This is a partial list of notable faculty and alumni of

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely foll ...

Notable alumni

Academics

* Laura Sumner, class of 1942 –

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...

Jane Kelley Adams Jane Kelley Adams (October 13/30, 1852 – April 17, 1924) was an American educator. She was always active in the educational work of her city and state, Woburn, Massachusetts. She served as president of the school board and was active among th ...

, class of 1875 — educator *

Heloise Hersey Heloise Edwina Hersey (1855-1933) was an American scholar of Anglo-Saxon language and literature. A graduate of Vassar College and the first female professor of Anglo-Saxon studies in the United States, she was appointed at Smith College in 1878. ...

, class of 1876 – professor of literature *

Emily Jordan Folger Emily Jordan Folger (May 15, 1858 – February 21, 1936), was the wife of Henry Clay Folger and the co-founder of the Folger Shakespeare Library. During her husband's lifetime, she assisted him in building the world's largest collection of Shakesp ...

, class of 1879 – co-founder of the

Folger Shakespeare Library The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materi ...

Anita Florence Hemmings Anita Florence Hemmings (June 8, 1872 – 1960) was known as the first African American woman to graduate from Vassar College. As she was of both African and European ancestry, she passed as white for socioeconomic benefits. After graduation, H ...

, class of 1897 – Vassar College's first African-American graduate * Scottie Fitzgerald, class of 1942 – writer and journalist, only daughter of novelist

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

* Ida Hill, class of 1901 – archaeologist, classical scholar and historian * Belle Turnbull, class of 1904 – award-winning poet *

Marion Coats Graves Marion Coats Graves (August 2, 1885 - November 19, 1962) was an American educator known for her work in creating two-year junior colleges for women. She helped establish and was the first president of Sarah Lawrence College. Biography Marion Coa ...

, class of 1907 - philosophy, first president of Sarah Lawrence College * Edith Clarke, class of 1908 – America's first female professor of electrical engineering * Ruth Wendell Washburn, class of 1913 – educational psychologist *

Chen Hengzhe Chen Hengzhe (; 12 July 1890—1976), pen name Sophia H. Z. Chen (), was a pioneering writer in modern vernacular Chinese literature, a leader in the New Culture Movement, and the first female professor at a Chinese university. Chen is known for a ...

, class of 1919 – China's first female professor and a pioneer of

vernacular literature Vernacular literature is literature written in the vernacular—the speech of the "common people". In the European tradition, this effectively means literature not written in Latin nor Koine Greek. In this context, vernacular literature appeared ...

* Mildred H. McAfee, class of 1920 – president of Wellesley College and first director of

WAVES Waves most often refers to: *Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass. *Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. Waves may also refer to: Music *Waves (band) ...

(Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) * Caroline F. Ware, class of 1920 – professor of history at American University and a New Deal activist * Jean Schneider, class of 1921 –

Pulitzer Prize for History The Pulitzer Prize for History, administered by Columbia University, is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It has been presented since 1917 for a distinguished book about the history ...

winner; research associate of Leonard D. White * Mary Bunting, class of 1931 – microbiologist and president of Radcliffe College *

Millie Almy Millie Almy (June 19, 1915 – August 16, 2001) was an American psychologist, known as the "''grandame''" of early childhood education. Almy was a leader in the field of early childhood education and psychology, and played a critical role in shapi ...

, class of 1936 – American psychologist and "Grandame" of

early childhood education Early childhood education (ECE), also known as nursery education, is a branch of education theory that relates to the teaching of children (formally and informally) from birth up to the age of eight. Traditionally, this is up to the equival ...

. * Susan Casteras, class of 1971 – professor of art history at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

Winifred Asprey Winifred "Tim" Alice Asprey (April 8, 1917 – October 19, 2007) was an American mathematician and computer scientist. She was one of only around 200 women to earn PhDs in mathematics from American universities during the 1940s, a period of w ...

, class of 1938 – pioneering mathematician and computer scientist * Nancy Nichols Barker, class of 1946 – professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin *

Jean Briggs Jean L. Briggs (May 28, 1929 – July 27, 2016) was an American-born anthropologist, ethnographer, linguist, and professor emerita at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Her best known works included the 1970 landmark book ''Never in Anger: Portr ...

, class of 1951 – anthropologist and expert on

Inuit languages The Inuit languages are a closely related group of indigenous American languages traditionally spoken across the North American Arctic and adjacent subarctic, reaching farthest south in Labrador. The related Yupik languages (spoken in weste ...

* Barbara W. Newell, class of 1951 – first female chancellor of the State University System of Florida, president of Wellesley College * Eleanor M. Fox, class of 1956 - Walter J. Derenberg Professor of Trade Regulation in the

New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in N ...

Margaret Dauler Wilson Margaret Dauler Wilson (29 January 1939 – 27 August 1998) was an American philosopher and a professor of philosophy at Princeton University between 1970 and 1998. Biography Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Wilson earned a BA from Vassar Coll ...

, class of 1960 – professor of philosophy at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

* Marcia P. Sward, class of 1961 – executive director of the Mathematical Association of America *

Ellen Rosand Ellen Rosand is an American musicologist, historian, and opera critic who specializes in Italian music and poetry of the 16th through 18th centuries. Her work has been particularly focused on the music and culture of Venice and Italian opera of the ...

, class of 1961 – musicologist, historian, and opera critic *

Sau Lan Wu Sau Lan Wu ( Chinese: 吳秀蘭; born Hong Kong in the early 1940s) is a Chinese American particle physicist and the Enrico Fermi Distinguished Professor of Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She made important contributions towards ...

, class of 1963 – particle physicist and the Enrico Fermi Distinguished Professor of Physics at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

* Sandra Lach Arlinghaus, class of 1964 - mathematical geographer. Adjunct Professor,

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

(Ann Arbor); Founder and Director Institute of Mathematical Geography. * Susan W. Coates, MA 1968 – psychologist,

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

M. R. C. Greenwood Mary Rita Cooke Greenwood (born April 11, 1943) is a nationally recognized leader in higher education, nutrition, and health sciences. Additionally, her research has been extensively published, internationally recognized, and has earned awards. ...

, class of 1968 – health scientist, president of the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

Nancy Dye Nancy Schrom Dye (March 11, 1947 – October 28, 2015) was an American historian and philosopher and college academic who served as the first female president of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. As a professional historian, she was the author o ...

, class of 1969 – president of Oberlin College * Jo Ann Gora, class of 1969 – president of Ball State University *

Vera Schwarz Vera Schwarz (10 July 1888 - 4 December 1964) was an Austrian soprano, known primarily for her operetta partnership with Richard Tauber. Life Vera Schwarz was born in Zagreb, the daughter of Hungarian-Croatian aviation pioneer David Schwarz ...

, class of 1969 – Freeman Professor of East Asian Studies at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

* Eugenia Del Pino, class of 1969 – developmental biologist; first Ecuadorian citizen to be elected to the

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

(2006) * Erica Funkhouser, class of 1971 – poet, professor at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

Christopher W. Morris Christopher Warren Morris (born June 7, 1949) is professor and chair of philosophy at the University of Maryland, where he is also a member of the Faculty of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Policy. His main research areas are moral, legal and po ...

, class of 1971 – professor and chair of philosophy at the University of Maryland *

Gloria Cordes Larson Gloria Cordes Larson is a prominent lawyer, public policy expert, and business leader. Larson was named president of Bentley University in 2007 and served in that role until June 2018. She was the seventh president of Bentley and the first woman ...

, class of 1972 – politician and president of

Bentley University Bentley University is a private university focused on business, accountancy, and finance and located in Waltham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1917 as a school of accounting and finance in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, Bentley moved to Waltham ...

* Judith Malafronte, class of 1972 – mezzo-soprano on the faculty at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, winner of the Grand Prize at the

International Vocal Competition 's-Hertogenbosch The International Vocal Competition 's-Hertogenbosch (IVC; ) is a music competition for classical singing founded in 1954. It is the only classical vocal competition in the Netherlands that also focuses, besides opera, oratorio and Lied. This bie ...

Michael Kimmel Michael Scott Kimmel (born February 26, 1951) is an American retired sociologist specializing in gender studies. He was Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Stony Brook University in New York and is the founder and editor of the academic jour ...

, class of 1972 – sociologist; distinguished professor of sociology at the Stony Brook University; spokesperson of the National Organization for Men Against Sexism (NOMAS) *

Darra Goldstein Darra Goldstein (born April 28, 1951) is an American author and food scholar who is the Willcox B. and Harriet M. Adsit Professor of Russian, Emerita at Williams College. She is the founding editor of ''Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Cultur ...

, class of 1973 – founding editor of ''Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture''; professor at

Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was kill ...

* Molly Nesbit, class of 1974 – modern and contemporary art historian * Anthony Apesos, class of 1975 – painter and professor of fine arts at the

Art Institute of Boston Lesley University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. As of 2018-19 Lesley University enrolled 6,593 students (2,707 undergraduate and 3,886 graduate). History ...

Lesley University Lesley University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. As of 2018-19 Lesley University enrolled 6,593 students (2,707 undergraduate and 3,886 graduate). History ...

Francisco Xavier Castellanos F. Xavier Castellanos (born November 16, 1953) is a Bolivian nueroscientist who is the director of research at the NYU Child Study Center. His work aims at elucidating the neuroscience of ADHD through structural and functional brain imaging stu ...

, class of 1975 – Director of Research at the NYU Child Study Center. * Jane Margaret O'Brien, class of 1975 – professor of chemistry and president emerita of

St. Mary's College of Maryland St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM) is a public liberal arts college in St. Mary's City, Maryland.Maryland State Archives, Online Manual, "St. Mary's College Of Maryland: Origin & Functions" http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/25univ/stmarys ...

Richard L. Huganir Richard Lewis Huganir (born March 25, 1953) is a Bloomberg Distinguished Professorships, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Neuroscience and Psychological and Brain Sciences, Director of the Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neu ...

, class of 1975 – professor and Director of the Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience; investigator with Howard Hughes Medical Institute * Iris Mack, class of 1975 – writer, speaker, former

professor *

Jeffrey Schnapp Jeffrey Schnapp is an American university professor who works as a cultural historian, designer, and technologist. Until joining the Harvard University in 2011, he was the director of the Stanford Humanities Lab from its foundation in 1999 throug ...

, class of 1975 – former director of the Stanford Humanities Lab, faculty director at metaLAB (at) Harvard * Rochelle Lieber, class of 1976 – professor of linguistics at the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, m ...

and co-editor in chief of the Language and Linguistics Compass *

Jyotsna Vaid Jyotsna Vaid is a Professor of Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience and Women's and Gender Studies at Texas A&M University. Vaid's research examines the impact of multiple language experience by considering properties of specific languages and ...

, class of 1976 – professor of psychology at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

* Carole Maso, class of 1977 – novelist and essayist, professor of literary arts at Brown University *

Jamshed Bharucha Jamshed Bharucha is an Indian-American cognitive neuroscientist who has served in leadership roles in higher education. He is the Founding Vice Chancellor of Sai University, Chennai, and is a member of the Board of Advisors of India's Internatio ...

, class of 1978 – former president of Cooper Union; cognitive neuroscientist *

Seamus Ross Seamus Ross (born November 12, 1957) is a digital humanities and digital curation academic and researcher based in Canada. He is the son of James Francis Ross, a philosopher, and Kathleen Fallon Ross, a nurse. After graduating from the William Pen ...

, class of 1979 – dean and professor at the iSchool at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

; Founding Director of

HATII The Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute (HATII) was a research and teaching institute at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. It was established in 1997 with Professor Seamus Ross as Founding Director until 2009. HATII led ...

John Carlstrom John E. Carlstrom (born 1957) is an American astrophysicist, and Professor, Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics, at the University of Chicago. He graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in 1981, and from the University of Ca ...

, class of 1981 – professor at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

MacArthur Award The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 ind ...

-winning astrophysicist * Sarah Barringer Gordon, class of 1982 – Arlin M. Adams Professor of Constitutional Law and a professor of history at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

* Heinz Insu Fenkl, class of 1982 – author, professor of English and Asian Studies at SUNY New Paltz * Matthew Koss, class of 1983 – solid-state physicist and professor * Valerie Martinez, class of 1983 - poet, retired professor of English and Creative Writing at

Ursinus College Ursinus College is a private liberal arts college in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1869 and occupies a 170-acre campus. History 19th century In 1867, members of the German Reformed Church began plans to establish a college wh ...

New Mexico Highlands University New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) is a public university in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Founded in 1893, it has satellite campuses in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Farmington and Roswell. NMHU has an average annual enrollment of approximate ...

College of Santa Fe Santa Fe University of Art and Design (SFUAD) was a private, for-profit art school in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The university was built from the non-profit College of Santa Fe (CSF), a Catholic facility founded as St. Michael's College in 1859, an ...

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

, and Founding Director o
Artful Life
* Mark Burstein, class of 1984 – executive vice president of

; president of

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second college in the U.S. to be founded as a coeducati ...

* Rebecca Reynolds, class of 1984 – poet, administrator and professor at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

* Keith Scribner, class of 1984 – novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, essayist and professor at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...

* Alison Boden, class of 1984 – author, dean of religious life and the dean of the chapel at

. * David B. Allison, class of 1985 – distinguished professor, Quetelet Endowed Professor of Public Health, UAB * Andrea McCarren, class of 1985 – television journalist and educator, first teacher of broadcast journalism at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

Tina Campt Tina Campt is Roger S. Berlind ’52 Professor of Humanities at Princeton University. Campt previously held faculty positions as Owen F. Walker Professor of Humanities at Brown University, Director of the Barnard Center for Research on Women and A ...

, class of 1986 – professor of women's studies at

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

Jennifer Summit Jennifer Summit (born 1965) is an American scholar of Medieval and Renaissance English Literature and was a professor of English at Stanford University, where she was Chair of the English Department between 2008 and 2011. In 2013, Summit became De ...

, class of 1987 – professor of English, former chair of the Stanford University English Department *

Anne Brodsky Anne Ellen Brodsky (born June 11, 1965) is an American professor in psychology and Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). She is also the Director of the Gender and Women's Studies Program, and the Chair ...

, class of 1987 – professor in psychology and gender and women's studies at the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

* Seamus Carey, class of 1987 – president of

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...

* Michael Witmore, class of 1989 – Director of the

* Steven A. Cook, class of 1990 – Hasib J. Saabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations * Greg Hrbek, class of 1990 – author and professor, Writer-in-Residence at

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,650 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...

Christina Maranci Christina Maranci (born 1968) is an Armenian-American researcher, writer, translator, historian, and professor at currently serving as the Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University. She is considered an expert on the history and ...

, class of 1990 – researcher, writer, translator, historian, and professor at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

* Maria Fadiman, class of 1991 – ethnobotanist and associate professor of geosciences at

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-ca ...

* Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas, class of 1991 – associate professor of ethics and society at the

Vanderbilt University Divinity School The Vanderbilt Divinity School and Graduate Department of Religion (usually Vanderbilt Divinity School) is an interdenominational divinity school at Vanderbilt University, a major research university located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is one of o ...

* Daniel Alexander Jones, class of 1991 – award-winning performance artist and playwright; assistant professor of theatre at Fordham University *

Sarah Churchwell Sarah Bartlett Churchwell (born May 27, 1970) is a professor of American Literature and Public Understanding of the Humanities at the School of Advanced Study, University of London, UK. Her expertise is in 20th- and 21st-century American literature ...

, class of 1991 – professor of American literature and public understanding of the humanities at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

* Kate Moorehead, class of 1992 – Episcopal priest and the tenth dean of St. John's Cathedral and the Diocese of Florida * Matt Donovan, class of 1995 – poet, winner of a Whiting Award, chair of the creative writing department at

Santa Fe University of Art and Design Santa Fe University of Art and Design (SFUAD) was a private, for-profit art school in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The university was built from the non-profit College of Santa Fe (CSF), a Catholic facility founded as St. Michael's College in 1859, and ...

Erica Field Erica Marie Field (born February 12, 1974) is an economist who currently works as Professor of Economics and Global Health at Duke University. Her research interests include development economics, labour economics, and health economics. In 2010 ...

, class of 1996 – economist, professor at Duke University, and winner of the Elaine Bennett Research Prize * Emily Berquist, class of 1997 – assistant professor of history at California State University, Long Beach, writer, and historian * Ross Benjamin, class of 2003 – translator of German literature *

John Figdor John Figdor is a former Humanist Chaplain at Stanford University where he organizes events and programs for both students and community members of the San Francisco Bay Area. He is the first Humanist Chaplain on the West Coast serving a universi ...

, class of 2006 – Humanist Chaplain at Stanford University * Alice D. Snyder – class of 1909 (A.B.) and 1911 (A.M.), and Vassar College English professor from 1914 to 1943 * Helen L. Webster (1853-1928), philologist and educator, taught at Vassar College from 1889 to 1890 before leaving for Wellesley College

Activists and philanthropists

* Mary Louise Frost, class of 1866 – peace activist, editor *

Mary Boyce Temple Mary Boyce Temple (July 6, 1856 – May 16, 1929) was an American philanthropist and socialite, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was the first president of the Ossoli Circle, the oldes ...

, class of 1877 – preservationist and philanthropist * Susie Forrest Swift, class of 1883 - editor, Salvation Army worker, Catholic nun * Ethel Moore, class of 1894 – civic, education, and national defense work leader *

Marion Cothren Marion Benedict Cothren (1880–1949) was an American suffrage and peace activist, lawyer, and children's author. Early life and education Marion Benedict was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York by her parents William Marsh Benedict (a lawyer) ...

, class of 1900 – suffrage and peace activist, children's author * Emma Waldo Smith Marshall, class of 1900 – missionary in Burma, taught Greek at a Baptist seminary * Gertrude Gogin, class of 1908 –

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

national secretary for girls' programs, 1918-1927 * Eleanor Fitchen, class of 1934 – landmarks and environment in New York State * Lucy Kennedy Miller, class of 1902 – prominent American suffragist * Sylvia McLaughlin, class of 1939 – environmental pioneer * Patsy Bullitt Collins, class of 1942 – prolific donor and philanthropist * June Jackson Christmas, class of 1945 – founder of community psychiatric program Harlem Rehabilitation Center *

Anne Hendricks Bass Anne Hyatt Hendricks Bass (October 19, 1941 – April 1, 2020) was an American investor, documentary filmmaker, philanthropist and art collector. She was the former wife of billionaire oilman Sid Bass. She directed the 2010 documentary film ''Dan ...

, class of 1963 – philanthropist, art collector, documentary filmmaker *

Phyllis Lambert Phyllis Barbara Lambert, (née Bronfman; born January 24, 1927) is a Canadian architect, philanthropist, and member of the Bronfman family. Life Born in Montreal, Quebec, she studied at The Study, a premier independent school for girls, and wa ...

, class of 1947 – philanthropist and member of the Bronfman family * Elizabeth Cushman Titus Putnam, class of 1955 – conservationist and winner of the Presidential Citizens Medal * Barbara Coombs Lee, class of 1969 – activist and president of

Compassion & Choices Compassion & Choices is a nonprofit organization in the United States working to improve patient autonomy and individual choice at the end of life, including access to medical aid in dying. Its primary function is advocating for and ensuring acc ...

Jonathan Granoff Jonathan Granoff is an American lawyer, screenwriter and lecturer, widely known as President of the Global Security Institute. Granoff is a Senior Advisor of the American Bar Association's Committee on Arms Control and National Security and has ...

, class of 1970 – president of the

Global Security Institute The Global Security Institute (GSI) is a largely private (though partly bipartisan), non-governmental international organization with a mission to eliminate nuclear weapons through international cooperation and security. It aims to influence nat ...

* Jessie Gruman, class of 1975 – author, founder and president of the Washington-based Center for Advancing Health *

Urvashi Vaid Urvashi ( sa, उर्वशी, Urvaśī}) is the most prominent apsara (celestial nymph) in Hindu mythology, considered to be the most beautiful of all the apsaras, and an expert dancer. She is mentioned in both ''Vedic'' and ''Puranic'' scr ...

, class of 1979 – political activist * Simon Greer, class of 1990 – president and CEO of Nathan Cummings Foundation, president and CEO of the

Jewish Funds for Justice The Jewish Funds for Justice (JFSJ) was an American charity based in New York. In 2005, Simon Greer became its President and CEO. In 2011, Progressive Jewish Alliance merged with Jewish Funds for Justice and became a new organization, Bend the ...

Ilyse Hogue Ilyse Hogue (born August 26, 1969) is an American progressive activist who served as president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, a reproductive rights lobbying and advocacy organization, from 2013 to 2021. In September 2021, she became president of Pu ...

, class of 1991 – former president of

NARAL Pro-Choice America NARAL Pro-Choice America, commonly known as simply NARAL ( ), is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to ...

* Ronit Avni, class of 2000 – award-winning filmmaker, founder and executive director of Just Vision * Emily Kunstler, class of 2000 – activist and documentary filmmaker * Alexandra Sicotte-Levesque, class of 2000 – founder of

Journalists for Human Rights Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) is Canada's largest international media development organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. JHR was founded in 2002 by Benjamin Peterson and Alexandra Sicotte-Levesque in 2002.Davis, Nicholas,Africa go ...

Eliza Kennedy Smith Eliza Kennedy Smith (December 11, 1889 – October 23, 1964), also known as Mrs. R. Templeton Smith, was a 20th-century American suffragist, civic activist, and government reformer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Upon her death in 1964, ''The Pitts ...

, class of 1912 – prominent American suffragist and government watchdog

Adventurers and athletes

Alice Huyler Ramsey Alice Huyler Ramsey (November 11, 1886 – September 10, 1983) was the first woman to drive an automobile across the United States from coast to coast, a feat she completed on August 7, 1909. Early life Ramsey was born Alice Taylor Huyler, ...

, class of 1907 – first woman to cross the continent driving a car *

Ethan Zohn Ethan Zohn (born November 12, 1973) is an American motivational speaker, former professional soccer player, and reality television series contestant who won '' Survivor: Africa'', the third season of the reality TV series '' Survivor''. He went ...

, class of 1996 – ''Survivor: Africa'' winner and philanthropist

Artists and architects

* Patty Prather Thum, class year unknown (19th century) – painter and art critic * Ruth Maxon Adams, class of 1904 – architect * Margaret Burnham Geddes, class of 1929 – architect and urban planner * Elizabeth Bauer Mock, class of 1932 – influential advocate for modern architecture in the United States *

Linda Nochlin Linda Nochlin (''née'' Weinberg; January 30, 1931 – October 29, 2017) was an American art historian, Lila Acheson Wallace Professor Emerita of Modern Art at New York University Institute of Fine Arts, and writer. As a prominent feminist art ...

, class of 1951 – pioneer in the field of feminist art theory * Mira Lehr, class of 1956 – artist *

Nancy Graves Nancy Graves (December 23, 1939 – October 21, 1995, in Massachusetts) was an American sculptor, painter, printmaker, and sometime-filmmaker known for her focus on natural phenomena like camels or maps of the Moon. Her works are included in ...

, class of 1961 – first woman to solo at the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...

* Margaret McCurry, class of 1964 – architect *

Michael Portnoy Michael Portnoy (born August 2, 1971) is an American visual artist, filmmaker, choreographer and performance artist. He calls himself a "Director of Behavior". He has been described in '' Art in America'' as "one of the most interesting perfor ...

, class of 1993 – multimedia artist, choreographer, musician, actor and curator *

, class of 1947 – leading architect, creator of the Seagrams building in Manhattan, founder of the Canadian Centre for Architecture *

Mary Ping Mary Ping (born 1978) is an American fashion designer based in New York City. She is best known for her conceptual label "Slow and Steady Wins the Race" (founded in New York in 2001-2), although she has also designed under her own label. Biograph ...

, class of 2000 – New York based fashion designer *

Clancy Philbrick Clarence Hunt Philbrick (born April 24, 1986 in Providence, Rhode Island) (commonly known as Clancy) is an American contemporary artist whose work includes painting, photography, sculpture, street art, and literature. Philbrick has lived and e ...

, class of 2008 – contemporary artist * Alexa Meade, class of 2009 – uses the human body as a canvas * Ruth Inge Hardison – sculptor, artist, and photographer; studied music and creative writing * Ruth Starr Rose – artist, lithographer, and serigrapher * Elizabeth Coffin, class of 1870 – first person in the United States to receive their Master of Fine Arts * Terry deRoy Gruber - Photographer and author * Faith Holland, class of 2007

Business

* Mary F. Hoyt, class of 1880 – first woman to receive a position in the

United States federal civil service The United States federal civil service is the civilian workforce (i.e., non-elected and non-military public sector employees) of the United States federal government's departments and agencies. The federal civil service was established in 1871 ...

* Louise Seaman Bechtel, class of 1915 – head of the first children's book department in an American publishing house (Macmillan Co.) *

Martha Firestone Ford Martha Parke Firestone Ford (born September 16, 1925) is an American businesswoman and former principal owner and chairperson of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). Ford is also on the board of the Henry Ford Health System. ...

, class of 1946 – billionaire, chairman of majority owner of the Detroit Lions, boardmember

Henry Ford Health System Henry Ford Health (formerly the Henry Ford Health System) is an integrated, not-for-profit health care organization in Metro Detroit. The corporate office is at One Ford Place, in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, ...

Martha Rivers Ingram Martha Robinson Rivers Ingram (born August 20, 1935) is an American billionaire businesswoman and philanthropist. In 1995, Ingram succeeded her late husband as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Ingram Industries, one of America's lar ...

, class of 1957 – chairman of Ingram Industries, multi-billionaire * Nina Zagat, class of 1963 – co-founder of

Zagat Survey The ''Zagat Survey'', commonly referred to as Zagat (stylized in all caps; , ) and established by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979, is an organization which collects and correlates the ratings of restaurants by diners. For their first guide, coverin ...

Geraldine Laybourne Geraldine Laybourne (''née'' Bond; born May 19, 1947) is an American entrepreneur and former TV executive. She worked at Nickelodeon from 1980 until 1996, when she became the president of Disney-ABC Cable Networks (including Disney Channel). She ...

, class of 1969 – creator of Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite; CEO of Oxygen Media * Paula Madison, class of 1974 – former president of KNBC * Ken Kaess, class of 1976 – former CEO of

DDB Worldwide DDB Worldwide Communications Group LLC, known internationally as DDB, is a worldwide marketing communications network. It is owned by Omnicom Group, one of the world's largest advertising holding companies. The international advertising networks ...

* Robert Friedman, class of 1978 – president of

Classic Media Classic Media, LLC, doing business as DreamWorks Classics, is an American entertainment company owned by DreamWorks Animation, which is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures and a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was founded as Classic Media ...

, New Line TV, and AOL, Interactive Marketing & TV *

Scott Kauffman Scott L. Kauffman (born 1956) is an American business manager. He is currently chair and CEO of the advertising holding company MDC Partners. In July 1992, ''Advertising Age'' named him one of the top 100 marketers in the country and was named i ...

, class of 1978 – former CEO of

MDC Partners MDC Partners Inc. is an advertising and marketing holding company based in New York City. MDC is structured as a partnership model, in which it initially acquires a majority stake in its partner agency, leaving a percentage of ownership with the f ...

Phil Griffin Philip T. Griffin (born November 27, 1956) is an American television executive, who from 2008 to 2021 served as president of MSNBC, a United States cable news channel. Early life The youngest of four children, Griffin grew up in Chappaqua, Ne ...

, class of 1979 – president of

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...

Lurita Doan Lurita Alexis Doan (born Lurita Alexis; January 4, 1958) is a businesswoman, political commentator, and former Republican appointee who was the administrator of the United States General Services Administration, the government's contracting agency ...

, class of 1979 – founder of New Technology Management, Inc. *

James B. Rosenwald James B. Rosenwald III (born January 19, 1958) is the co-founder and managing partner of Dalton Investments LLC, an asset management company headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and adjunct professor at Stern School of Business at New York Un ...

III, class of 1980 – co-founder and managing partner of Dalton Investments LLC * Pamela Mars Wright, class of 1982 – Trustee of Vassar College, heir to the Mars fortune *

Mitch Feierstein Mitchell B. Feierstein is a British-American investor, banker and writer. He has worked as a columnist for the Daily Mail and works as a columnist for The Independent and the Huffington Post. Feierstein appears regularly as a financial commentator ...

, class of 1983 – investor, banker and writer * Yannis Vardinoyannis, class of 1984 – billionaire; founding member of the

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

and president in 2007; executive vice chairman of the independent oil refinery Motor Oil Hellas * Jeanne Greenberg-Rohatyn, class of 1989 – owner of Salon 94 * Ian Gerard, class of 1990 – co-founder and CEO of

Gen Art Gen Art is an arts and entertainment organization that showcases emerging fashion designers, filmmakers, musicians and visual artists. It has produced over 100 events annually, which included fashion shows, film premieres and screenings, live musi ...

Caterina Fake Caterina Fake is an American entrepreneur and businesswoman. She co-founded the websites Flickr in 2004 and Hunch in 2007. Fake has been a trustee for nonprofit organizations and was the chairwoman of Etsy. For her role in creating Flickr, Fak ...

, class of 1991 – founder of

Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and profession ...

* Elisabeth Murdoch, class of 1992 – CEO of Shine Limited, daughter of

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

Jon Fisher Jon Fisher (born January 19, 1972) is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and writer. Jon sold his own Non-fungible token, NFTs before founding software company, ViciNFT. As a co-inventor and co-founding CEO, Fisher built three companies including Bh ...

, class of 1994 – entrepreneur * Lee Zalben, class of 1995 – founder of Peanut Butter & Co. * Elisa Strauss, class of 1998 – proprietor of Confetti Cakes, a top New York City-based bakery specializing in custom designed cakes * Katia Beauchamp, class of 2005 – founder and Co-CEO of Birchbox * Yu Liu (or Eric Liu), class of 2008 – founder of One Cloud Technologies, later acquired by Alibaba Group

Drama, film, and television

Frances Sternhagen Frances Hussey Sternhagen (born January 13, 1930) is an American actress; she has appeared on- and off-Broadway, in movies, and on TV since the 1950s.Joy, Car"Frances Sternhagen in Talks to Join Company of Broadway Magnolias" Broadway.com, Nov ...

, class of 1951 – Tony Award-winning actress * Zuzana Justman, class of 1954, documentary filmmaker and writer *

Toni Grant Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name. In Spanish, Italian, Croatian and Finnish, it is a masculine given name used as a short form of the names derived from Antonius like Antonio, Ante or Anttoni. In Danish, English, Finnish, Norwegia ...

, class of 1964 – psychologist and radio host *

Rebecca Eaton Rebecca Eaton (born November 7, 1947) is an American television producer and film producer best known for introducing American audiences to British costume and countryside dramas as executive producer of the PBS ''Masterpiece'' series. In 2011 ...

, class of 1969 – Emmy Award-winning executive producer of '' Masterpiece'' on PBS; listed among ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World" (2011) * Margaret Lazarus, class of 1969 –

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning documentary filmmaker * Ann Northrop, class of 1970 – journalist and activist; co-host of TV news program '' Gay USA'' *

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

, class of 1971 –

-winning actress * Mary Nissenson, class of 1974 – Peabody award-winning TV news reporter *

Eben Fiske Ostby Eben Fiske Ostby (born February 24, 1955) is a pioneer computer graphics software developer, animator, and technical director for motion pictures. Ostby was born in Hampton, Connecticut, United States. He graduated from Pomfret School and Vassar ...

, class of 1977 – animator, vice president of software at

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

* Chip Reid, class of 1977 – CBS Chief White House Correspondent *

, class of 1979 – president of

Lloyd Braun Lloyd Braun (born 1958) is an American media executive. He is the founder and CEO of Whalerock Industries, a Los Angeles based media and technology company. Early life and education Braun was born in New York, the son of Merna and David Braun ...

, class of 1980 – media executive, president of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

(2002–2004) * Marion Lipschutz, class of 1980 – film director and co-founder of Incite Pictures * Hung Huang, class of 1984 – fashion figure, publisher; listed among ''Time'' magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World" (2011) *

Jon Tenney Jonathan Frederick Tenney (born December 16, 1961) is an American actor. He played Special Agent Fritz Howard in TNT's ''The Closer'' and continued in its spinoff '' Major Crimes''. Early life Tenney was born in Princeton, New Jersey. His mother ...

, class of 1984 – actor *

Sakina Jaffrey Sakina Jaffrey (born February 14, 1962) is an American actress. Early life Jaffrey was born in New York City, the youngest daughter of Indian-born parents, actress and food and travel writer Madhur Jaffrey, and actor Saeed Jaffrey. Her parent ...

, class of 1984 – actress * Yvonne Welbon, class of 1984 – documentary filmmaker *

Andrew Zimmern Andrew Scott Zimmern (born July 4, 1961) is an American chef, restaurateur, television and radio personality, director, producer, businessman, food critic, and author. Zimmern is the co-creator, host, and consulting producer of the Travel Chan ...

, class of 1984 – chef and TV personality *

Lisa Kudrow Lisa Valerie Kudrow ( ; born July 30, 1963) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She rose to fame for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004), which has since been named one of the greatest television cha ...

, class of 1985 – Emmy Award-winning actress *

Jonathan Littman Jonathan Littman (born 1962/1963) is an American producer who serves as president of Jerry Bruckheimer Television. Biography Littman was raised in West Orange, New Jersey, the son of Dr. Harold Littman and Annette Littman. He is a graduate of ...

, class of 1985 – multiple Emmy Award-winning producer; president of Jerry Bruckheimer Television *

Hope Davis Hope Davis is an American actress. She is known for her performances on stage and screen earning various awards and nominations including a Tony Award nomination, as well two Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Award nominations. She m ...

, class of 1986 – actress *

Dan Bucatinsky Daniel Bucatinsky (; born September 22, 1965) is an American actor, writer and producer, best known for his role as James Novak in the Shonda Rhimes drama series ''Scandal'', for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor ...

, class of 1987 – Emmy Award-winning actor, writer, and producer *

Paul Zehrer Paul Conrad Zehrer (born October 10, 1963, in Sauk Centre, Minnesota) is an American film and television director, writer, producer, and editor. He was raised on a dairy farm and worked as a beekeeper before studying Philosophy at Vassar Colleg ...

, class of 1987 – film and television director, writer, producer, and editor * Kerri Green, class of 1989 – actress and producer *

Carlos Jacott Carlos Jacott (born July 28, 1967) is an American actor. He has guest-starred in numerous television series, such as ''Seinfeld'', ''Firefly'', ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Angel''. He has starred in film ...

, class of 1989 – actor and writer * Saar Klein, class of 1989 –

-nominated film editor * Tanya Wright, class of 1989 – actress * John Gatins, class of 1990 –

-nominated screenwriter, ''

Real Steel ''Real Steel'' is a 2011 American science fiction sports drama film starring Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo and co-produced and directed by Shawn Levy for DreamWorks Pictures. The film is based on the short story "Steel", written by Richard Mathe ...

'' and ''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

'' *

Jonathan Karl Jonathan D. Karl (born January 19, 1968) is an American political journalist and author. Karl has covered every major assignment in Washington, D.C., including the White House, Capitol Hill, the Pentagon, and the U.S. State Department, and has re ...

, class of 1990 – ABC News Senior Political Correspondent, author * Erika Amato, class of 1991 – singer, actress *

Noah Baumbach Noah Baumbach () (born September 3, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter. He is known for making witty and intellectual comedies set in New York City and has often been compared to writer-directors such as Woody Allen and Whit St ...

, class of 1991 –

-nominated writer, director * Benjamin Busch, class of 1991 – actor, author, Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps * Stacy London, class of 1991 – television host, author, and magazine editor *

Jason Blum Jason Ferus Blum "Jason Ferus Blum was born in LA in 1969 to Shirley Neilsen, an art professor, and Irving Blum, an art dealer" (; born 1969) is an American film and television producer. He is the founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions, whic ...

, class of 1991 – producer of films, including ''

Get Out ''Get Out'' is a 2017 American psychological horror film written, co-produced, and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut. It stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, LaKeith Stanfield, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Land ...

'' and

-winning ''

Whiplash Whiplash may refer to: * The long flexible part of a whip * Whiplash (medicine), a neck injury ** Whiplash Injury Protection System (WHIPS), in automobiles Film and television * ''Whiplash'' (1948 film), a US film noir about a boxer * ''Whiplas ...

'' * Eddie Schmidt, class of 1992 –

-nominated documentary filmmaker *

Catherine Kellner Catherine Kellner (born October 2, 1970) is an American character actress, perhaps best known for appearing in Daft Punk's music-video for their song Da Funk. Early life and education Kellner was born in Manhattan, New York. Her mother was a ...

, class of 1992 – actress and producer * Judd Ehrlich, class of 1993 – director and producer * Monica Macer, class of 1993 – writer and producer * Carrie Kei Heim, class of 1994 – child actress, now an attorney *

Erin Daniels Erin Daniels ( Cohen) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Dana Fairbanks on ''The L Word'' (2004–2007). Her feature film work includes ''A Single Man'' (2009) and '' One Hour Photo'' (2002). Early life Daniels was bor ...

, class of 1995 – actress *

Lecy Goranson Alicia Linda "Lecy" Goranson (; born June 22, 1974) is an American actress. She plays Becky Conner in the television sitcoms '' Roseanne'', which debuted in 1988, and ''The Conners''. She has also had supporting roles in the films ''How to Make ...

, class of 1996 – actress *

, class of 1996 – '' Survivor: Africa'' winner and philanthropist *

Jessi Klein Jessi Ruth Klein (born August 18, 1975) is an American writer, actress and stand-up comedian from New York City. Klein has regularly appeared on shows such as ''The Showbiz Show with David Spade'' and VH1's ''Best Week Ever'' and has performed ...

, class of 1997 – Emmy Award-winning writer and comedian *

Angela Goethals Angela Bethany Goethals ( ) is an American film, television and stage actress. Goethals made her acting debut in the Broadway production of ''Coastal Disturbances'' in 1987, and later played the sister of Macaulay Culkin's character in '' Home ...

, class of 1999 – actress *

Marguerite Moreau Marguerite Moreau (born April 25, 1977) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Jesse Reeves in the fantasy horror film ''Queen of the Damned'', Katie in the comedy '' Wet Hot American Summer'', and her role as Connie in '' The Mi ...

, class of 1999 – actress *

Jonathan Togo Jonathan Frederick Togo (born August 25, 1977) is an American actor, best known for his role in ''CSI: Miami'' as Ryan Wolfe. Early life, family and education Togo was born in Rockland, Massachusetts, the son of Sheila, a housewife and former ...

, class of 1999 – actor *

Matthew Newton Matthew Joseph Newton (born January 22, 1977) is an Australian actor, writer, and director, and son of TV personalities Bert Newton, Bert and Patti Newton. His acting career was interrupted by treatment in a psychiatric unit for bipolar disor ...

, class of 1999 – actor * Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, class of 2000 – two-thirds of the

devised theatre Devised theatre – frequently called collective creation – is a method of theatre-making in which the script or (if it is a predominantly physical work) performance score originates from collaborative, often improvisatory work by a performing ens ...

company

The Debate Society The Debate Society is a Brooklyn, New York-based devised theatre company founded by Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen, and Oliver Butler in 2004. The company's first show, ''A Thought About Raya'', began as Bos and Thureen's senior thesis at Vassar College ...

and co-creators, writers, and producers of the HBO series '' Somebody Somewhere'' *

Justin Long Justin Jacob Long (born June 2, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. Long is known for his film roles, notably appearing in '' Jeepers Creepers'' (2001), ''Dodgeball'' (2004), '' Accepted'' (2006), ''Idiocracy'' (2 ...

, class of 2000 – actor, Apple Computer spokesperson * Bradford Louryk, class of 2000 – Broadway artist and actor *

Penny Lane "Penny Lane" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in February 1967 as a double A-side single with "Strawberry Fields Forever". It was written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songw ...

, class of 2001 – documentary director and producer, '' Our Nixon''; assistant professor at Colgate University *

Shaka King Shaka King (born March 7, 1980) is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He is best known for directing and co-writing the 2021 biopic '' Judas and the Black Messiah''. Biography An only child, King was born on March 7, ...

, class of 2001-Academy Award-nominated film producer, screenwriter, and director of

Judas and the Black Messiah ''Judas and the Black Messiah'' is a 2021 biographical film, biographical crime film, crime drama (film and television), drama film about the betrayal of Fred Hampton (played by Daniel Kaluuya), chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Pan ...

Alexa Alemanni Alexa Alemanni is an American actress. She appeared as Allison, secretary to Don Draper on the AMC original series ''Mad Men'' (2007–2010). Life and career Alemanni is a graduate of Vassar College with a bachelor's degree in theatre performan ...

, class of 2002 – actress * Adnan Malik, class of 2003 – Pakistani actor and filmmaker * Julia Weldon, class of 2005 – actress *

Jonás Cuarón Jonás Cuarón Elizondo (born 1983) is a Mexican film director, screenwriter, producer, editor and cinematographer. He is the son of the Academy Award-winner Alfonso Cuarón by the latter's first wife, Mariana Elizondo. Jonás Cuarón studied ...

, class of 2005 – co-writer of ''

Gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...

'' *

Grace Gummer Grace Jane Gummer (born May 9, 1986) is an American actress. She received a Theatre World Award for her Broadway debut in the 2011 revival of '' Arcadia''. Her television work includes recurring roles in '' The Newsroom'' and '' American Horror ...

, class of 2008 – actress *

Sasha Velour Alexander "Sasha" Hedges Steinberg (born June 25, 1987), known professionally as Sasha Velour, is an American drag queen, artist, actor, and stage and television producer, based in Brooklyn, New York. Velour is known for winning the ninth seaso ...

, class of 2009 – winner of RuPaul's Drag Race (season 9) * Aviva Drescher, American television personality *

, Academy Award-nominated film director, screenwriter, and film producer * Jeff Davis – writer and creator of police procedural drama ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...

'' and MTV's ''

Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is chang ...

'' * Kerri Green – actress, director *

Lisa Lassek Lisa Lassek is an American Film editing#Film Editor, film and television editor. In addition to her editing career, her credits include her role as an associate producer for the television series ''Firefly (TV series), Firefly''. She edited episo ...

– film producer and editor *

Jay Severin James Thompson Severino III (January 8, 1951 – July 7, 2020), known professionally as Jay Severin, was an American political talk radio personality and Republican political consultant. Severin worked mostly in Boston, at WTKK (now WBQT) and a ...

– commentator and talk radio host *

Sandy Stern Sandy Stern is an American film producer, known for his work on the films '' Pump Up the Volume'' (1990), '' Being John Malkovich'' (1999) and '' Saved!'' (2004). Career Stern's first project, released in 1990, was the teen film '' Pump Up the V ...

– film producer, known for his work on the films '' Pump Up the Volume'', ''

Being John Malkovich ''Being John Malkovich'' is a 1999 American fantasy comedy film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman, both making their feature film debut. The film stars John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Catherine Keener, with John Malkovich ...

'', and ''

Saved! ''Saved!'' is a 2004 American independent satirical black comedy film directed by Brian Dannelly, and starring Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Patrick Fugit, Eva Amurri, Martin Donovan, and Mary-Louise Parker. Its plot follows a tee ...

'' *

Lisa Zane Lisa Zane (born Elizabeth Frances Zane; April 5, 1961) is an American actress and singer. Personal life Zane was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Thalia and William George Zane Sr., founders of a medical technical school. Her family's ...

– actress * Thomas Dean Donnelly – screenwriter of films such as '' Sahara'' and an upcoming adaption of the ''

Uncharted ''Uncharted'' is an action-adventure video game franchise published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and developed by Naughty Dog. Created by Amy Hennig, the ''Uncharted'' franchise follows a group of treasure hunters who travel across th ...

'' video games * Tom Gorai – film producer * Alysia Reiner – actress in Orange is the New Black *

Lester Lewis Lester "Les" Lewis (November 26, 1966 – March 19, 2013) was an American television writer and producer, whose credits included sitcoms such as ''Flight of the Conchords'', '' Caroline in the City'' and ''The Larry Sanders Show.'' He was a supe ...

, television writer and television producer, ''

The Larry Sanders Show ''The Larry Sanders Show'' is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. The series was created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein and aired from August 15, 1992, to May 31, 1998, on the HBO ...

'' *

Lilli Cooper Lilli Cooper (born March 4, 1990) is an American musical theatre actress. Life and career Cooper is the daughter of actor Chuck Cooper and Tisa Farley. Her grandfather acted at the Karamu House in Cleveland. She attended LaGuardia High Schoo ...

, class of 2012 – Tony-nominated actress in ''

Tootsie ''Tootsie'' is a 1982 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Dustin Hoffman. Its supporting cast includes Pollack, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Bill Murray, Charles Durning, Geo ...

''and ''

SpongeBob SquarePants, The Broadway Musical ''SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical'' (originally titled ''The SpongeBob Musical'', later retitled as such for the national tour) is a stage musical, co-conceived and directed by Tina Landau with songs by various artists and a book by ...

'' *

Ethan Slater Ethan Samuel Slater (born June 2, 1992) is an American actor, singer, and composer, best known for his role as SpongeBob SquarePants (character), SpongeBob SquarePants in the SpongeBob SquarePants (musical), musical of the same name, for which ...

-Tony-nominated actor in ''

'' *

Malinda Kathleen Reese Malinda Kathleen Reese (born June 27, 1994) is an American Internet personality, singer-songwriter and stage actress. She is best known for her Irish music covers on Tiktok (2 Million+ Followers), as well as Twisted Translations on YouTube, i ...

, YouTube personality, actress and singer * Raphael ''Raph'' Korine,

Big Brother UK ''Big Brother'' is the British version of the international reality television franchise '' Big Brother'' created by producer John de Mol in 1997. Broadcast yearly from 2000 to 2018, and due to return in 2023, the show follows the format of ot ...

Runner Up in 2017, also studied in Zurich and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Espionage

* Elizabeth Bentley, class of 1930 – American spy for the Soviet Union

Fashion

Louisa Gummer Louisa Jacobson Gummer (born June 12, 1991) is an American actress and model. She is best known for playing Marian Brook on hit HBO series '' The Gilded Age''. Early life Jacobson was born in Los Angeles, California, on June 12, 1991, to actre ...

, class of 2013, model; daughter of

Music

* Elizabeth Bristol Greenleaf, class of 1917 – collector of folk songs * Jane O'Leary, class of 1968 – musician and composer * Karen Petersen, class of 1976 - recording engineer, producer * Jamie Broumas, class of 1981 – jazz singer, vocal instructor and arts administrator *

Jonathan Elliott Jonathan Elliott is an American composer and teacher. Born in 1962, Elliott grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, studying piano from the age of six. He went on to study composition at Vassar College, where his teachers included Annea Lockwood and ...

, class of 1984 – Classical composer *

Drew Zingg Drew Zingg (born 1957) is an American rock, blues, soul and jazz guitarist, best known for his performing with Steely Dan and Boz Scaggs. Biography Zingg was born and raised in New York City. Eventually he learned the guitar and spent about ten ...

, class of 1981 – guitarist for Steely Dan *

Joseph Bertolozzi Joseph Bertolozzi (born 1959) is an American composer and musician with works ranging from full symphony orchestra and solo songs to immense sound-art installations. With increasingly numerous performances across Europe and the United States to ...

, class of 1981 – composer and musician with works ranging from full symphony orchestra to solo gongs *

Amy Powers Amy Powers (born 1960) is a lyricist, songwriter and producer who writes songs for film, television, and theater. Career Early life Powers graduated from Vassar College, and then attended Columbia University (M.B.A) and Harvard University law de ...

, class of 1982 – Emmy-nominated lyricist, songwriter and producer *

Alan Licht Alan Licht (born June 6, 1968) is an American guitarist and composer, whose work combines elements of pop, noise, free jazz and minimalism. He is also a writer and journalist. Biography Licht was born in New Jersey in 1968. His earliest mus ...

, class of 1990 – guitarist, composer, writer * Erika Amato, class of 1991 – singer (Velvet Chain) * Linda Lister, class of 1991 – soprano, soloist, professor at the

University of Evansville The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton College, in Grantham, England. UE offers more than 80 differ ...

* Howard Fishman, class of 1992 – singer, guitarist, bandleader and composer * Rachael Yamagata, class of 1996 – singer-songwriter *

Jamie Christopherson Jamie Christopherson is an American musician who has contributed scores to a number of popular films and video games, including the movie '' The Crow: Wicked Prayer'', and the games '' Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams'' and '' Metal Gear Rising: Revengean ...

, class of 1997 – musician known for scoring movies and video games *

Amanda Forsythe Amanda Forsythe (born 1976) is an American light lyric soprano who is particularly admired for her interpretations of baroque music and the works of Rossini. Forsythe has received continued critical acclaim from many publications including '' ...

, class of 1998 – award-winning soprano; particularly admired for her interpretations of baroque music and the works of Rossini *

Sam Endicott Samuel Bingham Endicott (born August 13, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor and director. He is best known as the lead vocalist of The Bravery with whom he recorded three studio albums. Career At age 11 Endico ...

, class of 1999 – singer (

The Bravery The Bravery is an American rock band formed in New York City in 2003. The band consists of lead vocalist Sam Endicott, guitarist Michael Zakarin, keyboardist John Conway, bassist Mike Hindert and drummer Anthony Burulcich. They are best know ...

) and John Conway, class of 2000, keyboardist in The Bravery * Brian Grosz, class of 1999 – alt-folk musician, member of Skabba the Hut * Hayley Taylor, class of 1999 – singer-songwriter and actress whose songs have been featured on many popular television shows, including ''How I Met Your Mother'', ''Royal Pains'', and ''Pretty Little Liars'' * The Hazzards – ukulele-based band, best known for their cult hit single "Gay Boyfriend" *

Victoria Legrand Victoria Garance Alixe Legrand (born May 28, 1981) is a French-American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter and keyboardist of the dream pop duo Beach House. Early life Legrand was born in Paris, France, the daughter of painte ...

, class of 2003 – singer (

Beach House Beach House is an American musical duo formed in Baltimore, Maryland in 2004. The band consists of Victoria Legrand (vocals, keyboards) and Alex Scally (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals). Their self-titled debut album was released in 2006 t ...

) *

Genghis Tron Genghis Tron is an American four-piece cybergrind band formed in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States, and latterly based in Brooklyn, New York and San Francisco, California. The band signed to Relapse Records after releasing two recordings ...

, classes of 2005 and 2006 – band composed of Vassar graduates *

MS MR MS MR (pronounced ''Miz Mister'') are a New York-based American pop duo, consisting of vocalist Lizzy Plapinger and producer Max Hershenow. The duo are signed to Iamsound, Kitsuné and Columbia Records. Plapinger is also known for her work a ...

, class of 2010 – pop duo composed of Max Hershenow and Lizzy Plapinger

Politics and law

Harriot Eaton Stanton Blatch Harriot Eaton Blatch ( Stanton; January 20, 1856–November 20, 1940) was an American writer and suffragist. She was the daughter of pioneering women's rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Biography Harriot Eaton Stanton was born, the sixt ...

, class of 1878 – suffragette and daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton *

Ōyama Sutematsu Princess , born , was a prominent figure in the Meiji era, and the first Japanese woman to receive a college degree. She was born into a traditional samurai household which supported the Tokugawa shogunate during the Boshin War. As a child, she ...

, class of 1882 – first Japanese woman to earn a college degree *

Crystal Eastman Crystal Catherine Eastman (June 25, 1881 – July 28, 1928) was an American lawyer, antimilitarist, feminist, socialist, and journalist. She is best remembered as a leader in the fight for women's suffrage, as a co-founder and co-editor with h ...

, class of 1903 – co-author of the Equal Rights Amendment *

Inez Milholland Inez Milholland Boissevain (August 6, 1886 – November 25, 1916) was a leading American suffragist, lawyer, and peace activist. From her college days at Vassar, she campaigned aggressively for women’s rights as the principal issue of a wide ...

, class of 1909 – suffragist; known as the martyr of the women's suffrage movement *

Elinor Morgenthau Elinor Lehman Morgenthau (née Fatman; February 19, 1892 – September 21, 1949) was an American Democratic party activist, member of the Lehman family, and spouse of Henry Morgenthau, Jr. Biography Born to a Jewish family in New York City, the d ...

, class of 1913 – Democratic party activist and spouse of

Henry Morgenthau Jr. Henry Morgenthau Jr. (; May 11, 1891February 6, 1967) was the United States Secretary of the Treasury during most of the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He played a major role in designing and financing the New Deal. After 1937, while ...

Catherine Bauer Wurster Catherine Krouse Bauer Wurster (May 11, 1905 – November 21, 1964) was an American public housing advocate and educator of city planners and urban planners. A leading member of the "housers," a group of planners who advocated affordable hous ...

, class of 1926 – urban housing reformer * Katherine Elkus White, class of 1928 – Democratic Party politician and diplomat, who served as Mayor of Red Bank, New Jersey (1951–1956), chairwoman of the New Jersey Highway Authority (1955–1964), and United States Ambassador to Denmark (1964–1968) * Lydia Stevens, class of 1939 – Connecticut House of Representatives (1988, 1990) as a Republican, president of the Greenwich Broadcasting Company * Emily W. Sunstein, class of 1944 – campaigner, political activist and biographer * Patricia M. Byrne, class of 1946 – U.S. Ambassador to

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

* Frances Farenthold, class of 1946 – Texas State Legislator and human rights activist *

Julie Finley Julie Finley (born c. 1937) was the United States Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). She was nominated by President George W. Bush. Education Finley is a 1952 graduate of the Potomac School and a 195 ...

, United States ambassador * Pauline Newman, class of 1947 – Circuit Judge,

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is a United States court of appeals that has special appellate jurisdiction over certain types of specialized cases in the U.S. federal court ...

* Anne Armstrong, class of 1949 – first female

Counselor to the President Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (dip ...

; Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1976–1977); recipient of the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...

Selwa Roosevelt Selwa Carmen Showker "Lucky" Roosevelt (born January 13, 1929) was Chief of Protocol of the United States for almost seven years from 1982-1989—longer than anyone else has ever served in that position. Early life Selwa was born in the city of ...

, class of 1950 –

Chief of Protocol of the United States In the United States, the chief of protocol is an officer of the United States Department of State responsible for advising the president of the United States, the vice president of the United States, and the United States secretary of state o ...

for almost seven years (1982–1989)—longer than anyone has ever served in that position. *

Sylvia Bacon Sylvia A. Bacon (born July 9, 1931) is a former judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia who was considered by both Richard NixonJohn Dean, "Cast of Characters: Candidates considered for the Supreme Court", ''The Rehnquist Choice: Th ...

, class of 1952 – judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia; considered by both

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

and Ronald Reagan as a potential nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States, at a time when no women had yet been appointed to the Court * Sarah Goddard Power, class of 1957 – Democratic Party activist and

Regent * Patricia Fleming, class of 1957 – first director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) *

Pamela Ann Rymer Pamela Ann Rymer (January 6, 1941 - September 21, 2011) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District o ...

, class of 1961 – Judge,

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

* Julia Donovan Darlow, class of 1963 – attorney and member of the

Board of Regents *

Diana Gribbon Motz Diana Jane Gribbon Motz (born July 15, 1943) is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Early life and education Born in Washington, D.C., Motz was raised in a legal family. Her fathe ...

, class of 1965 – Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit * Margaret Milner Richardson, class of 1965 – IRS commissioner (1993–1997) * Bobbie Kilberg, class of 1965 – Republican operative who has worked for Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush, president and CEO of the Northern Virginia Technology Council. * Susan Combs, class of 1966 –

Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is an executive branch position created by the Texas Constitution. The comptroller is popularly elected every four years, and is primarily tasked with collecting all state tax revenue and estimating the a ...

Linda Fairstein Linda Fairstein (born May 5, 1947) is an American author, attorney, and former New York City prosecutor focusing on crimes of violence against women and children. She was the head of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's offi ...

, class of 1969 – prosecutor in the "Preppie Murder" trial of Robert Chambers and head of sex crimes unit in the

Central Park jogger case The Central Park jogger case (events also referenced as the Central Park Five Case) was a criminal case over the aggravated assault and rape of a white woman in Central Park in Manhattan, New York, on April 19, 1989, occurring at the same time a ...

; author *

Catherine Abate Catherine M. Abate (December 8, 1947 – May 17, 2014) was a New York State Senator. She was also a former commissioner of New York City's Correction Department. Abate was of Italian ancestry. Her father was Joseph Abate, a longtime member ...

, class of 1969 – New York state senator, president and CEO of the Community Healthcare Network * Margarita Penón Góngora, class of 1970 –

First Lady of Costa Rica First Lady or First Gentleman of Costa Rica (Spanish: ''Primera dama o Primer caballero de Costa Rica'') is the title of the wife or husband of the president of Costa Rica. Traditionally, the president's wife was colloquially known as ''la presi ...

(1986–1990); advocate and promoter of the principal Gender Equality Law approved by Congress in 1989 *

Betsy McCaughey Elizabeth Helen McCaughey (; née Peterken; born October 20, 1948), formerly known as Betsy McCaughey Ross, is an American politician who was the Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1995 to 1998, during the first term of Governor George Pataki ...

, class of 1970 – 72nd Lieutenant Governor of New York (1995–1998), influential critic of Bill Clinton's healthcare proposal * Linda R. Greenstein, class of 1971 – legislator and politician, New Jersey State Senate, 14th district * Robert H. Edmunds Jr. – Associate Justice of the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

* Vicki Miles-LaGrange, class of 1974 – first African-American female to become a United States Attorney *

Richard W. Roberts Richard Warren Roberts (born 1953) is an inactive United States federal judge, Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Early life Roberts was born in New York City, New York (state), ...

, class of 1974 – Judge,

United States District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States District Court for the District ...

Nancy Killefer Nancy Killefer (born 1953) is an American government consultant and political figure. She was nominated for the Chief Performance Officer position in the Obama administration in 2009. In 2005 the District of Columbia government had filed a more ...

, class of 1975 – government consultant * Jeffrey Goldstein, class of 1977 –

Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance The Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance is a high-ranking position within United States Department of the Treasury that reports to, advises, and assists the Secretary of the Treasury and the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. The u ...

(2010–2011), managing director of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

* Alison Renee Lee, class of 1979 – South Carolina Circuit Judge in the Fifth Judicial Circuit and is a nominee for United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. *

Rick Lazio Enrico Anthony Lazio (; born March 13, 1958) is an American attorney and former four-term U.S. Representative from the State of New York. A Long Island native, Lazio became well-known during his bid for U.S. Senate in New York's 2000 Senate e ...

, class of 1980 –

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Bala Garba Jahumpa Bala Garba Jahumpa (born 20 July 1958 in BanjulCV
(as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs) on Gambian government website.

, class of 1980 – Gambian politician and diplomat * Lee A. Feinstein, class of 1981 – U.S. Ambassador to Poland (2009–2012). * Benson Whitney, class of 1982 – U.S. Ambassador to Norway * Cheryl Kagan, class of 1983 –

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

from 1995 to 2003 *

Sherrilyn Ifill Sherrilyn Ifill (born December 17, 1962) is an American lawyer and the Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Esq. Endowed Chair in Civil Rights at Howard University. She is a law professor and former president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fun ...

, class of 1984 - President and Director-Counsel of NAACP Legal Defense Fund *

Marc Thiessen Marc Alexander Thiessen (born January 13, 1967) is an American conservative author, political appointee, and weekly columnist for ''The Washington Post''. Thiessen served as a speechwriter for President George W. Bush from 2007 to 2009 and Secret ...

, class of 1989 – White House speechwriter (2004–2009) * Alfonso H. Lopez, class of 1992 – Virginia State Delegate * Carrie Goldberg, class of 1999 – attorney who specializes in sexual privacy violations * Deborah L. Wince-Smith – president of the

Council on Competitiveness The Council on Competitiveness is an American non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. The Council’s goal is to increase the United States' economic competitiveness in the global marketplace. The Council also works to bring high-value ...

Science and medicine

Christine Ladd-Franklin Christine Ladd-Franklin (December 1, 1847 – March 5, 1930) was an American psychologist, logician, and mathematician. Early life and education Christine Ladd, sometimes known by her nickname "Kitty", was born on December 1, 1847, in Winds ...

, class of 1869 – psychologist *

Ellen Swallow Richards Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards (December 3, 1842 – March 30, 1911) was an American industrial and safety engineer, environmental chemist, and university faculty member in the United States during the 19th century. Her pioneering work i ...

, class of 1870 – chemist * Frances Fisher Wood, class of 1874 - educator and scientist * Ellen Churchill Semple, class of 1882 – geographer * Alice G. Bryant, class of 1885 - otolaryngologist and inventor *

Antonia Maury Antonia Caetana de Paiva Pereira Maury (March 21, 1866 – January 8, 1952) was an American astronomer who was the first to detect and calculate the orbit of a spectroscopic binary. She published an important early catalog of stellar spectra us ...

, class of 1887 – astronomer *

Margaret Floy Washburn Margaret Floy Washburn (July 25, 1871 – October 29, 1939), leading American psychologist in the early 20th century, was best known for her experimental work in animal behavior and motor theory development. She was the first woman to be grante ...

, class of 1891 – psychologist *

Millicent Todd Bingham Millicent Todd Bingham (1880–1968), was an American geographer and the first woman to receive a doctorate in geology and geography from Harvard. She was also a leading expert on the poet Emily Dickinson. Biography Born Millicent Todd on Febr ...

, class of 1902 – geographer *

Ruth Benedict Ruth Fulton Benedict (June 5, 1887 – September 17, 1948) was an American anthropologist and folklorist. She was born in New York City, attended Vassar College, and graduated in 1909. After studying anthropology at the New School of Social Re ...

, class of 1909 – anthropologist * Edith Banfield Jackson, class of 1916 – behavioral pediatrician * Mary Calderone, class of 1925 – physician * Harriet Guild, class of 1920 – physician *

Grace Hopper Grace Brewster Hopper (; December 9, 1906 – January 1, 1992) was an American computer scientist, mathematician, and United States Navy rear admiral. One of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer, she was a pioneer of compu ...

, class of 1928 – computer scientist * Grace Lotowycz, class of 1938 - botanist; alpinist;

Women Airforce Service Pilots The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) (also Women's Army Service Pilots or Women's Auxiliary Service Pilots) was a civilian women pilots' organization, whose members were United States federal civil service employees. Members of WASP became t ...

* Marian Koshland, class of 1942 – immunologist who discovered that the differences in amino acid composition of antibodies explains the efficiency and effectiveness with which they combat a huge range of foreign invaders * June Biedler, class of 1947 biomedical scientist *

Vera Rubin Vera Florence Cooper Rubin (; July 23, 1928 – December 25, 2016) was an American astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation rates. She uncovered the discrepancy between the predicted and observed angular motion of galaxies by study ...

, class of 1948 – astronomer * Beatrix Ann (McCleary) Hamburg, class of 1944 – first African American admitted to Vassar; psychiatrist, medical researcher * Lois Haibt, class of 1955 – computer scientist * Heather Lechtman, class of 1956 – materials scientist and archaeologist; Director of the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology (CMRAE) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology;

Macarthur Award The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 ind ...

winner * Olga F. Linares, class of 1958 – anthropologist and senior researcher at STRI * Patricia Goldman Rakic, class of 1959 – neuroscientist * Bernadine P. Healy, class of 1965 – cardiologist; Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (1991–1993), dean of Ohio State University Medical School; president of the American Red Cross (1999–2001) * Valerie Rusch, class of 1971 – thoracic surgeon, Miner Family Chair for Intrathoracic Cancers and Vice Chair for Clinical Research at

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...

* Ellen Kovner Silbergeld, class of 1967 – engineer * Alice F. Healy, class of 1968 – psychologist * Claudia L. Thomas, class of 1971 – surgeon, helped form the Students' Afro-American Society (SAS) and pushed for the Black Studies program at Vassar * Anne B. Young, class of 1969 – neuroscientist *

Jeffrey Brenner Jeffrey Brenner is the CEO of the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, and a primary care physician. Biography Brenner is the founder of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, and was its executive director from 2006 to 2017. ...

, class of 1990 – founder and executive director of Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers; 2013

("Genius Grant") winner * Maria Fadiman, class of 1991 – ethnobotanist

Writers

* Carol Brightman – author * Celeste Gold Broughton – writer * Patricia Buckley Bozell – author and publisher * Marion Hamilton Carter - educator, journalist, author *

Elizabeth Williams Champney Elizabeth "Lizzie" Williams Champney (February 6, 1850 – October 13, 1922) was an American author of novels and juvenile literature, as well as travel writing, most of which featured foreign locations. Champney's observations and experiences d ...

, class of 1869 – author of ''Three Vassar Girls'' series * Barbara Culliton, science journalist and editor * Dorothy Deming, nurse and author *

Rebecca Odes Rebecca Odes (born September 11, 1969) is an American media entrepreneur, author, and former musician. From 1987 to 1992, she was the bassist and vocalist for the band Love Child. In 1994, she debuted as a solo artist under the stage name Odes ...

- author and co-founder of

Gurl.com Gurl.com (formerly stylized as gURL.com from 1996 to 2011) was an American website for teenage girls that was online from 1996 to 2018. It was created by Rebecca Odes, Esther Drill, and Heather McDonald as a resource centered on teen advice, bo ...

* Mary Harriott Norris, class of 1870 – author and dean of women *

Mary Parker Woodworth Mary Parker Woodworth (, Parker; May 3, 1849 – June 14, 1919) was an American writer and speaker on educational and missionary topics. She was the first New Hampshire graduate from Vassar College, and the first woman member of the Concord, New H ...

, class of 1870 – writer and speaker *

Maria Brace Kimball Maria Brace Kimball (July 20, 1852 — 1933) was an American elocutionist who taught, lectured, and wrote on the subject. She was an instructor in elocution and lecturer on dramatic literature in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts; lecturer on F ...

, class of 1872 – educator, elocutionist, writer *

Eva March Tappan Eva March Tappan (December 26, 1854 – January 29, 1930) was a teacher and American author born in Blackstone, Massachusetts, the only child of Reverend Edmund March Tappan and Lucretia Logée. Eva graduated from Vassar College in 1875. She was a m ...

, class of 1875 – author *

Amy Wentworth Stone Amy Wentworth Stone (1876-1938) was an American writer known for being the author of ''P-Penny and His Little Red Cart'' as well as other books for children. Early life and education Stone was born in Danvers, Massachusetts on January 25, 1876 ...

, class of 1898, – children's book author *

Jean Webster Jean Webster was the pen name of Alice Jane Chandler Webster (July 24, 1876 – June 11, 1916), an American author whose books include '' Daddy-Long-Legs'' and '' Dear Enemy''. Her best-known books feature lively and likeable young female prot ...

, class of 1901 – author of ''Daddy Long Legs'' *

Agnes de Lima Agnes de Lima (1887–1974) was an American journalist and writer on education, and a Progressive Era reformer. Life Agnes de Lima was born in Hollywood, New Jersey in 1887, and she grew up in Larchmont, New York and New York City. Her family ...

, class of 1908 – author of '' Our Enemy the Child'' * Elizabeth Page, class of 1912 – author of ''The Tree of Liberty'' (1939) *

Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. She wrote much of he ...

, class of 1917 – poet * Nora Benjamin Kubie, class of 1920 – children's writer *

Lois Long Lois Bancroft Long (December 15, 1901 – July 29, 1974) was an American writer for ''The New Yorker'' during the 1920s. She was known under the pseudonym "Lipstick" and as the epitome of a flapper. She was born on December 15, 1901, in Stam ...

, class of 1922 – writer for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' * Angelica Gibbs, class of 1930 – short story writer for ''The New Yorker'' and novelist * Marie Rodell, class of 1932 – literary agent and author who managed the publications of much of environmentalist Rachel Carson's writings, as well as the first book by

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

* Mary McCarthy, class of 1933 – novelist, critic *

Elizabeth Bishop Elizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979) was an American poet and short-story writer. She was Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1949 to 1950, the Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry in 1956, the National Book Awar ...

, class of 1934 –

Poet Laureate of the United States The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—commonly referred to as the United States Poet Laureate—serves as the official poet of the United States. During their term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national cons ...

from 1949 to 1950 *

Eleanor Ruggles Eleanor Ruggles (1916-2008) was an American biographer and book reviewer. The 1955 film '' Prince of Players'', starring Richard Burton as the 19th century American actor Edwin Booth was based on her book. She also wrote for Encyclopædia Britannic ...

(1916-2008) class of 1938, biographer * Ruth Stiles Gannet, class of 1944 – author of the '' My Father's Dragon'' series *

Shana Alexander Shana Alexander (October 6, 1925 – June 23, 2005) was an American journalist. Although she became the first woman staff writer and columnist for ''Life'' magazine, she was best known for her participation in the "Point-Counterpoint" debate seg ...

, class of 1945 – first woman staff writer and columnist for ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' magazine * Sue Kaufman, class of 1947 – author best known for the novel ''Diary of a Mad Housewife'' *

Charlotte Curtis Charlotte Murray Curtis (December 19, 1928 – April 16, 1987) was an American journalist, columnist and editor at ''The New York Times''. Career Curtis worked as a reporter and society editor for the ''Columbus Citizen'' for 11 years, and a ...

, class of 1950 – ''New York Times'' editor *

Alexandra Ripley Alexandra Ripley ( Braid; January 8, 1934 – January 10, 2004) was an American writer best known as the author of '' Scarlett'' (1991), written as a sequel to '' Gone with the Wind''. Her first novel was ''Who's the Lady in the President's Bed ...

, class of 1955 – writer best known for '' Scarlett'' (1991), the sequel to ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

'' *

Jane Kramer Jane Kramer (born August 7, 1938) is an American journalist who is the European correspondent for ''The New Yorker''; she has written a regular "Letter from Europe" for twenty years. Kramer has also written nine books, the latest of which, ''Lone ...

, class of 1959 – journalist for ''The New Yorker'' *

Mary Oliver Mary Jane Oliver (September 10, 1935 – January 17, 2019) was an American poet who won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Her work is inspired by nature, rather than the human world, stemming from her lifelong passion for solitary ...

, class of 1959 – poet * Gloria Guardia, class of 1962 – novelist and critic * Barbara McMartin, class of 1964 – mathematician who became an environmentalist and author of books on the Adirondack Mountains *

Penelope Casas Penelope Casas (May 25, 1943 – August 11, 2013) was an American food writer, cookbook author and expert on the cuisine of Spain. Casas began authoring a series of English-language cookbooks focusing on the food of Spain during the 1980s, effective ...

, class of 1965 – food writer, cookbook author and expert on the cuisine of Spain * Susan Gordon Lydon, class of 1965 – feminist writer known for "The Politics of Orgasm" * Reggie Nadelson class of 1966 – mystery novelist and biographer *

Lucinda Franks Lucinda Laura Franks (July 16, 1946May 5, 2021) was an American journalist, novelist, and memoirist. Franks won a Pulitzer Prize in 1971 for her reporting on the life of Diana Oughton, a member of Weather Underground. With that award she became ...

, class of 1968 – writer for ''The New York Times'' and ''The New Yorker'' * Sally Gibson, class of 1968 – author, archivist and heritage consultant * Mindy Aloff, class of 1969 – editor, journalist, essayist, and dance critic *

Jane Smiley Jane Smiley (born September 26, 1949) is an American novelist. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1992 for her novel ''A Thousand Acres'' (1991). Biography Born in Los Angeles, California, Smiley grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri, a s ...

, class of 1971 – novelist *

Esther Friesner Esther Mona Friesner-Stutzman, née Friesner (born July 16, 1951) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. She is also a poet and playwright. She is best known for her humorous style of writing, both in the titles and the works themsel ...

, class of 1972 – science fiction and fantasy author * Paula Volsky, class of 1972 – fantasy author * Marian Thurm, class of 1974 – author of short stories and novels, has taught Creative Writing at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

and Columbia * Elizabeth Spires, class of 1974 – poet and children's book writer * Paco Underhill, class of 1975 – environmental psychologist and business writer *

Judith Regan Judith Regan (born August 17, 1953, in Massachusetts) is an American editor, producer, book publisher, and television and radio talk show host. She is the head of Regan Arts. Early life and education Regan grew up in Fitchburg, Massachusetts and B ...

, class of 1975 – publisher * Michael Gross, class of 1975 – writer and editor * Karen Petersen, class of 1976, poet, short story writer and journalist *

Avery Cardoza Avery Cardoza is an American author, professional gambler, and publisher. Cardoza is the owner of the Las Vegas-based Gambler's Book Shop / GBC Press Gambler's Book Club / GBC Press is a bookstore & small press dedicated to gambling. Now lo ...

, class of 1977 – writer, gambler and publisher *

Lucette Lagnado Lucette Matalon Lagnado (September 19, 1956 – July 10, 2019) was an Egyptian-born American journalist and memoirist. She was a reporter for ''The Wall Street Journal''. Biography Lagnado was born to a Jewish family in Cairo, Egypt. She atten ...

, class of 1977 – journalist and novelist * David Wong Louie, class of 1977 – writer and essayist * Janet McDonald, class of 1977 – writer of young adult fiction * Michael Specter, class of 1977 – journalist for ''The New Yorker'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' * Leonard Steinhorn, class of 1977 – author of ''The Greater Generation: In Defense of the Baby Boom Legacy''; political analyst *

Victoria Strauss Victoria Strauss (born 1955 in Exeter, New Hampshire) is the author of nine fantasy novels for adults and young adults, including the ''Stone'' series (''The Arm of the Stone'' and ''The Garden of the Stone'') and the ''Way of Arata'' series ...

, class of 1977 – fantasy and science fiction author *

Josip Novakovich Josip Novakovich (Croatian: ''Novaković'') is a Croatian Canadian writer. Early life and education Josip Novakovich was born in Yugoslavia (in 1956) and grew up in the central Croatian town of Daruvar. Novakovich studied medicine at the Univers ...

, class of 1978 – writer and professor *

Eric Marcus Eric Marcus (born November 12, 1958, New York City) is an American journalist, podcast producer, and non-fiction writer. He is the founder and host of the ''Making Gay History'' podcast, which brings LGBT history to life through the voices of th ...

, class of 1980 – non-fiction writer * Melissa Holbrook Pierson, class of 1980 – writer and essayist of non-fiction * Peter Spiegelman, class of 1980 – crime fiction author and former Wall Street executive * Ned Balbo, class of 1981 – poet * Heinz Insu Fenkl, class of 1982 – writer, editor and translator * Kimberly Quinn, class of 1982 – journalist, commentator and magazine publisher and writer * Matthew Kauffman, class of 1983 – '' Hartford Courant'' journalist * Valerie Martinez, class of 1983 - poet, retired professor of English and Creative Writing at

, and Founding Director o
Artful Life
* A. V. Christie, class of 1985 – poet * David Oliver Relin, class of 1985 – journalist and co-author of the book '' Three Cups of Tea'' *

Scott Westerfeld Scott David Westerfeld (born May 5, 1963) is an American writer of young adult fiction, best known as the author of the ''Uglies'' and the '' Leviathan'' series. Early life Westerfeld was born in Dallas, Texas. As a child he moved to Connectic ...

, class of 1985 – author of the ''Uglies'' series, among other novels *

Thomas Beller Thomas Beller (born May 23, 1965) is an American author and editor. Early life Born and raised in New York City, Beller has remained a resident of his native city, which often features in his stories. He is the son of documentary filmmaker Hava ...

, class of 1987 – author * Evan Wright, class of 1987 – author, best known for ''

Generation Kill ''Generation Kill'' is a 2004 book written by ''Rolling Stone'' journalist Evan Wright chronicling his experience as an embedded reporter with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps, during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. ...

'' * Mariah Fredericks, class of 1988 – author * Adam Langer, class of 1988 – author * Elizabeth Gaffney, class of 1988 – novelist and editor * Sydney Pokorny, class of 1988 – writer, editor, columnist and activist *

Rebecca Stead Rebecca Stead (born January 16, 1968) is an American writer of fiction for children and teens. She won the American Newbery Medal in 2010, the oldest award in children's literature, for her second novel ''When You Reach Me''. She won the Guardia ...

, class of 1989 – author of children's literature * Andy Towle, class of 1980 – blogger and media commentator, editor-in-chief of ''

Genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

'' magazine * Richard Miniter, class of 1990 – investigative journalist and bestselling author *

Jen Van Meter Jennifer Van Meter is an American comic book writer best known for her Oni Press series '' Hopeless Savages''. Early life and education Van Meter was born and raised in Fresno, California. She graduated from Vassar College with a Bachelor of Ar ...

, class of 1990 – comic book writer best known for her

Oni Press Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's merger with Lion Forge Comics. The merged company, Oni–Lion Forge Publishing Grou ...

series '' Hopeless Savages'' as well as series at Marvel and DC Comics *

Nunzio DeFilippis Nunzio DeFilippis is an American writer of comic books and television. He writes with his wife, Christina Weir, whom he met while they were both students at Vassar College. The two have written for two seasons on HBO's '' Arli$$'', and have sold ...

, class of 1991, and Christina Weir, class of 1992 – husband and wife comic book writing team *

Greg Rucka Gregory Rucka (born November 29, 1969) is an American writer known for the series of novels starring his character Atticus Kodiak, the creator-owned comic book series '' Whiteout'', ''Queen & Country'', '' Stumptown'' and '' Lazarus'', as well as ...

, class of 1991 – comic book writer * Daphne Kalotay, class of 1992 – novelist, short story writer, and professor *

Meghan Daum Meghan Elizabeth Daum (born February 13, 1970) is an American author, essayist, podcaster, and journalist. Childhood and education Although she was born in California, Daum grew up in Austin, Texas, and Ridgewood, New Jersey. She received her ba ...

, class of 1992 – author, essayist, and journalist *

Renee Gladman Renee Gladman (born 1971) is a poet, novelist, essayist, and artist. She has published prose works including the Ravicka series of novels and the crime novel, ''Morelia''; the poetry collection, ''Calamities''; and a monograph of drawings, ''Prose ...

, class of 1993 – author, poet, and visual artist * Sarah Gray Miller, class of 1993 – editor in chief of lifestyle and decorating magazine ''

Country Living ''Country Living'' is an American lifestyle and home magazine published by the Hearst Corporation since 1978. The monthly magazine focuses on food, home renovation, home decor, DIY and lifestyle. The magazine hosts four Country Living Fairs a y ...

'' * Megan Crane, class of 1994 – novelist * Katherine Center, class of 1994 – author * Andrew J. Porter, class of 1994 – short-story writer, novelist, and professor * Joe Hill, class of 1995 – novelist, ''

Heart-Shaped Box "Heart-Shaped Box" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist, Kurt Cobain. It appears as the third track on the band's third and final studio album, ''In Utero'', released by DGC Records in September 1993 ...

''; son of Stephen King *

Jeremy Jackson Jeremy Dunn Jackson (born October 16, 1980) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Hobie Buchannon on the television show ''Baywatch''. Career Television Jackson appeared in 159 episodes of the TV series ''Baywatch' ...

, class of 1995 – author of several novels and cookbooks *

Ryan Singel Ryan Singel is a San Francisco-based blogger and journalist covering tech business, tech policy, civil liberty and privacy issues. His work has appeared extensively in ''Wired.com'', and Singel co-founded the Threat Level blog with journalist and c ...

, class of 1995 – blogger, co-founder of Contextly and Threat Level * Carolyn Mackler, class of 1995 – author * Rachel Simmons, class of 1996 – Rhodes Scholar and author * Taije Silverman, class of 1996, poet *

Owen King Owen Philip King (born February 21, 1977) is an American author and the younger son of authors Stephen and Tabitha King. Early life King was born in 1977 in Maine to parents Tabitha and Stephen King. He has two older siblings, Naomi King an ...

, class of 1999 – author; son of Stephen King * Melissa Walker, class of 1999 – author * Stephen Motika, class of 1999 – poet, editor, and publisher *

Jesse Ball Jesse Ball (born June 7, 1978) is an American novelist and poet. He has published novels, volumes of poetry, short stories, and drawings. His works are distinguished by the use of a spare style and have been compared to those of Jorge Luis Borges ...

, class of 2000 – poet and author *

Shaenon K. Garrity Shaenon K. Garrity is a webcomic creator and science-fiction author best known for her webcomics ''Narbonic'' and '' Skin Horse''. She collaborated with various artists to write webcomics for the Modern Tales-family of webcomic subscription serv ...

, class of 2000 – webcomics writer and artist *

Aimee Friedman Aimee Friedman (born 1979) is the author of several young adult novels published by Scholastic Inc., Point and S&S. Her novels ''South Beach'' (2004) (a ''New York Times'' bestseller), ''French Kiss'' (2005), ''Hollywood Hills'' (2007) and ''T ...

, class of 2001 – writer of young adult fiction *

Alexandra Berzon Alexandra Berzon is an American investigative reporter for ''The New York Times''. She previously wrote for ProPublica and ''The Wall Street Journal''. Her 2008 series of investigative stories about the deaths of construction workers on the Las ...

, class of 2001 – writer * Shelby Bach, class of 2008 – author * M.J. Alexander *

Augusta Clawson Augusta Holmes Clawson (June 23, 1903 – May 13, 1997) was an American civil servant, and writer of ''Shipyard Diary of a Woman Welder'', a diary about welding in World War II. Clawson was a graduate of Vassar. In 1943, she was assigned by th ...

* Geri Doran – poet * Michael Scharf – poet and critic * Jane Mead – writer *

Delia Sherman Cordelia Caroline Sherman (born 1951, Tokyo, Japan), known professionally as Delia Sherman, is an American fantasy writer and editor. Her novel ''The Porcelain Dove'' won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. Background Sherman attended The Chapin Scho ...

– fantasy writer and editor * Kimberly McCreight – author and lawyer * Rosianna Halse Rojas – writer, video blogger, social media manager and online personality * Michael Wolff, class of 1975 – author of '' Fire and Fury''

Attended, but did not graduate

* Anthony Bourdain (''graduated from

The Culinary Institute of America The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is a private culinary school with its primary campus in Hyde Park, New York, and branch campuses in St. Helena and Napa, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Singapore. The college, which was the firs ...

''), chef, writer * Janet Cooke, journalist forced to return a Pulitzer Prize for a fabricated story (claimed to have had a degree but did not)THE PLAYERS: It Wasn't a Game - The Washington Post
/ref> *

Mike D Michael Louis Diamond (born November 20, 1965), better known as Mike D, is an American rapper, musician, and music producer. He is best known as a founding member of the hip hop group Beastie Boys. Early life Diamond was born in New York Cit ...

(Michael Diamond), rapper ( Beastie Boys) * Jane Fonda (''graduated from

The Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded ...

''), actress *

Katharine Graham Katharine Meyer Graham (June 16, 1917 – July 17, 2001) was an American newspaper publisher. She led her family's newspaper, ''The Washington Post'', from 1963 to 1991. Graham presided over the paper as it reported on the Watergate scandal, whi ...

(''graduated from the

''), publisher of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' *

Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, she was among the world's highest-paid actresses in 2 ...

(''graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

''), actress * Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (''graduated from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

''), First Lady *

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, R ...

DJ *

Curtis Sittenfeld Elizabeth Curtis Sittenfeld (born 1975) is an American writer. She is the author of a collection of short stories, ''You Think it, I’ll Say It'' (2018), as well as six novels: ''Prep'' (2005), the story of students at a Massachusetts prep sch ...

(''graduated from Stanford University''), author *

Anne-Marie O'Connor Anne-Marie O'Connor is an American journalist and writer who authored The Lady in Gold: The Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, the bestselling story of the battle by Vienna emigre Maria Altmann to rec ...

, (''graduated from

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...

''), journalist, award-winning author of "The Lady in Gold, the Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer" *

Neil Strauss Neil Darrow Strauss, also known by the pen names Style and Chris Powles, is an American author, journalist and ghostwriter. He is best known for his book '' The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists'', in which he describes his ...

(''graduated from Columbia College''), author and journalist * Rachael Yamagata (''graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

''), singer

Fictional

As a famous and historically important college, Vassar has attracted much attention in fictional works. A partial list of cultural references to Vassar can be found here: Vassar College in popular culture.

Faculty

Anthropology Department

Martha Warren Beckwith Martha Warren Beckwith (January 19, 1871 – January 28, 1959) was an American folklorist and ethnographer, appointed to the first chair in Folklore established in the U.S. Early life and education Beckwith was born in Wellesley Heights, Mass ...

* Martha Kaplan *

Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured frequently as an author and speaker in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard C ...

, visiting lecturer *

Colin Turnbull Colin Macmillan Turnbull (November 23, 1924 – July 28, 1994) was a British-American anthropologist who came to public attention with the popular books '' The Forest People'' (on the Mbuti Pygmies of Zaire) and '' The Mountain People'' (on the ...

, visiting lecturer

Art Department

* Leila Cook Barber, art historian. * Alfred H. Barr Jr. * C.K. Chatterton *

Gregory Crewdson Gregory Crewdson (born September 26, 1962) is an American photographer. He photographs tableaux of American homes and neighborhoods. Life and career Crewdson was born in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. He attended John Dew ...

Richard Krautheimer Richard Krautheimer (6 July 1897 in Fürth (Franconia), Germany – 1 November 1994 in Rome, Italy) was a 20th-century art historian, architectural historian, Baroque scholar, and Byzantinist. Biography Krautheimer was born in Germany in 1897, t ...

Brian Lukacher Brian Lukacher is an American art historian and educator. Lukacher is currently Professor of Art History at Vassar College. Career A native of York, Pennsylvania, York, Lukacher received three degrees in Art History: a Bachelor of Arts from the ...

* Elias Lyman Magoon, visiting lecturer * Molly Nesbit *

Lewis Pilcher Lewis F. Pilcher, AIA (1871–1941), was an American academic and architect active in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century New York City. With William G. Tachau, he was a partner of Pilcher and Tachau, the predecessor firm of ...

* Harry Roseman * Concetta Scaravaglione * Carolee Schneemann, visiting lecturer * Andrew Tallon * Oliver Samuel Tonks *

Henry Van Ingen Henry Van Ingen (12 November 1833, The Hague - 17 November 1898, Poughkeepsie, New York) was a Dutch painter who for many years taught art at Vassar College in the United States. Career Hendrik van Ingen studied at the Hague Academy of Design fr ...

Dance Department

Miriam Mahdaviani Miriam Mahdaviani is a choreographer, a former New York City Ballet dancer and a ''repetiteur'' for the George Balanchine Trust. She has created ballets for NYCB's 1988 American Music Festival and its Diamond Project in 1992, 1994,1997, 2000 and 200 ...

* John Meehan (dancer)

Drama Department

Jean Arthur Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American Broadway and film actress whose career began in silent films in the early 1920s and lasted until the early 1950s. Arthur had feature roles in three F ...

* Larry Atlas * Catherine Filloux *

Hallie Flanagan Hallie Flanagan Davis (August 27, 1889 in Redfield, South Dakota – June 23, 1969 in Old Tappan, New Jersey) was an American theatrical producer and director, playwright, and author, best known as director of the Federal Theatre Project, a pa ...

Shona Tucker Shona Tucker is an American actress and director. Beginning in the 1990s, she had roles in several television shows including ''Law & Order'' and ''New York Undercover''. She has appeared in regional theater, including at the Oregon Shakespeare Fe ...

English Department

* Donald Foster * Eamon Grennan *

Hua Hsu Hua Hsu (born 1977) is an American writer and academic, based in New York City. He is a professor of English at Bard College and a staff writer at ''The New Yorker''. His work includes investigations of immigrant culture in the United States, as ...

* Michael Joyce * Amitava Kumar *

Kiese Laymon Kiese Laymon (born August 15, 1974, Jackson, Mississippi) is a Black southern writer from Jackson, Mississippi. He is a professor of English and Creative Writing at Rice University. He is the author of three full-length books: a novel, ''Long D ...

* Thomas Mallon *

Gabriela Mistral Lucila Godoy Alcayaga (; 7 April 1889 – 10 January 1957), known by her pseudonym Gabriela Mistral (), was a Chilean poet-diplomat, educator and humanist. In 1945 she became the first Latin American author to receive a Nobel Prize in Li ...

* Mary Mitchell * Paul Russell *

Nancy Willard Nancy Willard (June 26, 1936 – February 19, 2017) was an American writer: novelist, poet, author and occasional illustrator of children's books. She won the 1982 Newbery Medal for ''A Visit to William Blake's Inn''. Biography Willard was born in ...

History Department

* Robert K. Brigham *

James H. Merrell James Hart Merrell (born 1953 in Minnesota) is the Lucy Maynard Salmon Professor of History at Vassar College. Merrell is primarily a scholar of early American history, and has written extensively on Native American history during the colonial er ...

* Lucy Maynard Salmon

Mathematics Department

* Louise Duffield Cummings *

Music Department

* Gustav Dannreuther *

Karen Holvik Karen Holvik is an American classical soprano and voice teacher. Holvik was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the daughter of Karl Holvik (1921–2003), clarinetist, conductor, and Professor of Music at the University of Northern Iowa from 1947 to 198 ...

Ernst Krenek Ernst Heinrich Krenek (, 23 August 1900 – 22 December 1991) was an Austrian, later American, composer of Czech origin. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including ''Music Here and Now'' (1939), a study ...

Annea Lockwood Annea Lockwood (born July 29, 1939, in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born American composer and academic musician. She taught electronic music at Vassar College. Her work often involves recordings of natural found sounds. She has a ...

Harold Meltzer Harold Meltzer (born 1966 in Brooklyn) is an American composer. Harold is inspired by a wide variety of stimuli, from architectural spaces to postmodern fairy tales and messages inscribed in fortune cookies. In ''Fanfare (magazine), Fanfare Magazin ...

Quincy Porter William Quincy Porter (February 7, 1897 – November 12, 1966) was an American composer and teacher of classical music. Biography Born in New Haven, Connecticut, he went to Yale University where his teachers included Horatio Parker and David St ...

John Solum John Solum (born 1935, Wisconsin) is an American musician, author, educator, and advocate for the arts. Professional career Early years Settling in New York City in 1958, John Solum launched an international solo and chamber music career. Not ...

* Richard Wilson

Philosophy Department

* Giovanna Borradori *

David Kelley David Christopher Kelley (born June 23, 1949) is an American philosopher. He is a professed Objectivist, though his position that Objectivism can be revised and influenced by other schools of thought has prompted disagreements with other Objec ...

* Mitchell Miller *

Uma Narayan Uma Narayan (born 16 April 1958) is an Indian feminist scholar and a current professor of philosophy at Vassar College on the Andrew W. Mellon Chair of Humanities. Narayan's work focuses on the epistemology of the inequities involving postcolo ...

Physics and Astronomy Department

Debra Elmegreen Debra Meloy Elmegreen (born November 23, 1952 in South Bend, Indiana) is an American astronomer. She was the first woman to graduate from Princeton University with a degree in astrophysics, and she was the first female post-doctoral researcher a ...

* Caroline Furness *

Maud Worcester Makemson Maud Worcester Makemson (September 16, 1891—December 25, 1977) was an American astronomer, a specialist on archaeoastronomy, and director of Vassar Observatory. Early life and education Maud Lavon Worcester was born in 1891 in Center Harbor, ...

Maria Mitchell Maria Mitchell (Help:IPA/English, /məˈraɪə/; August 1, 1818 – June 28, 1889) was an American astronomer, librarian, naturalist, and educator. In 1847, she discovered a comet named 1847 VI (modern designation C/1847 T1) that was later kno ...

Mary Watson Whitney Mary Watson Whitney (September 11, 1847 – January 20, 1921) was an Americans, American astronomer and for 22 years the head of the Vassar Observatory where 102 scientific papers were published under her guidance. Early life and education ...

Political Science Department

Mary Lyndon Shanley Mary Lyndon Shanley (born 1944) is a feminist legal scholar specializing in issues of the American family and reproductive technologies. Her book ''Just Marriage'' weighed into the controversy around gay marriage with a historical and political s ...

* Peter Stillman

Psychology Department

Diana Zuckerman Diana M. Zuckerman (born 16 June 1950) is an American health policy analyst who focuses on the implications of policies for public health and patients' health. She specializes in national health policy, particularly in women's health and the saf ...

Other departments

Alida Avery Alida Avery (1833–1908) was a Vassar College faculty member and a physician. In Colorado, she was thought to be the first woman licensed to practice medicine in the state. She was also the Superintendent of Hygiene for Colorado. Avery was among ...

, Physiology and Hygiene * Harriet Isabel Ballintine, Athletics and Physical Education *

Mark Dion Mark Dion (born August 28, 1961) is an American conceptual artist best known for his use of scientific presentations in his installations. His work examines the manner in which prevalent ideologies and institutions influence our understanding ...

, visiting lecturer *

Liza Donnelly Liza Donnelly is an American cartoonist and writer, best known for her work in ''The New Yorker'' and is resident cartoonist of CBS News. Donnelly is the creator of digital live drawing, a new form of journalism wherein she draws using a tablet, ...

, ''The New Yorker'' staff cartoonist; American Culture and Women's Studies * Heinz Insu Fenkl, writer, editor, folklorist, and translator; visiting faculty * Louise Holland, Academic, philologist and archaeologist * Geoffrey A. Jehle, Economics * Abby Leach, Greek * Hannah Lyman, first lady principal of Vassar College * Richard Möller, Coach of the Soccer team * Joseph Nevins, Geography * Aaron Louis Treadwell, Zoology * Adelaide Underhill, librarian * Helen Worthing Webster, Physiology and Hygiene

References

Eva March Tappan
a
Vassar College Libraries Archives & Special Collections
Accessed December 10, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Notable Vassar College Alumni *