gave gift to build Olin Hall in memory of his son Franklin W. Olin, Jr.
• John M. Olin (B.S. 1913 Chemistry) – Founder of John M. Olin Foundation, President, Olin Corporation; namesake of Olin Library
• Jeffrey P. Parker (B.S. 1965, M.ENG. 1966, MBA 1970) – Founder, Chairman, and CEO of CCBN, Past Chairman and CEO of Thomson Financial
• Leland C. Pillsbury (B.S. 1969 Hotel Administration) – Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Thayer Group of Companies
• Forrest Raffel (B.S. Hotel Administration) – Founder of Arby's
• Harris Rosen (B.S. 1961 Hotel Administration) – Founder of Rosen Hotels and Resorts. Founder of Rosen College of Hospitality Management
• Steve Rushmore (B.S. 1967 Hotel Administration) – Founder and President of HVS Global Hospitality Services
• Greg Ryan (B.S. 1974 Hotel Administration) – Chairman of Atlantica Hotels International. Founder of McDonald's of Brazil, with over 1,000 restaurants currently open and operating.
• Rob Ryan (B.A. 1969) – Founder and Chairman of Ascend Communications
• William Sanders (B.S. 1964) – Founder of LaSalle Partners (later merged to form Jones Lang LaSalle), Founder and Chairman of Security Capital Group Incorporated, Former Chairman of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT)
• Robert V. Tishman (1937): Founder of Tishman Speyer Properties
• Robert I. Toll (B.A. 1963) – Founder and Chairman of Toll Brothers
• Jay Walker (B.S. 1977 Industrial Relations) – Founder of Priceline.com; founder and chairman, Walker Digital
• Sanford I. Weill (B.A. 1955 Government) – Former Chairman and CEO of Citigroup; founder of Shearson Loeb Rhoades, sold for $930 million to American Express; namesake of Weill Cornell Medical College
• Robin Wolaner (B.S. 1975 Industrial and Labor Relations) – Founder of Parenting Magazine
• Arthur Wolcott (B.A. 1949) – Founder of Seneca Foods
• John Zimmer (B.S. 2006 Hotel Administration) – Co-Founder and COO of Zimride

Chairpersons, CEOs, executives

• Arthur Adler (B.S. 1978, Hotel Administration) – CEO, Americas, Jones Lang Lasalle Hotels
• Joseph Alvarado (MBA 1976) – CEO of Commercial Metals Company, Former CEO of Spectra Energy
• Pablo Azcarraga (B.S. 1985, Hotel Administration) – Chairman of Grupo Posadas
• Robert J. Appel (B.A. 1953) – Investor and philanthropist; former general partner and member of the executive committee at Neuberger Berman
• Stephen Ashley (B.A. 1962, MBA 1964) – Chairman and CEO of The Ashley Group; Chairman of Fannie Mae
• Peter Baccile (B.S. 1984) – Vice Chairman of JP Morgan Securities, Inc.
• Mark Badagliacca (B.A. 1978) – CFO of Paramount Pictures
• Michael Barnello (B.S. 1987, Hotel Administration) – CEO of LaSalle Hotel Properties
• Monty J. Bennett (B.S. 1988, Hotel Administration) – CEO of Ashford Hospitality Trust and Remington
• Al Bernardin (1952) – Creator of the McDonald's Quarter Pounder. Former Vice President of Product Development for McDonald's
• Jonathan W. Berger (B.S. 1981) – CEO of Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company
• Mark Bertolini (MBA 1984) – CEO and President of Aetna
• C. Morton Bishop III (B.S. 1974) - President of Pendleton Woolen Mills (1999–present)
• Jeffrey Bleustein (B.S. 1960, B.M.E 1961) – Chairman and former CEO of Harley Davidson
• Douglas L. Braunstein (B.S. 1983) - CFO of JPMorgan Chase
• Val A. Browning (B.S. 1917) – President of Browning Arms Company
• John T. Bohenick (B.S. 1983 Mechanical Engineering) – President (2007–2009) of Gates Corporation, President SKF Sealing Solutions (2011 to present)
• J. Robert Buchanan, M.D. (M.D. 1954) – Dean of Cornell Medical College (1969–1976), President of Michael Reese Hospital (1977–1982), Executive Director of Massachusetts General Hospital (1982–1994), CEO of WorldCare (1994–1996)
• Todd C. Builione (B.S. 1996) - President; CEO, Hedge Fund Business, Highbridge Capital Management
• Robert L. Bunting (1955) - President of International Federation of Accountants (2008–2010); Chairman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (2004–2005)
• Beth Newlands Campbell (B.S. 1987) – President of Hannaford Bros. Co.
• Jon Canas (B.S. 1965, Hotel Administration) – CEO of Aer Lingus, Former CEO of Omni Hotels
• Walter S. Carpenter, Jr. (undergrad 1906–09, dropped out) – President (1940–48) and Chairman (1948–62) of DuPont
• Keith B. Carter (MBA 2005) – Executive Director (2010–12) of Estee Lauder
• Anand Chandrasekher (B.S. Computer Science, Master in Engineering, MBA) – Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Ultra Mobility Group of Intel Corporation
• Abby Joseph Cohen (B.A. 1973 Economics and Computer Science, Trustee) – Partner and Senior Investment Strategist of Goldman Sachs. President of Global Markets Institute (GMI) Goldman Sachs
• Arturo Gómez-Lechón (B.A. 1986 MBA) – Real estate developer, investor and former chairman (1987–1992) of Perstorp Railite
• Jennie Chua (B.S. 1971, Hotel Administration) – CEO of Capitaland Residential, Former CEO of Raffles Holdings
• Brad Hoover (B.S., 2000, Operations Research and Industrial Engineering) - CEO of Grammarly
• Adolph Coors II (B.A. 1907) – 2nd President of Coors Brewing Company
• Pete Coors (B.S. 1969 Industrial Engineering) – Executive of Coors Brewing Company, Senatorial candidate, 2004
• Kenneth T. Derr (B.S. 1959 Mechanical Engineering, M.B.A. 1960, Trustee) – Chairman and CEO of Chevron, 1989–99
• Dave Dombrowski (undergrad 1974–75, transferred) – President, CEO, and General Manager of the Detroit Tigers
• William R. Donnell (1945) President of historic Gulf Stream Hotel
• Robert Dutkowsky (B.S. 1977) – CEO of Tech Data
• Michael S. Egan (B.S. 1962, Hotel Administration) Chairman & CEO of Alamo Rent-A-Car 1978 to 1996; Chairman, Dancing Bear Investments 1997 to 2010
• Dick Ferris (B.S. 1962, Hotel Administration) – CEO of United Airlines, Co-Chairman of Doubletree
• Reggie Fils-Aime (B.S. 1983 Applied Economics) – President of Nintendo's North American division
• Kevin P. Fitzpatrick (B.S. 1976, Hotel Administration) – President of AIG Global Real Estate
• Stephen Friedman (B.A. 1959; Trustee, 1993–) – Chairman of The Goldman Sachs Group, 1990–94; Chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (2005–), former assistant for economic policy to President George W. Bush (2002–04) and director of the United States National Economic Council, 2003–04.
• Jim Goldman (MBA 1985)- President and CEO of Godiva Chocolatier
• Steven Goldman (B.S. 1983, Hotel Administration) – CEO of Groupe du Louvre, Former President of Global Development and Real Estate for Hilton Worldwide
• Stanton Griffis (1910) – Chairman of Paramount Pictures
• Byron Grote (Ph.D. 1981 Quantitative Analysis) – Chief Financial Officer of BP
• Raj Gupta (M.S. 1969 Operations Research) – CEO and president of Rohm and Haas
• Stephen G. Haggerty (B.S. 1990, Hotel Administration) – Global Head of Real Estate and Development Hyatt Hotels Corporation
• Dan Hesse (MBA 1977) – CEO of Sprint Nextel
• Matthew Hiltzik (B.S. 1994, ILR) - President and CEO of Hiltzik Strategies, a strategic consulting and communications firm
• Kenneth Himmel (B.S. 1970, Hotel Administration) – CEO of Related Urban, the nation's leading developer of large-scale, mixed-use properties
• Lynn Himmelman (B.S. 1933, Hotel Administration) – CEO of Westin Hotels
• Charles L. Jarvie (1958, MBA 1959) - President of Dr Pepper (1980–1982), Fidelity Investments Marketing Corp. (1983–1984), and CEO of Schenley Industries, Inc. (1984–1988)
• Herbert Fisk Johnson, Jr. (B.A. 1922 Chemistry) – President of S. C. Johnson & Son; benefactor and namesake of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art on campus
• Herbert Fisk Johnson III – 5 Cornell degrees 1979–86 – CEO of S. C. Johnson & Son; benefactor and Trustee Emeritus of Cornell
• Samuel Curtis Johnson, Jr. (B.A. 1950 Economics) – Chairman of S. C. Johnson & Son; benefactor and co-namesake of the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management
• Thomas W. Jones (B.A. 1969, M.R.P. 1972, Trustee) – Principal of TWJ Capital LLC
• Michael Z. Kay (B.S. 1961, Hotel Administration) – Former President and CEO of LSG Sky Chefs and Omni Hotels & Resorts
• Erick Keller (B.S.) – COO of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
• S. Kirk Kinsell (MPS 1980, Hotel Administration) – President of Intercontinental Hotels Group Americas
• Charles F. Knight (1957, MBA 1959) - Chairman of Emerson Electric Company
• Richard B. Loynd (B.S. 1950) - President of Eltra Corp. (1971–1982); Chairman of Converse Sneakers (1982–1994); President (1989–1996), CEO (1989–1996), and Chairman (1990–1998) of Interco Inc. (later Furniture Brands International), owners of Thomasville Furniture Industries, Broyhill, Lane, and others
• John F. Mariani, Jr. (1954) - Family Proprietor and Chairman Emeritus of Banfi Vintners of Old Brookville, NY, and its Italian subsidiary, Castello Banfi of Montalcino, Italy
• Thomas N. Marino (B.S. 1978) – Managing Director of Barclays Capital
• Oscar G. Mayer, Jr. (1934)- Chairman of the Oscar Mayer
• Lowell McAdam (M.E. 1976) – Chairman & CEO – Verizon
• Charles McClure (B.S. 1976 Mechanical Engineering) – CEO of Meritor
• Geraldine McManus (B.S. 1978) – Managing Director of Goldman Sachs
• Michael G. Medzigian (B.S. 1982, Hotel Administration) – President and CEO of Lazard Freres Real Estate Investors and a Managing Director of Lazard; Chairman of Watermark Capital Partners, LLC.
• Peter C. Meinig (B.M.E 1962) –Chairman and CEO of HM International, LLC
• Adam Metz (B.A. 1983) – CEO of General Growth Properties and Senior Advisor to TPG Capital.
• Jon R. Moeller (B.S. 1986, MBA 1988) – CFO of Procter & Gamble
• J. Patrick Mulcahy (1966, MBA 1987) - Chairman and CEO of Energizer Holdings (1987–2005)
• Lalit Nirula (B.S. 1966, Hotel Administration) – Chairman of Nirula's Group
• Lubna Olayan (B.S. 1977) – CEO of the Olayan Financing Company, the holding entity for the Olayan Group's operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East
• Fred G. Peelen (B.S. 1964, Hotel Administration) – President of Intercontinental Hotels Group Americas; President and CEO of International Hospitality Consultants, Inc.
• William D. Perez (B.A. 1969 Government) – CEO of Wm. Wrigley, Jr. Company, CEO of Nike, Inc., 2004–06
• Joseph N. Pew, Jr. (M.E. 1908) – Vice President (1912–1947) and Chairman (1947–1963) of Sun Oil Company; founder of The Pew Charitable Trusts; namesake of Pew Engineering Quad
• Lewis Platt (B.S. 1964 Mechanical Engineering) – CEO of Hewlett-Packard, 1992–99), Chairman of Boeing, 2003–05
• Michael B. Polk (B.S. Operations Research and Industrial Engineering) – CEO of Newell Rubbermaid
• Dharmendra Rama (MMH 1996, Hotel Administration) – President of JHM Hotels
• Justin Rattner (B.S. 1970 Electrical Engineering, M.S. 1972 Computer Science) – Chief Technology Officer of Intel, ABC News Person of the Week for his work on the ASCI Red system (fastest computer in the world, 1996–2000), R&D Magazine's "Scientist of the Year", 1989
• Bruce S. Raynor (B.S. 1972 Industrial & Labor Relations) – President of UNITE HERE
• Kevin Reilly (B.A. 1984) – President of NBC Entertainment, 2004–present
• John P. Rijos (B.S. 1975, Hotel Administration) – President and CEO of Brookdale Senior Living
• Robert M. Rosenberg (B.S. 1959, Hotel Administration) – CEO of Dunkin' Donuts, Baskin-Robbins, and Allied Domecq U.S. Retail; President of International Franchise Association
• Irene Rosenfeld (B.S.'75, M.S. '77, Ph.D '80) – CEO and Chairwoman of Kraft Foods
• Jon Rubinstein (B.S. 1978, M.Eng 1979) – CEO of Palm, Inc., Apple SVP 1997–2006.
• Joe Saddi (MBA 1983) - Chairman of Booz & Company
• Luis Carlos Sarmiento, Jr. (MBA 1985) - CEO of Grupo Aval; Son of Luis Carlos Sarmiento
• George Scangos (AB 1970) - CEO of Biogen Idec
• Nelson Schaenen (1923) - President of Smith Barney (1964–1967)
• Scott Schnuck, (B.S. 1972) - President and CEO of Schnuck Markets
• Robert Selander (B.S. 1972) - President and CEO of Mastercard (1997–2010)
• Burton M. "Skip" Sack (B.S. 1961, Hotel Administration) – Chairman of the board for National Restaurant Association and the board of Applebee's International
• Jay H. Shah (B.S. 1990, Hotel Administration) – CEO of Hersha Hospitality Trust
• John Sharpe (B.S. 1965, Hotel Administration) – President and COO of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
• Steven Sinofsky (B.A. 1987) – President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering at Microsoft
• Paul L. Snyder, III (B.S. 1982, Hotel Administration) – CEO of Snyder Corporation
• Antony F. Spring (B.S. 1987, Hotel Administration) – President and COO of Bloomingdale's
• Warren Staley (M.B.A. 1967) – Chairman and CEO of Cargill, America's largest private company; member of President's Export Council under George W. Bush
• Bradley H. Stone (B.S. 1977, Hotel Administration) – Former Executive Vice President of Las Vegas Sands Corporation
• Curt Strand (B.S. 1943, Hotel Administration) – CEO of Hilton International
• Kyung Bae Suh (B.S. 1987) – CEO and President of Amorepacific Corporation
• Albert E. Suter (1958, MBA 1959) - President and COO of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company (1987–1988); President and COO of Whirlpool Corporation (1988–1989); President (1989–1992), COO (1989–1997), Senior Vice Chairman (1992–2001), and Chief Administrative Officer (1997–2001) of Emerson Electric Company
• Larry Tanenbaum (B.S. 1968) – Chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
• Chiaki Tanuma (MPS 1980, Hotel Administration) – President and CEO of Green House Group (GHG) holding 31 companies in Japan; Chairman of the Japan Foodservice Association and Executive Councilor for the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Ratan Tata (B.Arch. 1962) – Chairman of Tata Group, India's wealthiest business group, 1991–present
• Walter C. Teagle (B.S. 1899, Trustee, 1924–54) – President and Chairman of Standard Oil of New Jersey (now ExxonMobil); namesake of Teagle Hall
• Myron Charles Taylor (LL.B. 1894) – Chairman and CEO of U.S. Steel, 1932–38); namesake of Taylor Hall
• Ted Teng (B.S. 1979, Hotel Administration) – President and CEO of The Leading Hotels of the World, Former COO of Wyndham International, and Former President, Asia-Pacific, for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
• Andrew Tisch (B.S. 1971, Hotel Administration) – Chairman of Loews Corporation
• James S. Tisch (B.A. 1975) – CEO of Loews Corporation
• Fred Tomczyk (B.S. 1977) – CEO of TD Ameritrade
• Arnold Tremere, Executive Director, Government Official (Canadian International Grains Institute)
• Rick Tsai (Ph.D 1981) – CEO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company
• Simon M. Turner (B.S. 1983, Hotel Administration) – President, Global Development, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
• Harold Uris (B.S. 1925, Trustee 1967–1972) – Real estate investor and builder; namesake of Uris Hall
• Barry Weiss – Chairman & CEO of Island Def Jam and Universal Motown Republic
• Steve Weisz (B.S. 1972, Hotel Administration) – President of Marriott Vacation Club International
• Mark Whitacre, COO of Cypress Systems (Ph.D. Nutritional Biochemistry)
• Lewis H. Wirshba (B.A. 1978) – Managing Director of Credit Suisse and COO for the Americas
• Dennis Woodside (B.S. 1991) – CEO of Motorola Mobility. President of Google America
• Mark Woodworth (B.S. 1977, MPS 1978, Hotel Administration) – President of PKF Hospitality Research
• Robert Ziff (J.D. 1992) – Co-Chairman of Ziff Brothers Investment, supporter of Och-Ziff Capital Management

Athletics

American football

• Greg Bloedorn (1995) – former NFL long snapper for the Seattle Seahawks.
• Kevin Boothe (B.S. 2005 Hotel Administration) – Oakland Raiders, 2006, New York Giants, 2007–present
• Al Dekdebrun Buffalo Bisons, 1946, Chicago Rockets, 1947, Boston Yanks, 1948, New York Yankees, 1948
• Chad Levitt (1997) – Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams
• Ed Marinaro (B.S. 1972) – Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, and Seattle Seahawks; runner-up for the 1971 Heisman Trophy Award, actor on Hill Street Blues
• Lou Molinet (1928) – Frankford Yellow Jackets, 1927 First Hispanic-American player in the National Football League
• Seth Payne (1997) – Jacksonville Jaguars, 1997–2001, Houston Texans, 2001–2007
• Lee Reherman (1988) – Miami Dolphins, actor on American Gladiators and X-Files
• Glenn "Pop" Warner (LL.B. 1894, Football Coach) – Football player and coach, founder of Pop Warner Little Scholars
• Derrick Harmon (1984) – San Francisco 49ers 1984–1986
• Gary Wood (1964) – New York Giants 1964–1966, 1968–1969, New Orleans Saints, 1967
• Pete Gogolak (1964) – Buffalo Bills 1964–1965, New York Giants, 1966–1975 First "soccer style" kicker in professional "American" football.

Baseball

• Joe Birmingham – Baseball player, Cleveland Naps, 1906–14
• Jon Daniels (B.S. 1999) – General Manager of the Texas Rangers, youngest GM ever in Major League Baseball
• Joseph Iglehart (1914) – Chairman of the Board, Baltimore Orioles, 1955–65.
• Hughie Jennings (J.D. study 1901–04, dropped out; Baseball Coach, 1899–?) – Baseball Hall of Fame-inducted shortstop; Louisville Colonels, 1891–93), Baltimore Orioles, 1893–99), Brooklyn Superbas, 1899–1900, 1903), Philadelphia Phillies, 1901–02), Detroit Tigers, 1907, 1909, 1912, 1918

Basketball

• Bryan Colangelo (B.S. 1987) – President and General Manager of the Toronto Raptors, 2005, 2007 NBA Executive of the Year
• Jon Jaques — professional basketball player for Ironi Ashkelon
• Nat Militzok (1923–2009) – New York Knicks basketball player

Ice hockey

• Gary Bettman (B.S. 1974) – Commissioner of the NHL
• Byron Bitz (2007) – Forward for the Boston Bruins 2008–2010, Florida Panthers 2010–2011, Vancouver Canucks 2011–present
• Ken Dryden (B.A. 1969) – NHL Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender, 5-time Stanley Cup Winner, Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Calder Trophy winner, Canadian Member of Parliament
• Ned Harkness (Lacrosse and Hockey head coach) – Head coach and GM of the Detroit Red Wings
• David LeNeveu- Goalie for the Phoenix Coyotes
• Matt Moulson (2006) – Left Wing for the New York Islanders
• Douglas Murray (2003) – Defenseman for San Jose Sharks 2005–, 2010 Olympian
• Lance Nethery – NHL player, executive in the German Elite League
• Joe Nieuwendyk (1988) – NHL player, 3-time Stanley Cup champion, 2002 Olympic Gold Medalist
• Ryan O'Byrne (2007)- Defensemen for the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche
• Ryan Vesce (2004) – Right Wing for the San Jose Sharks 2008–2010
• Colin Greening (2010) – Centre for the Ottawa Senators 2011–Present
• Ben Scrivens (2010)- Goaltender for the Toronto Maple Leafs 2012-Present

Olympics

See also: Cornell Olympians

• Jon Anderson (1971) – 1972 Olympian, track; winner of 1973 Boston Marathon
• Darren Eliot (1983) – NHL player, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres; 1984 Olympian
• Al Hall (1956) – Four-time Olympian (1956, 1960, 1964, 1968), hammer throw
• Robert J. Kane (1934, Director of Athletics) – U.S. Olympic Committee president, 1976–80; inducted into U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, 1986
• Kent Manderville (1993) – NHL player, Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins; 1992 Olympic silver medalist with Team Canada
• Edith Master (born 1932) – Olympic bronze medalist equestrian
• Travis Mayer (undergrad 2000–01, on leave) – Olympic freestyle skiing silver medalist
• Charles Moore (1951, Director of Athletics, 1994–99) – 1952 Olympic gold medalist (hurdles) and silver medalist (1600-meter relay); honored as Golden Olympian, 1996
• Pablo Morales (J.D. 1994) – Three-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming, 1984 and 1992
• Bo Roberson (1958) – Black athlete with the distinction of being the only person to earn an Ivy League degree, an Olympic medal, a doctorate, and have a career in the N.F.L.
• Jamie Silverstein (undergrad 2002–04, 2006–) – Olympic figure skater

Other

• Bruce Arena (B.S. 1971) – 5-time NCAA Championship coach at the University of Virginia, coach of Major League Soccer's D.C. United, coach of the U.S. national team, coach of MLS's New York Red Bulls. Present coach of MLS's Los Angeles Galaxy.
• Clarence C. Combs, Jr., polo player, twice winner of the Monty Waterbury Cup.
• Michael "Mike" G. French (1976) – All-American lacrosse player at Cornell University from 1974 to 1976, leading the "Big Red" to the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship in 1976.
• Bill Jenkins – dragracer, ranked eighth on NHRA's Top 50 drivers in 2001
• Daniel R. Mackesey (1977) – Received NCAA Top Five Award in 1978 for lacrosse and soccer; inducted in National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2006
• Teddy Mayer (J.D.) – Motor racing team manager
• Eamon McEneaney (1977) – All-American lacrosse player at Cornell University from 1975 to 1977, leading the "Big Red" to the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship in 1976 and 1977. Eamon died in the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center
• Peter Revson – racecar driver
• Dick Savitt – tennis player, ranked # 2 in the world.
• Donald Spero – rower
• Carl F. Ullrich (B.S. 1950) – Athletic Director at West Point 1980–1990. Executive Director of the Patriot League 1989–1993.
• Dan Wood (Ph.D. 1977), Five year Cornell golf and soccer (52–20–6) coach. Later coached professional teams Tacoma Tides, Colorado Caribous and Atlanta Chiefs. Turned professional golfer in 1980.
• Rebecca Johnston (B.S. 2012)- Women's Ice Hockey Player at Cornell who won Olympic Gold for Canada at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics

Crime

• Nick Berg (undergrad 1996–98, transferred) – Businessman beheaded by Islamic militants on May 7, 2004 during the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq
• David G. Friehling (B.S. 1981) - accountant to Bernard Madoff
• Leo Frank (B.S. 1906 Engineering) – Factory owner whose 1915 lynching for rape and murder sparked the reforming of the Ku Klux Klan; subject of the musical Parade
• Mark Gerard, (D.V.M., 1962) Perpetuated horse racing fraud, switching horses identities
• Katrina Leung (B.S. 1976) – Accused spy, case dismissed then later sentenced to terms of plea agreement
• Robert Tappan Morris (graduate study 1988–89, suspended) – Author of the Morris Worm, which crippled the Internet in 1988
• Michael Ross (B.S. 1981 Agricultural Economics) – Convicted serial killer executed in Connecticut on May 13, 2005
• Michael Schwerner (B.A. 1961 Sociology) – Murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in the 1964 Mississippi civil rights worker murders
• Mark Whitacre (Ph.D. 1983 Nutritional Biochemistry) – Highest ranked executive in U.S. history of a Fortune 500 company to turn whistleblower and FBI informant; he pled guilty to fraud

Fictional Cornellians

• In 30 Rock, Fat Balls, a potential addition to Tracy Jordan's entourage is studying hotel administration at Cornell University.
• In Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart, a hotel manager attended the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.
• In Ally McBeal, Ling Woo was editor of the Cornell Law Journal.
• In Altered States, Dr. Eddie Jessup, played by William Hurt, is a research scientist at Cornell Medical College.
• In Annie Hall, Herschel Kominsky has a chair in philosophy at Cornell.
• In Any Given Sunday, Christina Pagniacci, played by Cameron Diaz, graduated with an M.B.A. in 1996.
• In American Pie and other films in the series, Vicky Lathum, played by Tara Reid, attends Cornell.
• In Avenue Q, Princeton had a B.A. in English from Cornell in early drafts of the play, according to creator Jeff Marx.
• In The Big Bang Theory, Arthur Jeffries (a.k.a. Professor Proton), the former host of a children's science show, received a Ph.D. from Cornell.
• In The Broker by John Grisham, Arthur Morgan, President of the United States, attended Cornell.
• In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Joseph Allen is an Ithaca, NY native and holds a B.A. in international relations.
• In Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, Newt Hoenikker is a Cornell pre-med student drop-out.
• In Citizen Kane, Charles Foster Kane, the film's title character played by Orson Welles, was expelled.
• In The Counterlife by Philip Roth, Henry Zuckerman, the novel's central character, graduated from Cornell.
• In Dark City (1950), Danny Haley, played by Charlton Heston, was an undergraduate from 1937 to 1941.
• In Deception Point by Dan Brown, Gabrielle Ashe has a B.A. in Government.
• In Dirty Dancing, Neil attends the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.
• In Goats, many of the main characters attended Cornell.
• In House of Cards, Linda Vasquez is a Cornell graduate.
• In Just Cause, Bobby Earl, played by Blair Underwood, attended but did not graduate.
• In Kingdom of Shadows by Alan Furst, Prince Hrubal of Northern Transylvania.
• In The Lost Weekend, Don Birnam, played by Ray Milland, attended but did not graduate.
• In Me, Myself and Irene, Irene Waters, the film's title character played by Renée Zellweger, claims her major at Cornell was "Turf Management."
• In Made of Honor, Tom and Hannah meet at Cornell where Hannah studied fine arts.
• In Megan McCafferty's novels, Len Levy has an M.D from Cornell.
• In Modern Family, Mitchell Pritchett is a graduate of Cornell.
• In New Moon, Carlisle Cullen teaches at Cornell and Jasper Cullen studies philosophy.
• In Numb3rs, Agent Sinclair is a graduate of Cornell.
• In The Office, Andy Bernard attended Cornell, was in an a cappella group named "Here Comes Treble", started a frisbee golf team, drank heavily, never studied and still graduated, on time. He minored in History and was a member of the Class of 1995.
• In Over There, Pvt. Frank "Dim" Dumphy, played by Luke Macfarlane, is nicknamed "Dim" for being highly intelligent and earning a B.S. from Cornell, but ending up in the Army.
• In Palace Council by Stephen L. Carter, the female protagonist, Aurelia (Aurie) Treene Garland, is a member of the English faculty at Cornell University who resides on Fall Creek Drive. Her colleagues Megan and Tristan Handley also teach at Cornell, where a clandestine meeting in Olin library is recounted.
• In "The Perfect Score", the main character, Kyle, wishes to study architecture at Cornell University.
• In The Prince of Tides, Dr. Susan Lowenstein, played by Barbra Streisand.
• In Say Anything..., Sheila, played by Kim Walker, was admitted to Cornell and plans to attend.
• In The Secret in Their Eyes, Judge Irene Menéndez Hastings is a Cornell alumna.
• In Sex and the City, Velma Rudin, psychologist in the show's second season, holds two Cornell degrees.
• In The Simpsons, Sideshow Mel attended Cornell.
• In The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, the character Diana attends Cornell.
• In Spriggan, Rie Yamabishi has a B.A. in Linguistics.
• In Starman, National Security Agency scientist Mark Shermin wears a Cornell sweatshirt.
• In Step Up, Nora's mother wants her to apply to Cornell if her dancing career fails
• In Ugly Betty, Alexis Meade's assistant, Nick, is a Cornell graduate.
• In Up in the Air, Natalie Keener is a Cornell graduate.
• In Water for Elephants, Jacob Jankowski, the narrator, attended Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine.

See also

• List of Cornell University faculty
• List of Nobel laureates by university affiliation
• List of Quill and Dagger members
• Notable alumni of the Sphinx Head Society

References

• Altschuler, Glenn C.; Isaac Kramnick, R. Laurence Moore (2003). The 100 Most Notable Cornellians. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-3958-2. 
• "2006–07 Factbook" (PDF). Cornell University. Retrieved July 7, 2006. 
• "Cornell Nobel laureates". Cornell News Service. Retrieved June 6, 2006. 
• "Question 9 – February 1, 1994 – Movies in which Cornell appears". Dear Uncle Ezra. Retrieved July 22, 2006. 
• "Question 9 – February 17, 2000 – Fictional Cornellians". Dear Uncle Ezra. Retrieved July 22, 2006. 
• "Question 6 – March 30, 2006 – Cornell in Literature". Dear Uncle Ezra. Retrieved July 22, 2006. 
• "Ivy League References on the Simpsons". The Simpsons Archive. Retrieved July 22, 2006. 
• "Cornellians in Pro Sports". IvyLeagueSports.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2006. Retrieved July 25, 2006. 
• "People affiliated with Cornell University". NNDB. Retrieved July 29, 2006. 
• "Biographical Directory of the United States Congress". Retrieved July 29, 2006. 

External links

• Cornell in Professional Sports