List of Vassar College people

Updated on Sep 29, 2024

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

Academics

Heloise Hersey, class of 1876 - professor of literature

Emily Jordan Folger, class of 1879 - Co-founder of the Folger Shakespeare Library

Edith Clarke, class of 1908 - America's first female professor of electrical engineering

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.

Mary Bunting, class of 1931 - Microbiologist and president of Radcliffe College

Winifred Asprey, class of 1938 - Pioneering mathematician and computer scientist

Nancy Nichols Barker, class of 1946 - Professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin

Jean Briggs, 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

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.

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, Oberlin College

Jo Ann Gora, class of 1969 - President, 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)

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 and professor at Williams College

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 - a Professor and Director of the Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, as well as an 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, the iSchool at the University of Toronto. Founding Director of HATII

Elisa Stephens, class of 1981 - President of Academy of Art University

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, associate professor of English and Asian Studies at SUNY New Paltz

Matthew Koss, class of 1983 - Solid state physicist and professor

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, UAB

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

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 American performance artist and playwright, currently an 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.

John Figdor, class of 2006 - Humanist Chaplain at Stanford University

Activists and philanthropists

Mary Boyce Temple, class of 1877 - Preservationist and philanthropist

Marion Cothren, class of 1900 - Suffrage and peace activist, children's author

Eleanor Fitchen, class of 1934 - Landmarks and environment in New York State

Mary Louise Frost, class of 1866 - Peace activist, editor

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 - 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 a documentary filmmaker

Alexandra Sicotte-Levesque, class of 2000 - Founder of Journalists for Human Rights (JHR)

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 (19th century) unknown - Painter and art critic

Elizabeth Bauer Mock, class of 1932 - Influential advocate for modern architecture in the United States

Linda Nochlin, class of 1951 - Pioneer in the field of feminist art theory

Nancy Graves, class of 1961 - First woman to solo at the Whitney Museum of American Art

Adam Kalkin, class of 1984 - Designer of the Kalkin House

Michael Portnoy, class of 1993 - Multimedia artist, choreographer, musician, actor and curator

Mary Ping, class of 2000 - New York based fashion designer

Clancy Philbrick, class of 2008 - Contemporary artist

Alexa Meade, class of 2009 - Uses the human body as a canvas

Business

Mary F. Hoyt, class of 1880 - the 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, boardmember 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 -President of KNBC

Ken Kaess, class of 1976 - CEO of DDB Worldwide

Anthony Friscia class of 1978 - founder of AMR Research

Robert Friedman, class of 1978 - President of Classic Media, president of New Line TV, president of AOL, Interactive Marketing & TV

LoriGranger, class of 1979 - co-founder of Levenger Company

Karen Kessler, class of 1978, founding member and president of public relations firm Evergreen Partners, Inc.

Mark S. Ordan, class of 1979 - CEO and president of The Mills Corporation, CEO of Sunrise Senior Living

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 was elected President in 2007, Executive Vice Chairman of the independent oil refinery Motor Oil Hellas

Peter Ian Cummings, class of 1985 - Founder of XY Magazine

Ron Shapiro, class of 1986 - President of Atlantic Records

Henry P Johnson, class of 1988- President and CEO of Fiduciary Trust Company International

Ken Levine, class of 1988 - Founder of Irrational Games and creator of BioShock

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

Mitch Truwit, class of 1991 - CEO of Apax Partners

Darys Estrella, class of 1992 - CEO of the Dominican Republic Stock Market

Stefan Gerard, class of 1992 - Co-founder of Gen Art

Chris Fry, class of 1992 - Senior vice president for technology, Twitter

Elisabeth Murdoch, class of 1992 - CEO of Shine Limited, daughter of Rupert Murdoch

Jon Fisher, class of 1994 - Entrepreneur

Carter Adamson, class of 1994 - Founder and COO of Rdio

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

Scott Kauffman, notable CEO

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

Ian lynch Smith - Founder and president of Freeverse

Drama, film, and television

Frances Sternhagen, class of 1951 - Tony Award-winning actress

Toni Grant, class of 1964 - Psychologist and radio host

Rebecca Eaton, class of 1969 - Award-winning executive producer of Masterpiece (TV series) on PBS; Time Magazine 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, and the current 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

Elizabeth Kaledin, class of 1984 - Anchor for NY1

Hung Huang, class of 1984 - fashion figure, publisher; Time Magazine 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 winning producer, president of Jerry Bruckheimer Television

Hope Davis, class of 1986 - actress

Dan Bucatinsky, class of 1987 - actor/writer/producer

Jane Lipsitz, class of 1987 - Director, Katy Perry:Part of Me

Paul Zehrer, class of 1987 - film and television director, writer, producer, and editor

Saar Klein, class of 1989 - Academy Award nominated film editor

Tanya Wright, class of 1989 - Actress

Carlos Jacott, class of 1989 - Actor and writer

John Gatins, class of 1990 - Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, Real Steel and Flight

Jonathan Karl, class of 1990 - ABC News Senior Political Correspondent

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 Corp

Stacy London, class of 1991 - Television host, author, and magazine editor

Jason Blum, class of 1991 - Producer of films, including 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 - 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

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.

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

Jeff Davis - Writer and creator of police procedural drama Criminal Minds and MTV's Teen Wolf

Aviva Drescher - Season 5 cast member on The Real Housewives of New York City

Kerri Green - Actress, director

Lisa Lassek - Film producer and editor

Jay Severin - Commentator and talk radio host

Sandy Stern - Film producer, known for his work on the films Pump Up the Volume, Being John Malkovich, and Saved!

Lisa Zane - Actress

Roger Wolfson - Screenwriter, most notable for writing for the TV series Fairly Legal, Saving Grace, The Closer, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Century City

Thomas Dean Donnelly - Screenwriter of films such as Sahara and an upcoming adaption of the Uncharted video games

Tom Gorai - Film producer

Espionage

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

Fashion

Louisa Gummer, class of 2013, American model

Music

Elizabeth Bristol Greenleaf, class of 1917 - Collector of folk songs

Jane O'Leary, class of 1968 - musician and composer

Karen Petersen, class of 1976 - one of the first women recording engineers and record producers, Chappell Music Executive

Jamie Broumas, class of 1981 - Jazz singer, vocal instructor and arts administrator

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 and, journalist

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, 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

Crystal Eastman, class of 1903 - Coauthor 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 from 1951 to 1956, chairwoman of the New Jersey Highway Authority (1955-1964), and United States Ambassador to Denmark (1964-1968)

Lydia Stevens, class of 1939 - Connecticut House of Representatives in 1988 and 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 from 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

Colette Lafuente, class of 1963 - Mayor of Poughkeepsie

Diana Gribbon Motz, class of 1965 - Associate Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

Margaret Milner Richardson, class of 1965 - IRS commissioner (1993–97)

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 infamous "Preppie Murder" trial of Robert Chambers and author.

Catherine Abate, class of 1969 - New York State senator, President/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 - Congressman (Long Island), Executive Vice President (JPMorgan Chase)

Leslie Longenbaugh, class of 1980 - Federal magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the District of Alaska

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 from 1995 to 2003

Marc Thiessen, class of 1989 - White House speechwriter (2004–09)

Alfonso H. Lopez, Class of 1992 - Virginia State Delegate

Deborah L. Wince-Smith - President of the Council on Competitiveness

Laura E. Kennedy - U.S. ambassador to Turkmenistan

Science and medicine

Christine Ladd-Franklin, class of 1869 - Psychologist

Ellen Swallow Richards, class of 1870 - Chemist

Ellen Churchill Semple, class of 1882 - Geographer

Margaret Floy Washburn, class of 1891 - Psychologist

Ruth Benedict, class of 1909 - Anthropologist

Edith Banfield Jackson, class of 1916 - Behavioral pediatrician

Mary Calderone, class of 1925 - Physician

Grace Hopper, class of 1928 - Computer scientist

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

Vera Rubin, class of 1948 - Astronomer

Beatrix Ann (McCleary) Hamburg (first African American admitted to Vassar), class of 1944 - psychiatrist, medical researcher

Lois Haibt, class of 1955 - Computer scientist

Heather Lechtman, class of 1956 - American materials scientist and archaeologist, and Director, Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology (CMRAE) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and 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, National Institutes of Health (NIH) (1991-1993), Dean, Ohio State University Medical School, President of the American Red Cross (1999–2001)

Ellen Kovner Silbergeld, class of 1967 - Engineer

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

Patricia Buckley Bozell - author and publisher

Elizabeth Williams Champney, class of 1869 - author of Three Vassar Girls series

Mary Harriott Norris, class of 1870 - author and Dean of Women

Eva March Tappan, class of 1875 - 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 - Pulitzer Prize–winning 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 from 1949 to 1950

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 as the author of 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 who has won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize

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

Reggie Nadelson class of 1966 - mystery novelist and biographer

Lucinda Franks, class of 1968& - Pulitzer Prize winner, 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 - Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist

Esther Friesner, class of 1972 - prolific 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 - award-winning poet and children's book writer

Paco Underhill, class of 1975 - environmental psychologist and business writer

Judith Regan, class of 1975 - controversial 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

Janet McDonald, class of 1977 - writer of young adult fiction

Michael Specter, class of 1977 - award-winning 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

Matthew Brelis, class of 1980 - Pulitzer Prize and Nieman Fellowship winning journalist

Avery Chenoweth, class of 1980 - award-winning journalist, novelist, and short-story writer

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 - award-winning poet

Heinz Insu Fenkl, class of 1982 - award-winning writer, editor and translator

Kimberly Quinn, class of 1982 - journalist, commentator and magazine publisher and writer

Matthew Kauffman, class of 1983 - Hartford Courant journalist and Pulitzer Prize finalist

A. V. Christie, class of 1985 - award-winning poet

David Oliver Relin, class of 1985 - journalist and co-author of the controversial New York Times bestselling book, Three Cups of Tea

Scott Westerfeld, class of 1985 - author of Uglies series, among other novels

Thomas Beller, class of 1987 - author

Evan Wright, class of 1987 - author, best known for writing 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

Taegan Goddard, class of 1988 - Founder and publisher of Political Wire

Rebecca Stead, class of 1989- award winning 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 for series at Marvel and DC Comics

Nunzio DeFilippis, class of 1991, and Christina Weir, class of 1992 - husband and wife comic book writing team

Greg Rucka, class of 1991 - comic book writer

Daphne Kalotay, class of 1992 - novelist, short story writer, and professor

Meghan Daum, class of 1992 - author, essayist, and journalist

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, Associate Professor of English at Trinity University

Joe Hill, class of 1995 - novelist, Heart-Shaped Box, son of Stephen King

Jeremy Jackson, class of 1995 - Author who has written 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 - author

Taije Silverman, class of 1996, poet

Owen King, class of 1999 - author, son of Stephen King

Melissa Walker, class of 1999 - puthor

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 - Pulitzer Prize–winning writer

Shelby Bach, class of 2008 - author

M.J. Alexander

Augusta Clawson

Geri Doran - award-winning 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

Attended, but did not graduate

Anthony Bourdain (graduated from The Culinary Institute of America), chef, writer

Janet Cooke, journalist (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 Fiction