# List of Syracuse University people

This is a list of people associated with Syracuse University, including founders, financial benefactors, notable alumni, notable educators, and speakers. Syracuse University has over 250,000 alumni representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and more than 170 countries and territories.

## Founders

* Charles Andrews – lawyer and politician
* George F. Comstock – lawyer and politician
* Jesse Truesdell Peck – bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church; first chairman of the university's board of trustees
* George L. Taylor – physician and political

## Notable benefactors

* John Dustin Archbold – businessman and oil refiner
* Andrew Carnegie – industrialist and philanthropist
* George F. Comstock – lawyer and politician
* Joseph Lubin – accountant and businessman
* Donald Newhouse – businessman and philanthropist
* Samuel Irving Newhouse, Jr. – businessman and philanthropist
* Samuel Irving Newhouse, Sr. – businessman and publisher
* Eliphalet Remington – engineer who founded what would become known as Remington Arms
* Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage – philanthropist known for her contributions to education and progressive causes
* Lyman Cornelius Smith – innovator and industrialist
* Thomas J. Watson – businessman who was the chairman and CEO of IBM
* Martin J. Whitman – investment adviser and namesake of Martin J. Whitman School of Management

## Notable alumni
### Arts and letters

* Nilo Alcala – composer; recipient of the Aaron Copland House Residency Award and a Los Angeles Master Chorale commission
* Julia Alvarez – poet, novelist, and essayist
* Donna Alvermann – educator and researcher
* Joe Amato – writer and poet
* Brad Anderson – cartoonist and creator of the comic strip Marmaduke
* Robb Armstrong – cartoonist and creator of the comic strip Jump Start
* Bonnie August – fashion designer
* Maltbie D. Babcock – clergyman and writer of the 19th century
* Harriete Estel Berman – artist
* James Bishop – painter
* Nydia Blas – photographer
* Joel Brouwer – poet, professor, and critic
* Gordon Chandler – sculptor
* Wendy Coakley-Thompson – author
* Stephen Crane – poet, novelist, and short story writer
* Virginia Cuthbert – artist
* Mabel Potter Daggett – writer, journalist, editor, and suffragist
* Aleš Debeljak – cultural critic, poet, and essayist
* Frances Farrand Dodge – painter, illustrator, and teacher
* Stephen Dunn – poet and educator who won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
* Birgitta Moran Farmer – artist who won the 1906 Hiram Gee Award in Painting
* Paul Finkelman – legal historian
* Moses Finley – academic and classical scholar
* Carlisle Floyd – omposer known for his operas
* Scott Froschauer – artist and sculptor
* Whitney Gaskell – author
* Sharon Gold – artist and professor
* William Pratt Graham – professor and sixth chancellor of Syracuse University
* Clement Greenberg – art critic
* Henry Grethel – fashion designer
* Beth Gylys – poet and professor
* Wendy Anderson Halperin – illustrator and author of children's books
* Beth Harrington – filmmaker and musician
* Michael Herr – writer and war correspondent
* Susan Joy Hassol – author and science communicator
* Shirley Jackson – writer known for her works of horror and mystery
* Morton L. Janklow – literary agent
* Betsey Johnson – fashion designer
* David N. Johnson – organist, composer, educator, choral clinician, and lecturer
* Joseph S. Kozlowski – portrait and watercolor artist
* Hilton Kramer – art critic and essayist
* Barbara Kruger – conceptual artist and collagist
* Sol LeWitt – artist
* James F. Light – literary scholar, professor, and academic administrator
* Mark Lombardi – neo-conceptual artist
* Frederick D. Losey – Shakespearian scholar and elocutionist
* Jenni Lukac – audio-visual artist
* John D. MacDonald – writer of novels and short stories
* James MacKillop – professor and scholar of Celtic and Irish studies and an arts journalist
* Don Maloney – author
* Barry N. Malzberg – writer and editor
* Jerre Mangione – writer and scholar
* Robert Mankoff – cartoonist, editor, and author
* Mary Emma Griffith Marshall - editor and librarian
* Donald Martino – Pulitzer Prize-winning composer
* Clifton E. Marsh – author, sociologist, and educator
* Scott McCloud – cartoonist and comics theorist
* Jay McInerney – novelist, screenwriter, editor, and columnist
* Aribert Munzner – artist
* Joyce Carol Oates – novelist
* Robert O'Connor – novelist
* Tom Perrotta – novelist and screenwriter
* John Pfahl – photographer and professor
* Salvador Plascencia – novelist
* Kim Ponders – novelist
* William Powhida – artist
* Mary Jo Putney – romance novelist
* Jimmy Ridlon – sports painter and sculptor, also a former professional football player
* M. J. Rose – author and book marketing executive
* William Safire – Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator and former New York Times columnist
* George Saunders – short-story writer
* Alice Sebold – novelist
* Henry Selick – director and animator
* Laurie Gwen Shapiro – novelist, director, Independent Spirit Award for Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale
* Anthony Veasna So – Cambodian-American short story writer
* Esther Baker Steele – educator, author, traveler, philanthropist
* Cheryl Strayed – novelist, memoirist, and essayist
* Elizabeth Strout – novelist
* William Tester – short story writer
* Dorothy Thompson – journalist
* Jack Tippit – cartoonist
* Ada Josephine Todd – author and educator
* Ryan Van Winkle – poet
* Irene Vilar – author and literary agent
* Kate Vrijmoet – artist
* Lori Weitzner – textile designer
* Stephanie Welsh – Pulitzer prize-winning photographer turned midwife
* John A. Williams – novelist
* Howard Wyeth – drummer and pianist

### Education

* Molly Corbett Broad – president, American Council on Education
* Walter Broadnax – president, Clark Atlanta University
* George Campbell Jr. – former president, Cooper Union
* Mary Schmidt Campbell – president, Spelman College
* Kent John Chabotar – president, Guilford College
* R. Inslee Clark, Jr. – Director of Admissions, Yale College
* Michael Crow – president, Arizona State University
* Mark Emmert – president, University of Washington
* Paul Finkelman – president, Gratz College
* Welthy Honsinger Fisher – founder, World Education and World Literacy Canada
* A. Lee Fritschler – former president, Dickinson College (MPA'60 & PhD '65)
* Jonathan Gibralter – president, State University of New York at Farmingdale
* Shelley Haley – Professor of Classics and Africana Studies, Hamilton College
* Kermit L. Hall – former president, State University of New York at Albany, Utah State University
* Alice Ilchman – president, Sarah Lawrence College
* David Knapp – president, University of Massachusetts
* Jay Maddock – Regents Professor, Texas A&M University
* Barry Mills – president, Bowdoin College
* Sean O'Keefe – former Chancellor, Louisiana State University (LSU)
* L. Jay Oliva – former president, New York University
* Joseph Rallo – president, Angelo State University
* Mark Reckase – University Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Michigan State University
* Kenneth P. Ruscio – president, Washington and Lee University
* Donna Shalala – president, University of Miami
* Deborah F. Stanley – president, State University of New York at Oswego
* Mitchel Wallerstein – president, Baruch College

### Investors, industrialists, and executives

* P.O. Ackley – world-renowned gunsmith, CEO, P.O. Ackley Inc.
* Ben Baldanza – airline executive and former CEO of Spirit Airlines
* Al-Waleed bin Talal – founder and president, Kingdom Holding Co
* William J. Brodsky – chairman and chief executive officer of the Chicago Board Options Exchange
* Stanley Chais (1926–2010) – investment advisor in the Madoff investment scandal
* Dennis Crowley – co-founder, Foursquare
* Mary C. Daly – president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
* Daniel A. D'Aniello – co-founder and chairman, the Carlyle Group
* Nick Donofrio – senior vice president, Technology & Manufacturing, IBM
* Bernard Goldberg (1948) – Co-founder of Raymour & Flanigan
* William James – director, Lazard Freres & Company
* E. Floyd Kvamme – partner emeritus, Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers; chairman, Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology under President George W Bush
* Jeff McCormick – founder, Saturn Partners, and Independent candidate for governor in the Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2014
* Richard Menschel – (retired) senior director of Goldman Sachs, philanthropist
* Robert Menschel – (retired) legendary senior director of Goldman Sachs, philanthropist, created Wall Street's first institutional department
* Sean O'Keefe – former chairman of Airbus Group, Inc.
* Lowell W. Paxson – founder of Home Shopping Network
* Kirthiga Reddy – former MD of Facebook India
* Arthur Rock – venture capitalist, co-founder of Intel and father figure to Apple founder Steve Jobs
* Vishal Sikka – CEO and MD (Designate) Infosys Ltd.
* Rajesh Subramaniam – CEO and president, FedEx
* Abhay Vakil – Indian businessman and non-executive director of Asian Paints Ltd
* Martin J. Whitman – founder, co-chiefinvestment officer, Third Avenue Value Fund

### Hospitality, real estate, construction, and architecture

* Princess Rajwa Al Hussein – architect; member of the Jordanian royal family
* Dean Alvord – developer known best for developing Belle Terre, New York, Prospect Park South, and Roslyn Estates, New York
* Harley Baldwin – developer in Aspen, Colorado
* Thomas Wilson Boyde Jr. (1905–1981) – first Black architect in Rochester, New York
* Arthur Bridgman Clark – architect, professor, first head of the Art Department at Stanford University
* Thom Filicia – interior designer, author, television host
* Bruce Fowle – architect, Fox & Fowle Architects
* James Garrison – architect, Garrison Architects
* Adam Gross – architect, Ayers Saint Gross
* Wilbur R. Ingalls, Jr. – architect
* Lorimer Rich – architect, designed the Tomb of the Unknowns in Washington, DC and the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier in Rome, NY
* David Rockwell – founder and CEO, Rockwell Group
* Steve Rubell – former Studio 54 club owner
* Ian Schrager – hotelier and former Studio 54 club owner
* Werner Seligmann – architect

### Law and public service

* Bob Antonacci – former NYS Senate Member, NYS Supreme Court Judge
* Amir Hamzah Azizan – Minister of Finance II, Malaysia
* Andrew P. Bakaj – U.S. Attorney and lead counsel for the Whisteblower during the Impeachment Inquiry and the subsequent Impeachment of President Donald Trump
* Rostin Behnam – chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
* Craig Benson – former New Hampshire governor
* Beau Biden – former Attorney General of Delaware, son of Joe Biden
* Joe Biden – 46th president of the United States, 47th vice president of the United States, U.S. Senator from Delaware, chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
* Dave Bing – former mayor of Detroit, NBA Hall of Famer
* Carolyn Bourdeaux – Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 7th district
* Jon Bramnick – current New Jersey Assembly Minority Leader
* Angus Cameron – former Senator from Wisconsin
* Gary Chan – Member of Legislative Council of Hong Kong since 2008
* George Fletcher Chandler – first Superintendent of the New York State Police
* John T. Connor – former US Secretary of Commerce
* David Crane – former Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone
* Al D'Amato – former Senator from New York
* Willy De Clercq – former European Commissioner for Trade and External Relations, former Belgian Minister of Finance, Foreign Trade, and Budget; former Belgian Deputy Prime Minister
* John A. DeFrancisco – New York State Senator
* Robert Duffy – mayor of Rochester, New York, lt. governor, New York State
* Kwabena Dufuor – Finance Minister of Ghana and former governor, Bank of Ghana
* Ronald A. George – Maryland State Delegate
* James E. Graves, Jr. – United States Court of Appeals Judge for the Fifth Circuit, formerly Mississippi Supreme Court Justice
* Stanley L. Greigg – member of the U.S. House of Representatives from northwestern Iowa
* David Gurfein – U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, and CEO of nonprofit organization United American Patriots
* Steve Hagerty – 21st mayor of Evanston, Illinois
* Arthur T. Hannett – former Governor of New Mexico
* Kathy Hochul – Congresswoman, New York, Governor, New York State (’80)
* John Katko – Congressman, New York
* Randy Kuhl – Congressman, New York
* Mordecai Lee – Wisconsin State Senator
* Belva A. Lockwood (GC) – first woman to receive her party's nomination for President of the United States, and the first woman to argue a case before the US Supreme Court
* Oren Lyons – Onondaga faithkeeper and global indigenous leader
* William Magnarelli – New York State Assemblyman
* Joanie Mahoney – former Onondaga County Executive
* Neal P. McCurn – Senior Judge for the US District Court, Northern District of New York
* Theodore McKee – United States Court of Appeals Chief Judge for the Third Circuit
* Rodney C. Moen – Wisconsin State Senator
* Toby Moffett – former US Congressman from Connecticut
* Norman A. Mordue – Chief Judge for the US District Court, Northern District of New York
* John H. Mulroy – former Onondaga County Executive
* Bismarck Myrick – former US Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia and Lesotho
* Sean O'Keefe – former NASA administrator
* Masahide Ota – former Governor of Okinawa, Japan
* Elliott Portnoy – Chairman of SNR Denton
* John Prevas – Circuit Court Judge, City of Baltimore
* Steven Rothman – Congressman, New Jersey
* Warren Rudman – former Senator, New Hampshire
* Frederick J. Scullin, Jr. – Senior Judge for the US District Court, Northern District of New York
* Donna Shalala – former Secretary, US Department of Health and Human Services, US House of Representatives from Florida
* Salvador del Solar – former prime minister of Peru
* Glenn T. Suddaby – Justice for the US District Court, Northern District of New York
* John H. Terry – former US Congressman
* Sandra L. Townes – Justice for the US District Court, Eastern District of New York
* Harry L. Twaddle – U.S. Army major general
* Deborah VanAmerongen – strategic policy adviser
* Mitchel Wallerstein – former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for counter-proliferation policy
* Ben Walsh – 54th Mayor of Syracuse
* George Warrington – NJ Transit president and former Amtrak president
* David P. Weber – former Assistant Inspector General for Investigations at the US Securities and Exchange Commission
* John P. White – former Deputy Secretary, US Department of Defense
* Kalyan Roy – former member of the upper house of the Parliament of India

### Media and communications

* Russ Alben – advertising executive, created the Timex tagline, "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking"
* Marv Albert – sportscaster
* David Amber – reporter, ESPN
* Damon Amendolara – sportscaster
* Michael Barkann – sportscaster, Comcast SportsNet, 94WIP Philadelphia
* Len Berman – sportscaster
* Matthew Berry – ESPN fantasy sports analyst
* Paul Bouche – TV producer, media personality
* Contessa Brewer – broadcast journalist, MSNBC
* Samantha Brown – TV host
* Steve Bunin – sportscaster, ESPN
* Ryan Burr – sportscaster, ESPN, NBC and Golf Channel
* Mary Calvi – journalist, anchor at WCBS-TV, New York City
* Craig Carton – co-host, Boomer and Carton in the Morning, WFAN NY
* Joe Castiglione – Boston Red Sox radio announcer
* Ernest Chappell – radio and television announcer
* Dick Clark – television personality, American Bandstand, Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve
* Michael Cole – WWE commentator
* Ed Coleman – sportscaster, WFAN NY
* Bob Costas – sportscaster, NBC Sports and MLB Network
* Denise D'Ascenzo (1958–2019) – television news anchorwoman (WFSB-TV in Hartford, Connecticut)
* Bob Dotson – journalist
* Ian Eagle – sportscaster, CBS and YES
* Emme – plus-size model and TV host
* Susan Feeney – journalist, former senior editor for NPR
* Marty Glickman – sportscaster
* Jeff Glor – anchor, CBS Evening News
* Daniel J. Halstead – publisher of The Syracuse Daily Union (1860), The Syracuse Daily Courier and Union (1860–1869), The Syracuse Daily Courier (1869–1888) and The Syracuse Courier (1888–1898) newspapers
* Scott Hanson – sportscaster, NFL Network, host of NFL RedZone
* Vaughn Harper – radio DJ, WBLS NY Quiet Storm, basketball player, musician
* Ariel Helwani – MMA journalist
* Deborah Henretta – senior advisor, SSA & Company; retired group president, Procter & Gamble
* Larry Hryb – Xbox Live Director of Programming
* Avery Yale Kamila – vegan food columnist, Portland Press Herald
* Megyn Kelly – news anchor, Fox News Channel
* Ted Koppel – broadcast journalist, Nightline
* Larry Kramer – president and publisher of USA Today
* Michael Kranish – journalist
* Steve Kroft – co-editor and news correspondent, 60 Minutes
* Chris Licht – former chairman and CEO of CNN
* Mike McAlary – Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
* Sean McDonough – sportscaster, ESPN
* Joe McNally – photographer
* Jeanne Moos – news correspondent, CNN
* Will Murray – researcher and segment producer, The Howard Stern Show
* Akshay Nanavati – USMC, author of Fearvana
* Jim Naughtie – British journalist and radio presenter
* Diane Nelson – president of DC Entertainment
* Bob Neumeier – sportscaster, NBC
* Donald Newhouse – president, Advance Publications
* S.I. Newhouse, Jr. – chairman and CEO of Advance Publications; chairman of Conde Nast Publications
* Greg Papa – sportscaster, Oakland Raiders
* Dave Pasch – sportscaster, ESPN
* Jeff Passan – baseball journalist, ESPN
* Henry Jarvis Raymond – (GWS), Founder of the New York Times
* Dave Roberts – weatherman, broadcaster and presenter, WPVI-TV
* Sam Roberts – broadcaster, SiriusXM, Jim Norton & Sam Roberts, WWE
* Dan Roche – sportscaster, WBZ-TV, Boston, MA
* Harry M. Rosenfeld – former editor, Washington Post
* Dave Ryan – sportscaster, ESPN
* Robert Scheer – editor-in-chief of TruthDig, former managing editor of Ramparts, professor, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
* Adam Schein – SNY, Sirius XM Satellite radio NFL
* Bob Shannon – radio DJ/Announcer, CBS-FM New York
* Arun Shourie – Padma Bhushan recipient, World Bank Economist, former editor of Times of India and Indian Express
* Anish Shroff – ESPNews anchor
* Andrew Siciliano – sportscaster, NFL Network, host of DirecTV Red Zone Channel
* Fred Silverman – former president, NBC
* Lakshmi Singh – newscaster, journalist, NPR
* Jayson Stark – journalist, sportscaster, ESPN
* Dick Stockton – sportscaster
* John Sykes – president of iHeartMedia Entertainment Enterprises
* Mike Tirico – sportscaster, NBC
* Priit Vesilind – journalist, National Geographic
* Nick Wright – TV host, radio talk show, Fox Sports 1
* Justin Robert Young – podcaster, journalist, comedian and writer
* Adam Zucker – sportscaster/anchor, CBS Sports Network

### Science, engineering, innovation, medicine, and exploration

* Joseph A. Ahearn – civil engineer of the U.S. Air Force; member of the National Academy of Engineering
* Ishfaq Ahmad – Professor of Computer Science
* Betty Lise Anderson – Professor of Optical Science
* Albert Baez – developer of the X-ray reflection microscope, physics educator, and father of Joan Baez
* John Boardman – physics educator, social activist, and gaming authority
* Daniela Bortoletto – experimental particle physicist, Nicholas Kurti Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University
* Charles F. Brannock – inventor and manufacturer; inventor of the Brannock Device
* Rubin Braunstein – semiconductor physics, pioneer of LEDs
* Penny Budoff – physician and medical researcher; author of No More Hot Flashes and Even More Good News
* Marilyn Burns; mathematics educator and the author of over a dozen children's books on mathematics
* George Campbell Jr. – theoretical physicist; eleventh president of Cooper Union
* Eileen Collins – NASA astronaut and first female Space Shuttle commander
* Alice Carter Cook – botanist and writer, first woman PhD in botany from an American university
* Tesfaye Dinka – industrial engineer; Prime Minister of Ethiopia from April to June 1991
* Nina Fedoroff – geneticist and molecular biologist; Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State; recipient of the National Medal of Science in 2007; member of the National Academy of Sciences
* Joan Feynman – astrophysicist, younger sister of physicist Richard Feynman
* Robert Finn – mathematician and professor
* Edith M. Flanigen – chemist and inventor; winner of the 2014 National Medal of Technology and Innovation
* George E. Fox – biologist and chemical engineer; co-discoverer of the Archaea kingdom of organisms
* Jean Fréchet – chemist and professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley
* Barry Gingell – internist, nutritionist, computer scientist and AIDS activist
* Joshua N. Goldberg – pioneering researcher in general relativity, professor emeritus at Syracuse University
* Gabriela González – former spokesperson for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration; winner of the National Academy of Sciences Award for Scientific Discovery (2017); member of the National Academy of Sciences
* Hermann Gummel – semiconductor device physicist; member of the National Academy of Engineering
* John J. Hopfield – spectroscopist and discoverer of the Hopfield bands of molecular oxygen (O$_2$)
* Robert Jarvik – inventor of the first permanently implantable artificial heart
* Hongxing Jiang – semiconductor physicist, inventor of the microLED display
* Joel Lebowitz – statistical physicist; member of the National Academy of Sciences
* Jingyu Lin – semiconductor physicist
* Gilles Martin – French engineer, founder and executive chairman of Eurofins Scientific
* William Ralph Maxon – botanist and pteridologist
* Evangelia Micheli-Tzanakou – pioneer in neuroelectric systems and biomedical engineering education
* Pericles A. Mitkas – computer scientist and Rector of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
* Story Musgrave – NASA astronaut
* V. Parmeswaran Nair – theoretical particle physicist, Distinguished Professor at the City University of New York
* Ezra T. Newman – theoretical physicist, winner of the 2011 Einstein Prize
* Joy Osofsky – clinical and developmental psychologist, professor of clinical psychology and psychiatry, psychoanalyst
* Yude Pan – forest ecologist
* Martin A. Pomerantz – astrophysicist, president emeritus of the Bartol Research Institute, and pioneer of Antarctic astronomy
* Pierre Ramond – string theorist; winner of the 2004 Oskar Klein Medal
* Harry Frederick Recher – ornithologist; winner of the 1994 D.L. Serventy Medal
* Mark Reed – nanotechnology pioneer, Harold Hodgkinson Chair at Yale University
* Elsa Reichmanis – optical and electronic materials; member of the National Academy of Engineering; 2001 recipient of the Perkin Medal
* Karin Rodland – cancer cell biologist; Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; Laboratory Fellow of the U.S. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
* Charles Rosen – robotics; co-founder of Ridge Vineyards
* Joel Rosenbaum – cell biologist; winner of the E. B. Wilson Medal
* Rainer K. Sachs – theoretical astrophysicist, co-discoverer of the Sachs–Wolfe effect
* Sultan bin Salman – first Arab, first Muslim and the youngest person to travel to space
* Pantur Silaban – prominent Indonesian theoretical physicist
* Michael Streicher – developer of stainless steels; winner of the W. R. Whitney Award
* Salvatore Torquato – theoretical scientist who does research at the interface of physics, chemistry, and engineering
* James Tour – organic chemist and nanotechnologist
* José W. F. Valle – Brazilian-Spanish theoretical physicist noted for work on the mass of neutrinos
* Clarence Abiathar Waldo – mathematician and educator known for his role in the 1897 Indiana Pi Bill affair
* Sigi Ziering – industrial physicist, businessman, and philanthropist

### Sports

* Doc Alexander – football player and coach
* Will Allen – football player
* Gary Anderson – football player, former NFL record holder
* Carmelo Anthony – basketball player
* Julie Archoska – football player
* Art Baker – football player
* John Barsha – football player
* Mathieu Beaudoin – football player
* Matthew Bergeron – football player, Atlanta Falcons
* Dave Bing – basketball player; former mayor of Detroit, Michigan from 2009 to 2014
* Buddy Boeheim – basketball player
* Jim Boeheim – basketball player and coach, Syracuse University, member of the National Basketball Hall of Fame
* Nathan Bombrys – CEO, Rugby Canada
* Jim Brown – football player, lacrosse player, actor, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
* Keith Bulluck – football player
* Rob Burnett – football player
* Delone Carter – football player
* Michael Carter-Williams – basketball player
* Rakeem Christmas – basketball player
* Andre Cisco – football player, Jacksonville Jaguars
* DaJuan Coleman – basketball player
* Derrick Coleman – basketball player
* John Coleman – baseball player
* Jim Collins – football player
* Irv Constantine – football player
* Trevor Cooney – basketball player
* Tom Coughlin – consultant, Las Vegas Raiders; three-time Super Bowl champion head coach
* Larry Csonka – football player
* Donovin Darius – football player
* Al Davis – NFL owner
* Ernie Davis – football player, Heisman Trophy winner
* John Desko – lacrosse coach
* Riley Dixon – football player, Denver Broncos
* Sherman Douglas – basketball player
* Dennis DuVal – basketball player
* Randy Edsall – college football coach
* Joe Ehrmann – football player
* Tyler Ennis – basketball player
* David Falk – founder, SFX Basketball Group
* Jonny Flynn – basketball player
* Zaire Franklin – football player, Indianapolis Colts
* Dwight Freeney – football player
* Jim Frugone – football player
* Gary Gait – lacrosse player
* Paul Gait – lacrosse player
* Michael Gbinije — basketball player
* Jonah Goldman – MLB player
* Jerami Grant – basketball player, Portland Trail Blazers
* Tim Green – football player
* Donté Greene – basketball player
* Morlon Greenwood – football player
* Marvin Harrison – football player
* Jason Hart – basketball player
* Sterling Hofrichter – football player
* Qadry Ismail – football player
* Tanard Jackson – football player
* Paul Jappe – football player
* Wesley Johnson – basketball player
* Daryl Johnston – football player
* Arthur Jones – football player
* Chandler Jones – football player
* Tebucky Jones – football player
* Dwayne Joseph – football player
* Kris Joseph – basketball player
* Bill Kellogg, football player
* Mark Kerr – NCAA Wrestling Champion; retired MMA fighter; 2-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament winner
* Rob Konrad – football player
* Jim Konstanty – MLB pitcher
* Floyd Little – football player, Pro Football Hall of Fame member
* Tyler Lydon – basketball player
* John Mackey – former NFL tight end, has college award named after him given to the most outstanding tight end
* Olindo Mare – football player
* Doug Marrone – football coach
* Frank Matteo – football player
* Chris McCullough – basketball player
* Donovan McNabb – football player
* Gerry McNamara – basketball player
* Don McPherson – football player
* Dave Meggyesy – football player
* Ifeatu Melifonwu – football player, Detroit Lions
* Fab Melo – basketball player
* Eddie Miller – basketball player
* Art Monk – football player; NFL Hall of Fame inductee
* Tim Moresco – football player
* Joe Morris – football player
* Larry Morris – football player
* Lawrence Moten – basketball player
* Tom Myers – football player
* Jim Nance – football player
* Ryan Nassib – football player
* Doc Oberlander – former baseball player
* Henry Obst – football player
* Louis Orr – basketball player
* Billy Owens – basketball player
* Markus Paul – football player
* Greg Paulus – football player and former Duke University basketball player
* Scott Pioli – NFL executive
* Casey Powell – lacrosse player
* Mikey Powell – lacrosse player
* Ryan Powell – lacrosse player
* Myer Prinstein – Olympic medalist
* Andy Rautins – basketball player
* Malachi Richardson – basketball player
* Jim Ridlon – former professional football player; renowned sports painter and sculptor
* Jim Ringo – football player
* Alton Robinson – football player
* Victor Ross – lacrosse player
* Mike Rotunda – professional wrestler
* Abdi Salim – soccer player
* Greg Sankey – Commissioner, Southeastern Conference
* Danny Schayes – basketball player
* Gerhard Schwedes – football player
* Scott Schwedes – football player
* Sam Sebo – football player
* Rony Seikaly – basketball player
* Wilmeth Sidat-Singh – football and basketball player
* Kaseem Sinceno – football player
* Walt Singer – football player
* Chris Slayton – football player
* Anthony Smith – football player
* Walt Sweeney – football player
* Kathrine Switzer – marathon runner
* Etan Thomas – basketball player
* Shamarko Thomas – football player
* David Tyree – football player
* Dion Waiters – basketball player
* John Wallace – basketball player
* Stan Walters – football player
* Hakim Warrick – basketball player
* Anthony Washington – discus thrower, three-time Olympian
* Dwayne Washington – basketball player
* Howard Washington – basketball player
* Garrett Williams – football player, Arizona Cardinals
* Otis Wilson – football player
* Ray Witter – football player
* Paul Young – Jamaican soccer player/manager
* Katie Zaferes – triathlete

### Entertainment and performing arts

* Elfriede Abbe – sculptor
* Lynn Ahrens – musical theatre lyricist
* Martin Bandier – chairman and CEO of Sony/ATV
* Darryl Bell – actor
* Craig Borten – screenwriter
* Paul Bouche – TV host of A Oscuras Pero Encendidos; television producer
* Eric Bress – film director and screenwriter
* Tim Calpin – screenwriter
* Warren Casey – writer, lyricist, screenwriter
* Felix Cavaliere – singer with The Rascals
* Priscilla Chan – singer
* Clairo – singer-songwriter
* Claud - singer-songwriter
* Dick Clark – host of American Bandstand; television producer
* John Curran – film director and screenwriter
* Doug Davis – entertainment lawyer and Grammy Award-winning producer
* Taye Diggs – actor
* Eric J Dubowsky – Emmy and Grammy-winning musician and producer
* Heather Dubrow – actress; cast member on The Real Housewives of Orange County
* Zach Tyler Eisen – voice actor; voice of Aang on Avatar: The Last Airbender
* Peter Falk – actor
* Gary Farmer – actor
* Vera Farmiga – actress
* Wally Feresten – cue card supervisor for Saturday Night Live
* Judy Freudberg – screenwriter
* Ken Goldstein – musician known as "Jack Dempsey"; author
* Jami Gong – stand-up comedian
* Carl Gottlieb – screenwriter; vice-president of the Writers Guild of America, West
* Peter Guber – CEO of Mandalay Entertainment and co-owner of the Golden State Warriors
* Dan Gurewitch – writer
* Jay Harrington – actor
* Elizabeth Hendrickson – actress
* Bob Holz – musician
* Miriam Hopkins – actress
* Garland Jeffreys – musician
* Miss Jones – radio DJ and singer
* Irma Kalish – television writer
* Joe Klotz – film editor
* Lisa Lampanelli – comedian
* Frank Langella – actor, Frost/Nixon
* Meg LeFauve – screenwriter of Inside Out, Captain Marvel
* Sheldon Leonard – film and television actor, producer, director, and writer
* Riki Lindhome – actress
* Sam Lloyd – actor, musician
* Frank Marion – motion picture pioneer
* Neal McDonough – actor
* Andy Mineo – rapper, singer, producer, director, actor and minister
* Sterling Morrison – musician
* Jessie Mueller – Tony-winning actress
* Suzanne Pleshette – actress
* Mike Pollock – voice actor
* Lou Reed – musician
* Kevin Michael Richardson – actor
* Sam Roberts – radio broadcaster
* Doug Robinson – television producer
* Maria Sansone – television presenter
* Ken Schretzmann – film editor specializing in animated films; winner of the Ace Eddie Award for Toy Story 3
* Reid Scott – actor
* Tom Everett Scott – actor
* Aaron Sorkin – Emmy and Academy Award-winning screenwriter A Few Good Men, The Social Network, The West Wing, Moneyball
* Lexington Steele – actor, director, and owner of Mercenary Motion Pictures and Black Viking Pictures Inc.
* Jerry Stiller – actor
* Habib Tabani – Pakistani ghazal singer and industrialist
* Andrew Taggart – member of The Chainsmokers
* Arielle Tepper – Broadway producer
* Mark Tinker – television producer/director
* Stephen A. Unger – executive recruiter, media and entertainment business
* Jimmy Van Heusen – Academy Award-winning composer
* Bill Viola – video artist
* Michael H. Weber – screenwriter of (500) Days of Summer, The Spectacular Now, The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns
* Peter Weller – actor
* Vanessa Williams – singer-songwriter, actress, dancer, Miss America
* Pete Yorn – musician

### Fictional characters

* Jeff Bingham – protagonist of sitcom Rules of Engagement
* Winston Bishop – protagonist of sitcom New Girl
* Rachel Green – protagonist of sitcom Friends
* Terry Jeffords – revealed on Brooklyn Nine-Nine to have played football while attending Syracuse University
* Nick Miller – protagonist of sitcom New Girl
* Winston Schmidt – protagonist of sitcom New Girl

### Other

* Neilia Hunter Biden – teacher, first wife of Joe Biden
* Alexandra Curtis – Miss Rhode Island 2015
* Jane Dempsey Douglass – feminist theologian, ecclesiastical historian, and president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches
* Marc S. Ellenbogen – diplomat, philanthropist, President, Prague Society for International Cooperation
* Borys Gudziak – Catholic bishop, Metropolitan-Archbishop of Philadelphia (Ukrainian Greek Catholic)
* Lawrence Rudner - research statistician
* Forrest Vosler – World War II Medal of Honor recipient
* Michael Yeung Ming-cheung – Catholic Bishop, eighth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong
* John Zogby – pollster, Zogby International

## Notable educators

* Ismail al-Faruqi - philosopher and Islamic scholar
* William Alston – philosopher
* Julia Alvarez – poet, novelist, and essayist
* Richard Arnowitt – theoretical physicist
* Donna Arzt – attorney and legal scholar
* Abhay Ashtekar – theoretical physicist and creator of the Ashtekar variables for quantum gravity; member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences
* Ernst Bacon – prolific composer
* A. P. Balachandran – theoretical particle physicist
* Peter Bergmann – won the Einstein Prize for research on quantum gravity
* Catherine Bertini – United Nations under-secretary-general, winner of the 2003 World Food Prize
* Raymond Thayer Birge – physicist, president of the American Physical Society and chair of the University of California, Berkeley physics department
* Howard Boatwright – Music School dean
* Philip Booth – poet
* Mark Bowick – theoretical physicist noted for work in particle physics and condensed matter physics
* Zachary Braiterman – philosopher and religious studies scholar
* Arthur C. Brooks
* Lori Brown – architect and associate professor
* Horace Campbell – Department of African American Studies and Department of Political Science
* Massimo Carmassi – architect
* Raymond Carver – short story writer
* Simon Catterall – theoretical physicist specializing in elementary particles
* Bill Cole – musician, author (Department of African American Studies)
* David Crane – former Chief Prosecutor for Special Court of the Sierra Leone
* Teresa Abi-Nader Dahlberg – academic administrator and engineering professor
* Junot Díaz – writer
* Geoffrey C. Fox – theoretical physicist and computer scientist
* Tess Gallagher – poet, essayist, short story writer
* Joshua N. Goldberg – theoretical physicist noted for work on general relativity
* John Langston Gwaltney – professor of anthropology, author of Drylongso: A Self Portrait of Black America
* Per Brinch Hansen – computer scientist
* Douglas Holtz-Eakin – former Director of the U.S. Congressional Budget Office (2003–2005), and chief economic policy adviser to U.S. Senator John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign
* Henry Kandrup – theoretical astrophysicist
* Mary Karr – writer and poet
* Bruce Kingma – economist and academic entrepreneur
* Arthur Komar – theoretical physicist
* Louis Krasner – violinist
* Edgar Lane – professor of political science
* Melvin Lax – theoretical physicist and member of the National Academy of Sciences
* Cristina Marchetti – theoretical physicist specializing in soft condensed matter physics; member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences
* Donald Marolf – theoretical physicist who has worked on quantum gravity and relativity
* Roscoe C. Martin (1903–1972) – Professor of Political Science at Syracuse University from 1949 to 1972
* Janis Mayes – author, literary critic
* Ivan Meštrović – sculptor and artist
* Daniel Patrick Moynihan – Senator from New York, political scientist
* Micere Mugo – poet and playwright (Department of African American Studies, Department of Literature)
* Ei-ichi Negishi – chemist, winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize
* Romita Ray – art historian
* Fritz Rohrlich – theoretical physicist, pioneer of quantum electrodynamics
* Alexander Rosenberg – philosopher and novelist
* Peter Saulson – experimental physicist noted for work on gravitational wave astronomy
* George Saunders – writer
* Delmore Schwartz – poet
* Harry Schwartz – Soviet specialist, The New York Times editorial writer
* Milton Sernett – historian, author (Department of African American Studies, Department of History)
* James Roger Sharp – political historian
* Huston Smith – religious studies scholar
* Lee Smolin – theoretical physicist noted for work on quantum gravity
* Rafael Sorkin – theoretical physicist noted for work on quantum gravity
* Sheldon Stone – elementary particle physicist, winner of the Panofsky Prize
* Eileen Strempel – soprano, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, Associate Professor of Fine Arts
* George Sudarshan – theoretical physicist, winner of the Dirac Prize
* Robert Thompson – media historian
* Mark Trodden – theoretical cosmologist
* Douglas Unger – novelist
* Gabriel Vahanian – theologian, noted figure in the Death of God movement in 1960s
* Peter Van Inwagen – philosopher
* Kameshwar C. Wali – theoretical physicist, author
* Johan Wiklund – entrepreneurship professor and the Al Berg Chair at the Whitman School
* Frances Willard – 19th-century educator, temperance reformer, and women's suffragist
* Tobias Wolff – writer

## Notable commencement speakers and honored guests

* 2022 – David Muir, journalist and the anchor of ABC World News Tonight
* 2020 – Kathy Hochul, Congresswoman from New York, Governor of New York State ('80)
* 2018 – Mary C. Daly, economist and president of San Francisco Fed
* 2018 – Kathrine Switzer, athlete, author and activist ('68, G'72)
* 2017 – Vernon Jordan, lawyer, Business Executive, and civil rights activist
* 2016 – Donald Newhouse, president, Advance Publications
* 2015 – Mary Karr, poet and essayist
* 2014 – David Remnick, editor-in-chief, New Yorker
* 2013 – Nicholas Kristof, New York Times columnist
* 2012 − Aaron Sorkin, screenwriter, producer, and playwright
* 2011 – J. Craig Venter, biologist and entrepreneur, president of J. Craig Venter Institute
* 2010 – Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
* 2009 – Joseph R. Biden Jr., vice president of the US
* 2008 – Bob Woodruff, ABC News journalist
* 2007 – Frank McCourt, author, Pulitzer Prize winner
* 2006 – Billy Joel, composer and singer
* 2005 – Jane Goodall, primatologist, ethologist and anthropologist
* 2004 – Phylicia Rashad, actress
* 2003 – Bill Clinton, former U.S. president, 1993–2001
* 2002 – Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, 1994–2001
* 2001 – Eileen Collins, astronaut
* 2000 – Ted Koppel, journalist
* 1999 – Charles Schumer, U.S. Senator (D-NY), 1999–present
* 1998 – Robert Fulghum, author, essayist
* 1996 – Steve Kroft, journalist, long-time correspondent, 60 Minutes
* 1995 – Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services, 1993–2001
* 1994 – Kurt Vonnegut, novelist
* 1990 – William Safire, journalist
* 1989 – Daniel Patrick Moynihan, U.S. Senator (D-NY)
* 1988 – Malcolm Forbes, publisher of Forbes
* 1986 – Mario Cuomo, governor of New York
* 1983 – Daniel Boorstin, director, Library of Congress
* 1982 – Ted Koppel, journalist
* 1981 – Alexander Haig, U.S. Secretary of State, 1981–1982
* 1980 – Bill Moyers, journalist
* 1979 – Tom Brokaw, journalist
* 1978 – William Safire, journalist
* 1973 – Edward M. Kennedy, U.S. Senator (D-MA), 1962–2009
* 1969 – William F. Buckley, journalist
* 1968 – Walter Cronkite, journalist
* 1966 – Nelson Rockefeller, governor of New York, 1959–1973
* 1965 – Robert F. Kennedy, U.S. Senator (D-NY), 1965–1968
* 1964 – Lyndon B. Johnson, then U.S. president
* 1961 – Ayn Rand, novelist
* 1960 – Harry S. Truman, former U.S. president, 1945–1953
* 1959 – Robert Frost, poet
* 1957 – John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senator (D-MA), 1953–1960
* 1937 – Herbert Hoover, former U.S. president, 1929–1933
* 1930 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, governor of New York, 1928–1932