# List of Vassar College people

This is a partial list of notable alumni and faculty of Vassar College.

## Notable alumni
### Academics

* Jane Kelley Adams, class of 1875 — educator
* Heloise Hersey, class of 1876 – professor of literature
* Emily Jordan Folger, class of 1879 – co-founder of the Folger Shakespeare Library
* Phebe Temperance Sutliff, class of 1880 - president, Rockford College
* Anita Florence Hemmings, class of 1897 – Vassar College's first African-American graduate
* Katharine Blunt, class of 1898 – chemist, nutrition researcher, president of Connecticut College for Women
* Scottie Fitzgerald, class of 1942 – writer and journalist, only daughter of novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald
* Ida Hill, class of 1901 – archaeologist, classical scholar and historian
* Belle Turnbull, class of 1904 – award-winning poet
* Lisa Grabarek – teacher and Baptist preacher
* Marion Coats Graves, class of 1907 – philosophy, first president of Sarah Lawrence College
* Edith Clarke, class of 1908 – America's first female professor of electrical engineering
* Alice D. Snyder, class of 1909 (A.B.) and 1911 (A.M.) – Vassar College English professor 1914–1943
* Helen Hull Law (1890–1966), class of 1911, college professor of Latin and Greek
* Ruth Wendell Washburn, class of 1913 – educational psychologist
* Sydnor Harbison Walker (1891–1966), class of 1913 – economist
* Chen Hengzhe, class of 1919 – China's first female professor and a pioneer of vernacular literature
* Mildred H. McAfee, class of 1920 – president of Wellesley College and first director of WAVES (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 winner; research associate of Leonard D. White
* Mary Bunting, class of 1931 – microbiologist and president of Radcliffe College
* Millie Almy, class of 1936 – psychologist and "Grandame" of early childhood education
* Winifred Asprey, class of 1938 – pioneering mathematician and computer scientist
* Laura Sumner, class of 1942 – numismatist
* Nancy Nichols Barker, class of 1946 – professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin
* Jean Briggs, class of 1951 – anthropologist and expert on Inuit languages
* 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
* Margaret Dauler Wilson, class of 1960 – professor of philosophy at Princeton University
* Marcia P. Sward, class of 1961 – executive director of the Mathematical Association of America
* Ellen Rosand, class of 1961 – musicologist, historian, and opera critic
* Sau Lan Wu, class of 1963 – particle physicist and the Enrico Fermi Distinguished Professor of Physics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
* Sandra Lach Arlinghaus, class of 1964 – mathematical geographer; adjunct professor, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor); founder and director, Institute of Mathematical Geography
* Susan W. Coates, MA 1968 – psychologist, Columbia University
* M. R. C. Greenwood, class of 1968 – health scientist, president of the University of Hawaii
* Nancy Dye, class of 1969 – president of Oberlin College
* Jo Ann Gora, class of 1969 – president of Ball State University
* Vera Schwarz, class of 1969 – Freeman Professor of East Asian Studies at Wesleyan University
* Eugenia Del Pino, class of 1969 – developmental biologist; first Ecuadorian citizen to be elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences (2006)
* Susan Casteras, class of 1971 – professor of art history at the University of Washington
* Erica Funkhouser, class of 1971 – poet, professor at MIT
* Christopher W. Morris, class of 1971 – professor and chair of philosophy at the University of Maryland
* Gloria Cordes Larson, class of 1972 – politician and president of Bentley University
* Judith Malafronte, class of 1972 – mezzo-soprano on the faculty at Yale University, winner of the Grand Prize at the International Vocal Competition 's-Hertogenbosch
* Michael Kimmel, 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, class of 1973 – founding editor of Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture; professor at Williams College
* 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 at Lesley University
* Francisco Xavier Castellanos, 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
* Richard L. Huganir, 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 MIT professor
* Jeffrey Schnapp, 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 and co-editor in chief of the Language and Linguistics Compass
* Jyotsna Vaid, class of 1976 – professor of psychology at Texas A&M University
* Carole Maso, class of 1977 – novelist and essayist, professor of literary arts at Brown University
* Jamshed Bharucha, class of 1978 – former president of Cooper Union; cognitive neuroscientist
* Seamus Ross, class of 1979 – dean and professor at the iSchool at the University of Toronto; Founding Director of HATII
* John Carlstrom, class of 1981 – professor at the University of Chicago, MacArthur Award-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
* 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, New Mexico Highlands University, College of Santa Fe, University of Miami, and founding director of Artful Life
* Mark Burstein, class of 1984 – executive vice president of Princeton University; president of Lawrence University
* Rebecca Reynolds, class of 1984 – poet, administrator and professor at Rutgers University
* Keith Scribner, class of 1984 – novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, essayist and professor at Oregon State University
* Alison Boden, class of 1984 – author, dean of religious life and the dean of the chapel at Princeton University
* David B. Allison, class of 1985 – distinguished professor, Quetelet Endowed Professor of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham
* Andrea McCarren, class of 1985 – television journalist and educator, first teacher of broadcast journalism at Harvard University
* Tina Campt, class of 1986 – professor of women's studies at Barnard College
* Jennifer Summit, class of 1987 – professor of English, former chair of the Stanford University English Department
* Anne Brodsky, class of 1987 – professor in psychology and gender and women's studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County
* Seamus Carey, class of 1987 – president of Transylvania University
* Michael Witmore, class of 1989 – Director of the Folger Shakespeare Library
* 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
* Christina Maranci, class of 1990 – researcher, writer, translator, historian, and professor at Tufts University
* Maria Fadiman, class of 1991 – ethnobotanist and associate professor of geosciences at Florida Atlantic University
* Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas, class of 1991 – associate professor of ethics and society at the Vanderbilt University Divinity School
* Daniel Alexander Jones, class of 1991 – award-winning performance artist and playwright; assistant professor of theatre at Fordham University
* Sarah Churchwell, class of 1991 – professor of American literature and public understanding of the humanities at the University of East Anglia
* 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
* Erica Field, 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
* Jason Blakely, class of 2003 - political philosopher
* John Figdor, class of 2006 – Humanist Chaplain at Stanford University
* Helen L. Webster (1853–1928) – philologist and educator, taught at Vassar College 1889–1890 before leaving for Wellesley College

### Activists and philanthropists

* Mary Louise Frost, class of 1866 – peace activist, editor
* Mary Boyce Temple, 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, class of 1900 – suffrage and peace activist, children's author
* Edna L. Smith, class of 1907 - co-founder of Juvenile Protection Association, director of Western Wheeled Scraper Company (Austin-Western)
* Emma Waldo Smith Marshall, class of 1900 – missionary in Burma, taught Greek at a Baptist seminary
* Gertrude Gogin, class of 1908 – YWCA national secretary for girls' programs, 1918–1927
* Eliza Kennedy Smith, class of 1912 – prominent suffragist and government watchdog
* Eleanor Fitchen, class of 1934 – landmarks and environment in New York State
* Lucy Kennedy Miller, class of 1902 – prominent 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, class of 1963 – philanthropist, art collector, documentary filmmaker
* Phyllis Lambert, 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
* Jonathan Granoff, class of 1970 – president of the Global Security Institute
* Jessie Gruman, class of 1975 – author, founder and president of the Washington-based Center for Advancing Health
* Urvashi Vaid, 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
* Ilyse Hogue, class of 1991 – former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America
* 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

### Adventurers and athletes

* Alice Huyler Ramsey, class of 1907 – first woman to cross the continent driving a car
* Ethan Zohn, class of 1996 – Survivor: Africa winner and philanthropist

### Artists and architects

* Patty Prather Thum, class year unknown (19th century) – painter and art critic
* Elizabeth Coffin, class of 1870 – first person in the United States to receive their Master of Fine Arts
* 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
* Louise Serpa, class of 1946– rodeo photographer
* Linda Nochlin, class of 1951 – pioneer in the field of feminist art theory
* Mira Lehr, class of 1956 – artist
* Nancy Graves, class of 1961 – first woman to solo at the Whitney Museum of American Art
* Margaret McCurry, class of 1964 – architect
* Michael Portnoy, class of 1993 – multimedia artist, choreographer, musician, actor and curator
* Phyllis Lambert, class of 1947 – leading architect, creator of the Seagrams building in Manhattan, founder of the Canadian Centre for Architecture
* Mary Ping, class of 2000 – New York based fashion designer
* Faith Holland, class of 2007
* Clancy Philbrick, class of 2008 – contemporary artist
* Alexa Meade, class of 2009 – uses the human body as a canvas
* Terry deRoy Gruber – photographer and author
* Ruth Inge Hardison – sculptor, artist, and photographer; studied music and creative writing
* Ruth Starr Rose – artist, lithographer, and serigrapher

### Business

* Mary F. Hoyt, class of 1880 – first woman to receive a position in the United States federal civil service
* Louise Seaman Bechtel, class of 1915 – head of the first children's book department in an American publishing house (Macmillan Co.)
* Martha Firestone Ford, class of 1946 – billionaire, chairman of majority owner of the Detroit Lions, board member of Henry Ford Health System
* Martha Rivers Ingram, class of 1957 – chairman of Ingram Industries, multi-billionaire
* Nina Zagat, class of 1963 – co-founder of Zagat Survey
* Geraldine Laybourne, 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
* Robert Friedman, class of 1978 – president of Classic Media, New Line TV, and AOL, Interactive Marketing & TV
* Scott Kauffman, class of 1978 – former CEO of MDC Partners
* Phil Griffin, class of 1979 – president of MSNBC
* Lurita Doan, class of 1979 – founder of New Technology Management, Inc.
* James B. Rosenwald 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, class of 1983 – investor, banker and writer
* Yannis Vardinoyannis, class of 1984 – billionaire; founding member of the Greek Super League 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
* Caterina Fake, class of 1991 – founder of Flickr
* Elisabeth Murdoch, class of 1992 – CEO of Shine Limited, daughter of Rupert Murdoch
* Jon Fisher, 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

* Mary P. Hamlin, class of 1896 – playwright, Hamilton
* Frances Sternhagen, class of 1951 – Tony Award-winning actress
* Zuzana Justman, class of 1954, documentary filmmaker and writer
* Toni Grant, class of 1964 – psychologist and radio host
* Rebecca Eaton, class of 1969 – Emmy Award-winning executive producer of Masterpiece on PBS; listed among Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World" (2011)
* Margaret Lazarus, class of 1969 – Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker
* Ann Northrop, class of 1970 – journalist and activist; co-host of TV news program Gay USA
* Meryl Streep, class of 1971 – Academy Award-winning actress
* Mary Nissenson, class of 1974 – Peabody award-winning TV news reporter
* Eben Fiske Ostby, class of 1977 – animator, vice president of software at Pixar
* Chip Reid, class of 1977 – CBS Chief White House Correspondent
* Phil Griffin, class of 1979 – president of MSNBC
* Lloyd Braun, class of 1980 – media executive, president of ABC (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, class of 1984 – actor
* Sakina Jaffrey, class of 1984 – actress
* Yvonne Welbon, class of 1984 – documentary filmmaker
* Andrew Zimmern, class of 1984 – chef and TV personality
* Lisa Kudrow, class of 1985 – Emmy Award-winning actress
* Jonathan Littman, class of 1985 – multiple Emmy Award-winning producer; president of Jerry Bruckheimer Television
* Hope Davis, class of 1986 – actress
* Dan Bucatinsky, class of 1987 – Emmy Award-winning actor, writer, and producer
* Paul Zehrer, class of 1987 – film and television director, writer, producer, and editor
* Kerri Green, class of 1989 – actress and producer
* Carlos Jacott, class of 1989 – actor and writer
* Saar Klein, class of 1989 – Academy Award-nominated film editor
* Tanya Wright, class of 1989 – actress
* John Gatins, class of 1990 – Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, Real Steel and Flight
* Jonathan Karl, class of 1990 – ABC News Senior Political Correspondent, author
* Erika Amato, class of 1991 – singer, actress
* Noah Baumbach, class of 1991 – Academy Award-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, class of 1991 – producer of films, including Get Out and Academy Award-winning Whiplash
* Eddie Schmidt, class of 1992 – Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker
* Catherine Kellner, 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, class of 1995 – actress
* Lecy Goranson, class of 1996 – actress
* Ethan Zohn, class of 1996 – Survivor: Africa winner and philanthropist
* Jessi Klein, class of 1997 – Emmy Award-winning writer and comedian
* Angela Goethals, class of 1999 – actress
* Marguerite Moreau, class of 1999 – actress
* Jonathan Togo, class of 1999 – actor
* Matthew Newton, class of 1999 – actor
* Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, class of 2000 – two-thirds of the devised theatre company The Debate Society and co-creators, writers, and producers of the HBO series Somebody Somewhere
* Justin Long, class of 2000 – actor, Apple Computer spokesperson
* Bradford Louryk, class of 2000 – Broadway artist and actor
* Penny Lane, class of 2001 – documentary director and producer, Our Nixon; assistant professor at Colgate University
* Shaka King, class of 2001 – Academy Award-nominated film producer, screenwriter, and director of Judas and the Black Messiah
* Alexa Alemanni, class of 2002 – actress
* Adnan Malik, class of 2003 – Pakistani actor and filmmaker
* Julia Weldon, class of 2005 – actress
* Jonás Cuarón, class of 2005 – co-writer of Gravity
* Grace Gummer, class of 2008 – actress
* Sasha Velour, class of 2009 – winner of RuPaul's Drag Race season 9
* Lilli Cooper, class of 2012 – Tony-nominated actress in Tootsieand SpongeBob SquarePants, The Broadway Musical
* Jeff Davis – writer and creator of police procedural drama Criminal Minds and MTV's Teen Wolf
* Thomas Dean Donnelly – screenwriter of films such as Sahara and an upcoming adaption of the Uncharted video games
* Aviva Drescher – television personality
* Tom Gorai – film producer
* Kerri Green – actress, director
* Shaka King – Academy Award-nominated film director, screenwriter, and film producer
* Lisa Lassek – film producer and editor
* Lester Lewis – television writer and television producer, The Larry Sanders Show
* Malinda Kathleen Reese – YouTube personality, actress and singer
* Alysia Reiner – actress in Orange is the New Black
* Jay Severin – commentator and talk radio host
* Ethan Slater – Tony-nominated actor in SpongeBob SquarePants, The Broadway Musical
* Sandy Stern – film producer, known for his work on the films Pump Up the Volume, Being John Malkovich, and Saved!
* Lisa Zane – actress

### Espionage

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

### Fashion

* Louisa Gummer, class of 2013, model; daughter of Meryl Streep

### Music

* Elizabeth Bristol Greenleaf, class of 1917 – collector of folk songs
* Jane O'Leary, class of 1968 – musician and composer
* Jamie Broumas, class of 1981 – jazz singer, vocal instructor and arts administrator
* Jonathan Elliott, class of 1984 – Classical composer
* Drew Zingg, class of 1981 – guitarist for Steely Dan
* Joseph Bertolozzi, class of 1981 – composer and musician with works ranging from full symphony orchestra to solo gongs
* Amy Powers, class of 1982 – Emmy-nominated lyricist, songwriter and producer
* Alan Licht, 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
* Howard Fishman, class of 1992 – singer, guitarist, bandleader and composer
* Rachael Yamagata, class of 1996 – singer-songwriter
* Jamie Christopherson, class of 1997 – musician known for scoring movies and video games
* Amanda Forsythe, class of 1998 – award-winning soprano; particularly admired for her interpretations of baroque music and the works of Rossini
* Sam Endicott, class of 1999 – singer (The Bravery) 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, class of 2003 – singer (Beach House)
* Genghis Tron, classes of 2005 and 2006 – band composed of Vassar graduates
* MS MR, class of 2010 – pop duo composed of Max Hershenow and Lizzy Plapinger

### Politics and law

* Harriot Eaton Stanton Blatch, class of 1878 – suffragette and daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton
* Ōyama Sutematsu, class of 1882 – first Japanese woman to earn a college degree
* Crystal Eastman, class of 1903 – co-author of the Equal Rights Amendment
* Inez Milholland, class of 1909 – suffragist; known as the martyr of the women's suffrage movement
* Elinor Morgenthau, class of 1913 – Democratic party activist and spouse of Henry Morgenthau Jr.
* Catherine Bauer Wurster, 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)
* Ann Cole Gannett, class of 1937 - Massachusetts House of Representatives
* 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
* Frances Farenthold, class of 1946 – Texas State Legislator and human rights activist
* Julie Finley, United States ambassador
* Pauline Newman, class of 1947 – Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
* Anne Armstrong, class of 1949 – first female Counselor to the President; Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1976–1977); recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
* Selwa Roosevelt, class of 1950 – Chief of Protocol of the United States for almost seven years (1982–1989)—longer than anyone has ever served in that position
* Sylvia Bacon, class of 1952 – judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia; considered by both Richard Nixon 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 University of Michigan Regent
* Patricia Fleming, class of 1957 – first director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP)
* Pamela Ann Rymer, class of 1961 – Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
* Julia Donovan Darlow, class of 1963 – attorney and member of the University of Michigan Board of Regents
* Diana Gribbon Motz, 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
* Linda Fairstein, class of 1969 – prosecutor in the "Preppie Murder" trial of Robert Chambers and head of sex crimes unit in the Central Park jogger case; author
* Catherine Abate, 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 (1986–1990); advocate and promoter of the principal Gender Equality Law approved by Congress in 1989
* Betsy McCaughey, 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
* Vicki Miles-LaGrange, class of 1974 – first African-American female to become a United States Attorney
* Richard W. Roberts, class of 1974 – Judge, United States District Court for the District of Columbia
* Nancy Killefer, class of 1975 – government consultant
* Jeffrey Goldstein, class of 1977 – Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance (2010–2011), managing director of the World Bank
* 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, class of 1980 – United States Representative
* Bala Garba Jahumpa, 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 (1995–2003)
* Philip Jefferson, class of 1983 - Vice Chair of Federal Reserve Board
* Micky Tripathi, class of 1983 — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and first Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy
* Sherrilyn Ifill, class of 1984 – President and Director-Counsel of NAACP Legal Defense Fund
* Marc Thiessen, 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

### Science and medicine

* Christine Ladd-Franklin, class of 1869 – psychologist
* Ellen Swallow Richards, 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, class of 1887 – astronomer
* Margaret Floy Washburn, class of 1891 – psychologist
* Millicent Todd Bingham, class of 1902 – geographer
* Ruth Benedict, class of 1909 – anthropologist
* Edith Banfield Jackson, class of 1916 – behavioral pediatrician
* Harriet Guild, class of 1920 – physician
* Mary Calderone, class of 1925 – physician
* Frances Lawrence Parker, class of 1928 - geologist and micropaleontologist
* Grace Hopper, class of 1928 – computer scientist
* Grace Lotowycz, class of 1938 – botanist; alpinist; Women Airforce Service Pilots
* 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, 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 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
* 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, class of 1990 – founder and executive director of Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers; 2013 MacArthur Award ("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, class of 1869 – author of Three Vassar Girls series
* Barbara Culliton, science journalist and editor
* Dorothy Deming, nurse and author
* Rebecca Odes – author and co-founder of Gurl.com
* Mary Harriott Norris, class of 1870 – author and dean of women
* Mary Parker Woodworth, class of 1870 – writer and speaker
* Maria Brace Kimball, class of 1872 – educator, elocutionist, writer
* Eva March Tappan, class of 1875 – author
* Amy Wentworth Stone, class of 1898, – children's book author
* Jean Webster, class of 1901 – author of Daddy Long Legs
* Agnes de Lima, 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, class of 1917 – poet
* Nora Benjamin Kubie, class of 1920 – children's writer
* Lois Long, class of 1922 – writer for The New Yorker
* 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.
* Mary McCarthy, class of 1933 – novelist, critic
* Elizabeth Bishop, class of 1934 – Poet Laureate of the United States 1949–1950
* Eleanor Ruggles (1916–2008) class of 1938, biographer
* Ruth Stiles Gannet, class of 1944 – author of the My Father's Dragon series
* Shana Alexander, class of 1945 – first woman staff writer and columnist for Life magazine
* Sue Kaufman, class of 1947 – author best known for the novel Diary of a Mad Housewife
* Charlotte Curtis, class of 1950 – New York Times editor
* Alexandra Ripley, class of 1955 – writer best known for Scarlett (1991), the sequel to Gone with the Wind
* Jane Kramer, class of 1959 – journalist for The New Yorker
* Mary Oliver, 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, 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, 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, class of 1971 – novelist
* Esther Friesner, 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 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, class of 1975 – publisher
* Michael Gross, class of 1975 – writer and editor
* Avery Cardoza, class of 1977 – writer, gambler and publisher
* Lucette Lagnado, 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
* Leonard Steinhorn, class of 1977 – author of The Greater Generation: In Defense of the Baby Boom Legacy; political analyst
* Victoria Strauss, class of 1977 – fantasy and science fiction author
* Josip Novakovich, class of 1978 – writer and professor
* Eric Marcus, 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 Ursinus College, New Mexico Highlands University, College of Santa Fe, University of Miami, and Founding Director of 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, class of 1985 – author of the Uglies series, among other novels
* Thomas Beller, class of 1987 – author
* Evan Wright, class of 1987 – author, best known for Generation Kill
* 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, class of 1989 – author of children's literature
* Andy Towle, class of 1980 – blogger and media commentator, editor-in-chief of Genre magazine
* Richard Miniter, class of 1990 – investigative journalist and bestselling author
* Jen Van Meter, class of 1990 – comic book writer best known for her Oni Press series Hopeless Savages as well as series at Marvel and DC Comics
* Nunzio DeFilippis, class of 1991 – with Christina Weir (class of 1992), husband and wife comic book writing team
* Greg Rucka, class of 1991 – comic book writer
* Meghan Daum, class of 1992 – author, essayist, and journalist
* Daphne Kalotay, class of 1992 – novelist, short story writer, and professor
* Christina Weir, class of 1992 – with Nunzio DeFilippis (class of 1991), husband and wife comic book writing team
* Renee Gladman, class of 1993 – author, poet, and visual artist
* Sarah Gray Miller, class of 1993 – editor in chief of lifestyle and decorating magazine Country Living
* 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; son of Stephen King
* Jeremy Jackson, class of 1995 – author of several novels and cookbooks
* Ryan Singel, 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, 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, class of 2000 – poet and author
* Shaenon K. Garrity, class of 2000 – webcomics writer and artist
* Aimee Friedman, class of 2001 – writer of young adult fiction
* Alexandra Berzon, class of 2001 – writer
* Shelby Bach, class of 2008 – author
* M.J. Alexander
* Augusta Clawson
* Geri Doran – poet
* Michael Scharf – poet and critic
* Jane Mead – writer
* Delia Sherman – 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) – chef, writer
* Janet Cooke – journalist forced to return a Pulitzer Prize for a fabricated story (claimed to have had a degree but did not)
* Mike D (Michael Diamond) – rapper (Beastie Boys)
* Jane Fonda (graduated from The Actors Studio) – actress
* Katharine Graham (graduated from the University of Chicago) – publisher of The Washington Post
* Anne Hathaway (graduated from New York University) – actress
* Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (graduated from George Washington University) – First Lady
* Mark Ronson – DJ
* Curtis Sittenfeld (graduated from Stanford University) – author
* Anne-Marie O'Connor (graduated from University of California at Berkeley) – journalist, award-winning author of The Lady in Gold, the Extraordinary Tale of Gustav Klimt's Masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer
* Neil Strauss (graduated from Columbia College) – author and journalist
* Rachael Yamagata (graduated from Northwestern University) – 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
* Ruth Benedict
* Martha Kaplan
* Margaret Mead – visiting lecturer
* Colin Turnbull – visiting lecturer

### Art Department

* Leila Cook Barber – art historian
* Alfred H. Barr Jr.
* C.K. Chatterton
* Gregory Crewdson
* Richard Krautheimer
* Brian Lukacher
* Elias Lyman Magoon – visiting lecturer
* Molly Nesbit
* Linda Nochlin
* Lewis Pilcher
* Harry Roseman
* Concetta Scaravaglione
* Carolee Schneemann – visiting lecturer
* Andrew Tallon
* Oliver Samuel Tonks
* Henry Van Ingen

### Dance Department

* Miriam Mahdaviani
* John Meehan

### Drama Department

* Jean Arthur
* Larry Atlas
* Catherine Filloux
* Hallie Flanagan
* Shona Tucker

### English Department

* Donald Foster
* Eamon Grennan
* Hua Hsu
* Michael Joyce
* Amitava Kumar
* Kiese Laymon
* Thomas Mallon
* Gabriela Mistral
* Mary Mitchell
* Paul Russell
* Nancy Willard

### History Department

* Robert K. Brigham
* James H. Merrell
* Lucy Maynard Salmon

### Mathematics Department

* Winifred Asprey
* Louise Duffield Cummings
* Grace Hopper

### Music Department

* Gustav Dannreuther
* Karen Holvik
* Ernst Krenek
* Annea Lockwood
* Harold Meltzer
* Quincy Porter
* John Solum
* Richard Wilson

### Philosophy Department

* Giovanna Borradori
* David Kelley
* Mitchell Miller
* Uma Narayan

### Physics and Astronomy Department

* Debra Elmegreen
* Caroline Furness
* Maud Worcester Makemson
* Maria Mitchell
* Mary Watson Whitney

### Political Science Department

* Mary Lyndon Shanley
* Peter Stillman

### Psychology Department

* Margaret Floy Washburn
* Diana Zuckerman

### Other departments

* Alida Avery – Physiology and Hygiene
* Harriet Isabel Ballintine – Athletics and Physical Education
* Mark Dion – visiting lecturer
* Liza Donnelly – 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