# List of University of Rochester people

Here follows a list of notable alumni, non-graduate attendees, faculty, and presidents of the University of Rochester. The institution has more than 120,000 living alumni as of 2022.
Note: Some individuals are listed in multiple categories (e.g., alumni who were also members of the faculty). In such cases, a parenthetical note identifies the second relevant category. Recipients of honorary degrees from the university are not included. All degree years are for bachelor's degrees unless otherwise noted. For a list of alumni of the Eastman School of Music, see List of Eastman School of Music people.

## Notable alumni
### Nobel laureates

| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Harvey J. Alter | 1956; 1960 (MD) | 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine |
| Steven Chu | 1970 | 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics, 12th United States Secretary of Energy |
| Daniel Carleton Gajdusek | 1943 | 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine |
| Arthur Kornberg | 1941 (MD) | 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine |
| Masatoshi Koshiba | 1955 (PhD) | 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics |
| Donna Strickland | 1989 (PhD) | 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics |
| Richard Thaler | 1970 (MA), 1974 (PhD) | 2017 Nobel Prize in Economics (see also under 'Notable faculty') |
| Vincent du Vigneaud | 1927 (PhD) | 1955 Nobel Prize in Chemistry |

### National Medal winners

| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| George Abbott | 1911 | National Medal of Arts, writer and director |
| David A. Berry | 1967 | National Humanities Medal, educator |
| D. Allan Bromley | 1952 (PhD) | National Medal of Science, physicist |
| Esther M. Conwell | 1945 (MS) | National Medal of Science, chemist and physicist (see also under 'Notable faculty') |
| Robert Dicke | 1939 (PhD) | National Medal of Science, astrophysicist |
| Renée Fleming | 1983 (MM) | National Medal of Arts, singer |
| Donald Henderson | 1954 (MD) | National Medal of Science, Presidential Medal of Freedom, epidemiologist |
| Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham | 1984 (PhD) | National Humanities Medal, historian |
| James V. Neel | 1939 (PhD); 1944 (MD) | National Medal of Science, geneticist |
| John Prausnitz | 1951 (MS) | National Medal of Science, chemist |
| John Clarke Slater | 1920 | National Medal of Science, physicist |
| Alejandro Zaffaroni | 1949 (PhD) | National Medal of Technology, biotechnology entrepreneur |

### National academy members

Alumni listed here were elected to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, or national academies outside the United States.
| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Girish Agarwal | 1969 (PhD) | The Royal Society, Indian National Science Academy, physicist |
| Michelle Albert | 1994 (MD) | National Academy of Medicine, physician |
| John Aldrich | 1975 (PhD) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist |
| David Amaral | 1977 (PhD) | National Academy of Medicine, psychiatrist |
| Dominick Argento | 1958 (DMA) | American Academy of Arts and Letters, composer, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize |
| Linda Birnbaum | 1967 | National Academy of Medicine, microbiologist |
| E. Sandra Byers | 1973 | The Royal Society of Canada, psychologist and sexologist |
| Laura Carstensen | 1978 | National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, psychologist |
| Daniel Diermeier | 1995 (PhD) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist, 9th Chancellor of Vanderbilt University |
| Robert S. Edgar | 1957 (PhD) | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, geneticist |
| Stephen Fantone | 1979 (PhD) | National Academy of Engineering, optical engineer |
| Timothy Feddersen | 1993 (PhD) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist |
| Clement Finch | 1941 (MD) | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, hematologist |
| Morris Fiorina | 1972 (PhD) | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist |
| Robert Fogelin | 1955 | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, philosopher |
| Gilles Fontaine | 1974 (PhD) | The Royal Society of Canada, astrophysicist |
| Kenneth French | 1978 (MBA), 1981 (MS), 1983 (PhD) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, economist |
| Grove Karl Gilbert | 1862 | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, geologist, 1st Chief Geologist of the United States Geological Survey |
| Robert Gomer | 1949 (PhD) | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, chemist and physicist |
| Amit Goyal | 1988 (MS), 1991 (PhD) | National Academy of Engineering, engineer |
| Jerry Green | 1967, 1970 (PhD) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, economist |
| Jane Guyer | 1972 (PhD) | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, anthropologist |
| N. Katherine Hayles | 1977 (PhD) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, literary scholar |
| Susan Hockfield | 1973 | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, neuroscientist, 16th President of MIT |
| John D. Huber | 1991 (PhD) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist |
| Peter van Inwagen | 1969 (PhD) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, philosopher |
| Gregory Kealey | 1978 (PhD) | The Royal Society of Canada, historian |
| David T. Kearns | 1952 | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1st U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education, Chairman and CEO of Xerox |
| Young-Kee Kim | 1990 (PhD) | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, physicist |
| H. Jeff Kimble | 1977 (PhD) | National Academy of Sciences, physicist |
| Galway Kinnell | 1949 (MA) | American Academy of Arts and Letters, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, poet, MacArthur Fellow, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award |
| Clifford Kubiak | 1980 (PhD) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, chemist |
| John G. Levi | 1969 | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, lawyer, Chair of the Legal Services Corporation |
| Richard Locksley | 1976 (MD) | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, immunologist |
| Jonathan Lunine | 1980 | National Academy of Sciences, astrophysicist |
| Arthur Lupia | 1986 | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist |
| Harmit Malik | 2000 (PhD) | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, biologist |
| Ho-Kwang Mao | 1968 (PhD) | National Academy of Sciences, The Royal Society, Chinese Academy of Sciences, geophysicist |
| Diane Mathis | 1978 (PhD) | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, hematologist |
| Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk | 1992 (PhD) | National Academy of Medicine, nurse |
| Richard McKelvey | 1973 (PhD) | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist |
| Edward Mendelson | 1966 | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, literary scholar |
| Henry Metzger | 1953 | National Academy of Sciences, immunologist |
| Edward D. Miller | 1968 (MD) | National Academy of Medicine, anesthesiologist, Dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine |
| James D. Morrow | 1982 (PhD) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist |
| Carol Nadelson | 1961 (MD) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, psychiatrist |
| Norman Neureiter | 1952 | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, scientist and governmental advisor |
| Roger Nicoll | 1968 (MD) | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, neuroscientist |
| Peter Ordeshook | 1969 (PhD) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist |
| Terence Parsons | 1961 | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, philosopher |
| James Breck Perkins | 1867 | American Academy of Arts and Letters, historian, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York |
| Keith T. Poole | 1978 (PhD) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist |
| Alan S. Rabson | 1948 | National Academy of Medicine, pathologist, Deputy Director of the National Cancer Institute |
| Hermann Rahn | 1938 (PhD) | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, physiologist |
| Richard Rashid | 1977 (MS), 1980 (PhD) | National Academy of Engineering, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, computer scientist, founder of Microsoft Research |
| David Rohde | 1971 (PhD) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist |
| Roberta Romano | 1973 | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, legal scholar |
| Joan Roughgarden | 1968 | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, biologist and ecologist |
| Ivan Sag | 1971 | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, linguist and cognitive scientist |
| José Scheinkman | 1974 (PhD) | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, economist |
| Nevin Scrimshaw | 1945 (MD) | National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, nutritionist, recipient of the World Food Prize |
| John H. Seinfeld | 1964 | National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, atmospheric scientist, recipient of the Tyler Prize |
| Kenneth Shepsle | 1970 (PhD) | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist |
| Kalyan Bidhan Sinha | 1969 (PhD) | Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National Science Academy, mathematician |
| Hugo F. Sonnenschein | 1961 | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, economist, 11th President of the University of Chicago |
| Gary Starkweather | 1966 (MS) | National Academy of Engineering, engineer, inventor of the laser printer, elected to the National Inventors Hall of Fame |
| Franklin Stahl | 1956 (PhD) | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, molecular biologist, MacArthur Fellow |
| Frank Stillinger | 1955 | National Academy of Sciences, chemist |
| Patricia Stone | 1997 (PhD) | National Academy of Medicine, nurse |
| Paul E. Turner | 1988 | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, biologist and virologist |
| Lynn Vavreck | 1997 (PhD) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist |
| Tener Goodwin Veenema | 1992 (MS), 1999 (MPH), 2001 (PhD) | National Academy of Medicine, public health scientist |
| George Walker | 1956 (DMA) | American Academy of Arts and Letters, composer, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize |
| Ian Walmsley | 1986 (PhD) | The Royal Society, optical physicist, Provost of Imperial College London |
| Robert Ward | 1939 | American Academy of Arts and Letters, composer, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize |
| Nils Yngve Wessell | 1938 (PhD) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, psychologist, 8th President of Tufts University |
| Robert H. Wiebe | 1957 (PhD) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, historian |
| James C. Wyant | 1969 (PhD) | National Academy of Engineering, optical scientist, 1st Dean of the University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences |
| Herbert York | 1942 (BS, MS) | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, nuclear physicist, 1st Chancellor of the University of California, San Diego, 1st Chief Scientist at DARPA |
| Muhammad Suhail Zubairy | 1978 (PhD) | Pakistan Academy of Sciences, optical physicist |

### Academia
#### Institutional leaders

| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Galusha Anderson | 1858 | 8th President of Denison University, 5th President of the Old University of Chicago |
| Sheila Blumstein | 1965 | President (interim), Dean of the College, Brown University |
| Myles Brand | 1967 (PhD) | 4th President of the NCAA, 16th President of Indiana University, 14th President of the University of Oregon |
| Ilene Busch-Vishniac | 1976 | 9th President of the University of Saskatchewan, Dean of the Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University |
| Bonnie Thornton Dill | 1965 | Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, University of Maryland, College Park |
| Robert J. Dolan | 1977 (PhD) | Dean of the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan |
| Bernard T. Ferrari | 1970, 1974 (MD) | 2nd Dean of the Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins University |
| Merrill Edwards Gates | 1870 | 6th President of Amherst College, 9th President of Rutgers University |
| Robyn E. Hannigan | 1997 (PhD) | 19th President of Ursinus College |
| Bernard Harleston | 1955 (PhD) | 9th President of City College of New York |
| Karen R. Hitchcock | 1969 (PhD) | 18th Principal and Vice Chancellor of Queen's University, 16th President of the University at Albany |
| Marc Holzer | 1966 | 1st Dean of the School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University |
| Emory William Hunt | 1884 | 10th President of Denison University, 6th President of Bucknell University |
| Alan Hurwitz | 1980 (EdD) | 10th President of Gallaudet University |
| Malcolm MacVicar | 1859 | 1st Chancellor of McMaster University |
| Sugata Marjit | 1985 (PhD) | 52nd Vice Chancellor of the University of Calcutta |
| Joseph B. Martin | 1971 (PhD) | 6th Chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco, former Dean of Harvard Medical School and the UCSF School of Medicine |
| Nancy McGlen | 1975 (PhD) | Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Niagara University |
| Leonard Chapin Mead | 1939 (PhD) | Acting President of Tufts University |
| Peter Mennin | 1947 (PhD) | 5th President of the Juilliard School |
| William J. Milne | 1868 | 8th President of the University at Albany, President of the State University of New York at Geneseo |
| Brian C. Mitchell | 1981 (PhD) | 16th President of Bucknell University, 11th President of Washington & Jefferson College |
| Lemuel Moss | 1858 | 6th President of Indiana University, 2nd President of the Old University of Chicago |
| David Nash | 1981 (MD) | 1st Dean of the College of Population Health, Thomas Jefferson University |
| George Daniel Olds | 1873 | 9th President of Amherst College |
| Paul J. Olscamp | 1962 (PhD) | 8th President of Bowling Green State University |
| David Oppenheim | 1943 | 2nd Dean of the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University |
| Maria Oudeman | (MBA) | President of Utrecht University |
| Harold Paz | 1977, 1982 (MD) | Dean of the College of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University |
| Philip A. Pizzo | 1970 (MD) | Dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine |
| Joseph Platt | 1937 | 8th President of Claremont Graduate University, 1st President of Harvey Mudd College |
| Jonathan Samet | 1970 (MD) | Dean of the Colorado School of Public Health |
| Gary Schuster | 1971 (PhD) | President (interim), Provost of the Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Eileen Sullivan-Marx | 1980 (MS) | Dean of the Rory Meyers College of Nursing, New York University |
| James Monroe Taylor | 1868 | 4th President of Vassar College |
| Joseph F. Volker | 1941 (PhD) | 1st President of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1st Chancellor of the University of Alabama System |

#### Professors and researchers

| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Alan Abramowitz | 1969 | political scientist |
| Charles M. Achilles | 1959, 1962 (MS), 1965 (EdS), 1967 (EdD) | education scholar |
| Shirley J. Allen | 1992 (PhD) | first black and deaf woman to earn a doctorate |
| Willard Myron Allen | 1932 (MD) | gynecologist, co-discoverer of progesterone |
| Frederick R. Bieber | 1976 (MS) | medical geneticist |
| Robert N. Burr | 1939 | historian |
| C. Ondine Chavoya | 2002 (PhD) | art historian |
| Sarah Demers | 2001 (MA), 2005 (PhD) | physicist |
| Bernadette Drummond | 1982 (MS) | professor of dentistry |
| Elon Howard Eton | 1890, 1893 (MA) | ornithologist |
| C. Lawrence Evans | 1988 (PhD) | political scientist |
| Hany Farid | 1988 | computer scientist |
| Paul Frommer | 1965 | linguist |
| Barry L. Gan | 1970, 1981 (MA), 1984 (PhD) | philosopher |
| Steven Hahn | 1978 | historian, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize |
| Paul M. Healy | 1981 (PhD) | business scholar |
| Zvi Hercowitz | 1980 (PhD) | economist |
| Olivia Hooker | 1962 (PhD) | psychologist, civil rights pioneer |
| Richard Isay | 1961 (MD) | psychologist |
| Beata Javorcik | 1994 | economist |
| Francis Kelsey | 1880 | philologist and archeologist |
| Bruce Kingma | 1989 (PhD) | economist |
| Stephen Kotkin | 1981 | historian |
| Frederick D. Losey | 1891 | Shakespearian scholar and elocutionist |
| Christopher J. Mayer | 1987 | economist |
| Arthur R. Miller | 1956 | legal scholar |
| Patricia Numann | 1962 | surgeon |
| Derek Peterson | 1993 | historian, MacArthur Fellow |
| Walter Rauschenbusch | 1884 | Social Gospel theologian |
| Mark Rosenzweig | 1943, 1944 (MS) | psychologist |
| Richard M. Ryan | 1981 (PhD) | psychologist, co-founder of self-determination theory (see also under 'Notable faculty') |
| William Amasa Scott | 1886, 1889 (AM) | economist |
| Elba Serrano | 1973 | neuroscientist, recipient of the PAESMEM |
| George Sudarshan | 1958 (PhD) | physicist |
| Rudolph E. Tanzi | 1980 | neurologist |
| Steven M. Weinreb | 1967 (PhD) | chemist |
| David Sloan Wilson | 1971 | biologist |

### Arts

Alumni listed here are notable for their work in the performing arts, visual arts, or arts administration.
| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Jeff Beal | 1985 | composer, Emmy Award winner |
| Doug Besterman | 1985 | orchestrator, Tony Award winner |
| Julia Bullock | 2009 | singer and actor, Grammy Award winner |
| Ron Carter | 1959 | jazz musician, Grammy Award winner |
| Alexander Courage | 1941 | composer, Emmy Award winner |
| William Dooley | 1954 | singer |
| Frederick Fennell | 1937, 1939 (MA) | conductor |
| Joseph Fennimore | 1962 | composer |
| Robert Forster | 1964 | actor |
| Steve Gadd | 1968 | drummer |
| Anthony Dean Griffey | 2001 (MM) | singer, Grammy Award winner |
| Michael Kanfer | 1980 | visual effects artist, Academy Award winner |
| Emil J. Kang | 1990 | arts administrator |
| Ulysses Kay | 1940 (MM) | composer |
| Naomie Kremer | 1975 | visual artist |
| John La Montaine | 1942 | composer, Pulitzer Prize winner |
| Tony Levin | 1968 | bass player |
| Bob Ludwig | 1966, 2001 (MM) | mastering engineer, Grammy Award winner |
| Chuck Mangione | 1963 | jazz musician, Grammy Award winner |
| Erin Morley | 2002 | singer, Grammy Award winner |
| Kevin Puts | 1994, 1999 (DMA) | composer, Pulitzer Prize winner |
| Lance Reddick | 1984 | actor and musician |
| Debra Jo Rupp | 1974 | actress |
| Maria Schneider | 1985 (MM) | composer and conductor, Grammy Award winner |
| Charles Strouse | 1947 | composer, Grammy, Emmy, Tony Award winner |
| William Warfield | 1942, 1946 (MM) | singer and actor, Grammy Award winner |

### Business

| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Arunas A. Chesonis | 1991 (MBA) | Chairman and CEO of Sweetwater Energy |
| Frederick S. Fish | 1873 | Chairman and President of the Studebaker Corporation |
| Gerald Gitner | 1968 (MBA) | Chairman and CEO of Trans World Airlines |
| Robert Goergen | 1960 | Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Blyth, Inc. |
| Mario Greco | 1986 (MA) | CEO of Zurich Insurance |
| Richard Handler | 1983 | Chairman and CEO of Jefferies Group |
| Dawne Hickton | 1979 | Executive Vice President of Jacobs |
| Robert T. Huang | 1970 (MS), 1976 (MA) | Founder, Chairman, and co-CEO of Synnex |
| Jim Kennedy | 1975 | Chief Communications Officer of News Corp |
| Robert M. Lynch | 1999, 2000 (MBA) | CEO of Papa John's Pizza |
| Manton Marble | 1855 | Owner and Editor of the New York World |
| William F. May | 1937 | Chairman and CEO of American Can Company |
| Barry Meyer | 1964 | Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. |
| John Rowe | 1970 (MD) | Chairman and CEO of Aetna |
| Robert Shetterly | 1936 | Chairman and CEO of Clorox |
| Paul Singer | 1966 | Founder and CEO of Elliott Management Corporation |
| Robert L. Stark | 1973 | Founder and CEO of Stark Enterprises |
| Henry Strong | 1854 | President of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway |
| Robert S. Wiesenthal | 1988 | Founder and CEO of BLADE |
| Joseph C. Wilson | 1931 | Founder and CEO of Xerox |
| Guy Wyser-Pratte | 1962 | Founder and President of Wyser-Pratte Management Co. Inc. |
| Gerald B. Zornow | 1937 | Chairman and President of Eastman Kodak |

### Government and law
#### Heads of state or government

| Name | Class Year | Notability | Reference |
| Dae-Whan Chang | 1974 | Acting Prime Minister of South Korea (2002) | |
| Elwell Stephen Otis | 1858 | 2nd American Military Governor of the Philippines | |

#### Members of the United States Congress

| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Jacob Sloat Fassett | 1875 | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York |
| Kenneth Keating | 1919 | United States Senator, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York, United States Ambassador to India and Israel |
| Chris Lee | 1987 | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York |
| James M.E. O'Grady | 1885 | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York, Speaker of the New York State Assembly |
| Sereno E. Payne | 1864 | 1st House Majority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives |
| Samuel S. Stratton | 1937 | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York, Mayor of Schenectady, New York |

#### United States ambassadors

| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Gene Cretz | 1972 | United States Ambassador to Ghana and Libya |
| Lisa J. Peterson | 1986 | United States Ambassador to Eswatini |
| Robert A. Sherman | 1975 | United States Ambassador to Portugal |
| George F. Ward | 1965 | United States Ambassador to Namibia |

#### Federal officials in the United States

| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Michael P. Allen | 1989 | Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims |
| Robert H. Conn | 1962 (MS) | Assistant Secretary of the Navy |
| W. Scott Gould | 1985 (MBA), 1987 (EdD) | 5th United States Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs |
| Charles G. Groat | 1962 | 13th Director of the United States Geological Survey |
| Heather Higginbottom | 1994 | U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources |
| Lewis A. Kaplan | 1966 | Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York |
| Robert Khuzami | 1979 | Deputy United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York |
| John Knight | 1893 | Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York |
| Lawrence Kudlow | 1969 | 12th Director of the National Economic Council |
| Allison M. Macfarlane | 1986 | Chair of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission |
| Cathy Minehan | 1968 | 12th President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston |
| Michael O'Rielly | 1993 | Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission |
| Jimmie V. Reyna | 1975 | Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit |
| Harlan Rippey | 1898 | Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York |
| Brian C. Roseboro | 1981 | U.S. Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance |
| Dan Rosenthal | 1988 | Assistant to the President, White House |
| Anthony Ryan | 1985 | U.S. Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance |
| Robert D. Sack | 1960 | Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit |
| Graham Steele | 2002 | Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions |
| Michael Telesca | 1952 | Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York |
| Ellsworth Van Graafeiland | 1937 | Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit |
| Donald C. Winter | 1969 | 74th United States Secretary of the Navy |

#### Federal officials outside the United States

| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Chan Onn Fong | 1972 (MBA), 1974 (PhD) | 2nd Minister of Human Resources, Malaysia |
| Vittorio Grilli | 1986 (PhD) | 5th Minister of Economy and Finance, Italy |
| Pedro Guimarães | 2004 (PhD) | Chairman of the Federal Savings Bank, Brazil |
| Sheng-cheng Hu | 1967 (MA), 1970 (PhD) | Minister of the Council for Economic Planning and Development and Chairperson of the Financial Supervisory Commission, Taiwan |
| Ephraim Kamuntu | 1973 (MS) | 17th Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Uganda |
| Eyitayo Lambo | 1973 (MA) | Federal Minister of Health, Nigeria |
| Awais Leghari | 1994 | Minister for Power, Pakistan |
| Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan | 2004 (MBA) | 38th Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance, Liberia |
| Tove Pihl | 1948 | Member of the Norwegian Parliament |
| Nasser Saidi | 1977 (MA), 1979 (PhD) | 63rd Minister of Economy and Trade, Lebanon |

#### State officials in the United States

| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Robert S. Babcock | 1937 | 67th Lieutenant Governor of Vermont |
| Joseph M. Bailey | 1854 | Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois |
| Carolyn Berger | 1969 | Justice of the Supreme Court of Delaware |
| Chuck Carpenter | 1985 | Member of the Oregon House of Representatives |
| Alfred C. Carr Jr. | 1988 | Member of the Maryland House of Delegates |
| Moreau S. Crosby | 1863 | 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Michigan |
| Barbara Ann DeBuono | 1976, 1980 (MD) | New York State Commissioner of Health, Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health |
| Mark Ferrandino | 1999, 2000 (MA) | Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives |
| Laura Friedman | 1988 | Member of the California State Assembly |
| Jenean Hampton | 2003 (MBA) | 57th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky |
| Mary Ellen Jones | 1958 | New York State Senator |
| Mary Anne Krupsak | 1953 | 54th Lieutenant Governor of New York |
| Richard Leone | 1962 | Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, State Treasurer of New Jersey |
| Sandy Pasch | 1981 (MS) | Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly |
| George Raines | 1866 | New York State Senator |
| John Rayson | 1971 | Member of the Florida House of Representatives |
| Leland Rayson | 1946 | Member of the Illinois House of Representatives |
| Roger J. Robach | 1966 | Member of the New York State Assembly |
| Adolph J. Rodenbeck | 1885 | Member of the New York State Assembly, 47th Mayor of Rochester, New York |
| Linda Rosenthal | 1980 | Member of the New York State Assembly |
| Ebony Scott | 2000 | Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia |
| Josh Shapiro | 1995 | 48th Governor of Pennsylvania |
| Lisa Swain | 1980 | Member of the New Jersey Assembly |
| Ward Tolbert | 1902 | New York State Senator |
| Tony Vargas | 2007 | Nebraska State Senator |
| Akilah Weber | 2004 (MD) | Member of the California State Assembly |

#### Others

| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| David Buckel | 1980 | lawyer, environmental activist |
| Malik Evans | 2002 | 71st Mayor of Rochester, New York |
| M. Justin Herman | 1930 | Executive Director of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency |
| Albion Tourgée | 1862 | lawyer and judge, argued Plessy v. Ferguson |
| Mark Zaid | 1989 | lawyer |

### Journalism

Alumni listed here are notable for their journalism in newspapers, television, radio, or other media.
| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Susan B. Anthony II | 1938 | journalist |
| Roscoe Conkling Ensign Brown | 1889 | Managing Editor of the New York Tribune |
| Christopher Carosa | 1991 (MBA) | business journalist |
| Dudley Doust | 1952 | sports journalist |
| Jean Giambrone | 1942 | sports journalist |
| Bill Kauffman | 1981 | political journalist and author |
| Anne Keefe | 1946 | journalist |
| Stanley Levey | 1937, 1939 (MA) | journalist |
| Melissa Long | 2004 (MBA) | journalist |
| Janet Maslin | 1970 | film and literary critic |
| Dan Rattiner | 1961 | journalist and newspaper publisher |
| Madeline Sofia | 2016 (PhD) | science journalist |
| Harriet Van Horne | 1940 | journalist |

### Literature

Alumni listed here are notable as authors of drama, fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.
| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Karen Alkalay-Gut | 1966, 1975 (PhD) | poet |
| Benjamin Anastas | 1991 | novelist |
| Suzanne Arms | 1965 | author, activist |
| Neil Baldwin | 1969 | author |
| John M. Barry | 1969 (MA) | author |
| Francis Bellamy | 1876 | author of the Pledge of Allegiance |
| Christian Cameron | 1987 | novelist |
| Brock Clarke | 1998 (PhD) | novelist |
| Jennifer Donnelly | 1985 | novelist, Carnegie Medal winner |
| Rossiter Johnson | 1863 | author and editor |
| John Kessel | 1972 | author, Nebula Award winner |
| David Mason | 1989 (PhD) | poet |
| Cheryl Mendelson | 1973 (PhD) | author |
| Robert C. O'Brien | 1940 | author, Newbery Medal winner |
| Thomas Perry | 1974 (PhD) | novelist |
| Dale Peterson | 1967 | author |
| Charles Mulford Robinson | 1891 | editor, author, pioneer of urban planning |
| Betsy Sholl | 1969 (MA) | poet |
| William Stoddard | 1858 | author |
| Harriet A. Washington | 1976 | author, National Book Critics Circle Award winner |
| William Cleaver Wilkinson | 1857 | poet and literary critic |

### Military

| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Gretchen Herbert | 1984 | Rear Admiral, United States Navy, Commander of the United States Navy Cyber Forces |
| David Ottignon | 1997 (MBA) | Lieutenant General, United States Marine Corps, Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs |
| Sean A. Pybus | 1979 | Vice Admiral, United States Navy, Deputy Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command |
| Philip Russell | 1958 (MD) | Major General, United States Army, Commander of the United States Army Medical Research and Development Command |
| Sidney T. Weinstein | 1980 (MBA) | Lieutenant General, United States Army, Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Department of the Army |

### Religion

| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Mariann Budde | 1982 | Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington |
| Robert Stuart MacArthur | 1867 | Baptist minister and author |
| Jennifer Roback Morse | 1980 (PhD) | Catholic activist, founder of the Ruth Institute |
| Francis H. Rowley | 1875 | Baptist minister, hymn writer, animal welfare activist |
| Henry Clay Vedder | 1873 | church historian |

### Science and technology

| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Bryce Bayer | 1960 (MS) | inventor of the Bayer filter |
| Haim Bodek | 1995 | developer of trading software |
| Josh Cassada | 2000 (PhD) | astronaut |
| Don Catlin | 1965 (MD) | pharmacologist, drug testing expert |
| Lloyd Conover | 1950 (PhD) | inventor of tetracycline, elected to the National Inventors Hall of Fame |
| Walter Cooper | 1957 (PhD) | research scientist |
| Corinna Cortes | 1993 (PhD) | computer scientist |
| Shawn Domagal-Goldman | 2001, 2002 (MS) | astrobiologist |
| Julian Earls | 1966 (MS) | Director of the NASA Glenn Research Center |
| Stan Frankel | 1942 (PhD) | Manhattan Project scientist and computer designer |
| Edward Gibson | 1959 | astronaut who set a record for space travel |
| Michael S. Gottlieb | 1973 (MD) | immunologist, first to identify AIDS as a new disease |
| William Harkness | 1858 | astronomer, director at the U.S. Naval Observatory |
| Luther Emmett Holt | 1875 | pediatrician |
| Jeannette Klute | 1953 | pioneer of color photography |
| Jay Last | 1951 | physicist and entrepreneur |
| J.C.R. Licklider | 1942 (PhD) | computer science pioneer |
| William Masters | 1943 (MD) | sexologist |
| Charles Munnerlyn | 1969 (PhD) | optical engineer |
| Paul Murdin | 1970 (PhD) | astronomer, identified the first known black hole |
| Kenneth Ouriel | 1977 (MD) | Head of Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic |
| James A. Pawelczyk | 1982 | astronaut |
| Sylvester Sanfilippo | 1947 | pediatrician, discoverer of Sanfilippo syndrome |
| Bruce Schneier | 1984 | computer security expert |
| Avie Tevanian | 1983 | software engineer |
| Eric Topol | 1979 (MD) | pioneering cardiologist |
| Edward Bright Vedder | 1898 | medical researcher |

### Sports

| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Eric Born | MBA | judoka |
| Brian Daboll | 1997 | NFL coach |
| John DiBartolomeo | 2013 | basketball player |
| Terry Gurnett | 1977 | soccer coach |
| Renée Richards | 1959 (MD) | tennis player |
| Dominic Seiterle | 2005 (MBA) | rower, Olympic gold medalist |
| Zenon Snylyk | 1955 | soccer player |

### Uncategorized

| Name | Class Year | Notability |
| Mary Calderone | 1939 (MD) | founder of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States |
| Jeremy Glick | 1993 | passenger on United Airlines Flight 93 |
| Jonathan D. Quick | 1979 (MPH,MD) | family physician and public health management specialist |
| Mabel Sine Wadsworth | 1931 | birth control activist |

## Notable non-graduate attendees

| Name | Affiliation | Notability |
| Angelo Badalamenti | student (transferred) | composer, Grammy Award winner |
| Jason Robert Brown | student (withdrew) | composer |
| David Diamond | student (transferred) | composer, recipient of the National Medal of Arts |
| Shirley Jackson | student (transferred) | author |
| Meyer Jacobstein | student (withdrew) | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York |
| Ilya Kaminsky | student (transferred) | poet |
| Michael O'Donoghue | student (withdrew) | comedy writer, Emmy Award winner |
| David Satcher | medical resident | 16th Surgeon General of the United States |
| George B. Selden | student (withdrew) | inventor |
| Rangaswamy Srinivasan | postdoctoral fellow | physicist, recipient of the National Medal of Technology |
| Thomas Thackeray Swinburne | student (withdrew) | poet |
| Milen Velchev | student (transferred) | Minister of Finance, Bulgaria |

## Notable faculty
### Nobel laureates

| Name | Affiliation | Notability |
| Henrik Dam | Faculty (1942-1945) | 1943 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine |
| Robert Fogel | Faculty (1960-1965; 1968-1975) | 1993 Nobel Prize in Economics |
| Gérard Mourou | Faculty | 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics |
| Paul Romer | Faculty (1986-1990) | 2018 Nobel Prize in Economics |
| Richard Thaler | Faculty (1974-1978) | 2017 Nobel Prize in Economics (see also under 'Notable alumni') |
| George Hoyt Whipple | Faculty (1914-1976) | 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine |

### National Medal winners

| Name | Affiliation | Notability |
| Esther M. Conwell | Faculty | National Medal of Science, chemist and physicist (see also under 'Notable alumni') |
| Elizabeth Fox-Genovese | Faculty | National Humanities Medal, historian |
| Anthony Hecht | Faculty | National Medal of Arts, poet |
| Victor Weisskopf | Faculty | National Medal of Science, physicist |

### National academy members

Faculty listed here were elected to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, or national academies outside the United States.
| Name | Affiliation | Notability |
| Charles David Allis | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, molecular biologist, winner of a Lasker Award |
| Porter W. Anderson, Jr. | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, molecular biologist, winner of a Lasker Award |
| Richard N. Aslin | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, psychologist |
| Lewis White Beck | Faculty | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, philosopher |
| Thomas W. Clarkson | Faculty | National Academy of Medicine, toxicologist |
| Paul Cohen | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, mathematician, recipient of the Fields Medal |
| George W. Corner | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, physician |
| James Druckman | Faculty | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist |
| Lee Alvin DuBridge | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, physicist |
| Stanley Engerman | Faculty | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, economic historian, recipient of the Bancroft Prize |
| Wallace O. Fenn | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, physiologist |
| Richard Fenno | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist |
| Loretta Ford | Dean, Faculty | National Academy of Medicine, nurse |
| Marshall D. Gates Jr. | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, chemist |
| Eugene Genovese | Faculty | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, historian, recipient of the Bancroft Prize |
| Howard Hanson | Faculty | American Academy of Arts and Letters, composer, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize |
| Johannes Holtfreter | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, biologist |
| John R. Huizenga | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, physicist |
| Ronald W. Jones | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, economist |
| Asahel C. Kendrick | Faculty | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, classicist |
| Henry E. Kyburg Jr. | Faculty | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, philosopher |
| Paul MacAvoy | Dean, Faculty | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, economist |
| Leonard Mandel | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, physicist |
| Lynne E. Maquat | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, biochemist, recipient of the Wolf Prize in Medicine |
| Robert Marshak | Faculty | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, physicist |
| Elizabeth R. McAnarney | Faculty | National Academy of Medicine, pediatrician |
| Lionel W. McKenzie | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, economist |
| Elliott Waters Montroll | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, mathematician |
| Duncan T. Moore | Faculty | National Academy of Engineering, optical engineer |
| Shaul Mukamel | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, chemist and physicist |
| Maiken Nedergaard | Faculty | Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, neuroscientist |
| Elissa L. Newport | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, cognitive scientist |
| W. Albert Noyes Jr. | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, French Academy of Sciences, chemist, recipient of the Priestley Medal |
| Brian O'Brien | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, optical physicist |
| Walter Oi | Faculty | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, economist |
| H. Allen Orr | Faculty | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, biologist, recipient of the Darwin–Wallace Medal |
| Charles E. Phelps | Provost, Faculty | National Academy of Medicine, economist |
| William H. Riker | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, political scientist |
| Carl Rogers | Faculty | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, psychologist |
| John Romano | Faculty | National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, physician |
| Lainie Ross | Faculty | National Academy of Medicine, physician |
| Christopher Rouse | Faculty | American Academy of Arts and Letters, composer, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize |
| Seymour I. Schwartz | Faculty | National Academy of Medicine, surgeon |
| Joanna Scott | Faculty | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, novelist, MacArthur Fellow |
| Fred Sherman | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, biochemist |
| Frederick Campion Steward | Faculty | The Royal Society, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, botanist |
| Michael Tanenhaus | Faculty | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, cognitive scientist, recipient of the Rumelhart Prize |
| Dean S. Tarbell | Faculty | National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, chemist |
| Perez Zagorin | Faculty | American Academy of Arts and Sciences, historian |

### Engineering and mathematics

| Name | Affiliation | Notability |
| Henry Kautz | Faculty | computer scientist, former AAAI President |
| Joseph Neisendorfer | Faculty | mathematician |
| Isaac Ferdinand Quinby | Faculty | mathematician |
| Douglas Ravenel | Faculty | mathematician, winner of the Veblen Prize |
| Michael L. Scott | Faculty | computer scientist, winner of the Dijkstra Prize |

### Humanities

| Name | Affiliation | Notability |
| Janet Catherine Berlo | Faculty | art historian |
| Douglas Crimp | Faculty | art historian |
| Peter H. Christensen | Faculty | art historian |
| Robert L. Holmes | Faculty | philosopher |
| Th. Emil Homerin | Faculty | Islamic Studies scholar |
| James Longenbach | Faculty | literary scholar and poet |
| Paul O'Dette | Faculty | musician, Grammy Award winner |
| Hyam Plutzik | Faculty | poet |
| Stephen Roessner | Faculty | audio engineer, Grammy Award winner |
| Frank Shuffelton | Faculty | literary scholar |
| Richard Taylor | Faculty | philosopher |
| Colin Murray Turbayne | Faculty | philosopher |
| Bernard Weisberger | Faculty | historian |

### Natural sciences

| Name | Affiliation | Notability |
| Daphne Bavelier | Faculty | cognitive scientist |
| George Packer Berry | Faculty | bacteriologist |
| Robert W. Boyd | Faculty | optical physicist |
| Joseph H. Eberly | Faculty | optical physicist, winner of a Townes Award |
| Carmala Garzione | Faculty | geologist |
| C.R. Hagen | Faculty | physicist, winner of the Sakurai Prize |
| Harold Hodge | Faculty | toxicologist |
| Susumu Okubo | Faculty | physicist, winner of the Sakurai Prize |
| Daven Presgraves | Faculty | biologist |
| Carlos Stroud | Faculty | optical physicist |
| Ching W. Tang | Faculty | chemist, inventor of the organic light-emitting diode, winner of the Wolf Prize in Chemistry |
| Wolf V. Vishniac | Faculty | microbiologist |
| Stafford L. Warren | Faculty | radiologist, inventor of the mammogram, recipient of the Enrico Fermi Award |
| Emil Wolf | Faculty | physicist |
| Frank E. Young | Dean, Faculty | geneticist |

### Social sciences

| Name | Affiliation | Notability |
| Edward L. Deci | Faculty | psychologist, co-founder of self-determination theory |
| Edward M. Hundert | Dean, Faculty | psychiatrist |
| Narayana Kocherlakota | Faculty | economist |
| Steven Landsburg | Faculty | economist |
| Sam Nolutshungu | Faculty | political scientist |
| Charles Plosser | Faculty | economist |
| Richard M. Ryan | Faculty | psychologist, co-founder of self-determination theory (see also under 'Notable alumni') |
| Mark Zupan | Dean, Faculty | economist |

## Presidents of the University

| | Name | Birth-Death | Years as President |
| 1 | Rev. Martin Brewer Anderson | (1815–1890) | (1853–1888) |
| 2 | Rev. David Jayne Hill | (1850–1932) | (1889–1896) |
| 3 | Rev. Benjamin Rush Rhees | (1860–1939) | (1900–1935) |
| 4 | Alan Chester Valentine | (1901–1980) | (1935–1950) |
| 5 | Cornelis Willem de Kiewiet | (1902–1986) | (1951–1961) |
| 6 | Wilson Allen Wallis | (1912–1998) | (1962–1970) |
| 7 | Robert Lamb Sproull | (1918–2014) | (1970–1984) |
| 8 | George Dennis O'Brien | (1931–) | (1984–1994) |
| 9 | Thomas H. Jackson | (1950–) | (1994–2005) |
| 10 | Joel Seligman | (1950–) | (2005–2018) |
| 11 | Sarah C. Mangelsdorf | (1958–) | (2019–Present) |