List of Syracuse University people
Appearance
This is a list of notable individuals associated with Syracuse University.
Founders
- Jesse Truesdell Peck - first Chairman of the University's Board of Trustees
- Wilfred W. Porter
- George F. Comstock
- George L. Taylor
- Charles Andrews
Benefactors
Syracuse has had many financial supporters, but some stand out by the magnitude of their contributions. Among those who have made transformative donations commemorated at the university are:
- John D. Archbold- oil
- George Arents, Jr.- American Tobacco Company
- Andrew Carnegie- steel
- George F. Comstock- real estate
- John Crouse- banking
- Joseph Lubin- real estate
- Donald Newhouse- publishing
- Samuel Irving Newhouse, Sr.- publishing
- Samuel Irving Newhouse, Jr.- publishing
- Lyman Cornelius Smith- firearm and typewriter magnate
- Thomas J. Watson- IBM
Notable Alumni
Arts and Letters
- Julia Alvarez - poet, novelist, and essayist
- Robb Armstrong - cartoonist of the comic strip Jump Start
- Wendy Coakley-Thompson - novelist
- Stephen Crane - novelist; stayed only one semester, later admitting he came "more to play baseball than to study." [1]
- Adam Davies - novelist
- Aleš Debeljak - poet, essayist and sociologist
- Stephen Dunn - poet
- Moses Finley - ancient historian
- Carlisle Floyd - opera composer
- Clement Greenberg - art critic
- Henry Grethel - fashion designer
- Morton Janklow - literary agent
- Shirley Jackson - novelist
- Betsey Johnson - fashion designer
- David N. Johnson - composer, organist, and professor
- Joseph S. Kozlowski - portrait artist
- Hilton Kramer - critic, "The Revenge of the Philistines"
- Barbara Kruger - collage artist
- David Krutz - author
- Sol LeWitt - sculptor
- Mark Lombardi - abstract painter
- John D. MacDonald - novelist
- Don Maloney - Japanophile author
- Jerre Mangione novelist, and scholar of the Italian-American experience
- Robert Mankoff - cartoonist and editor of The New Yorker
- Donald Martino - Pulitzer Prize-winning composer
- Scott McCloud - cartoonist and comics theorist
- Jay McInerney - novelist
- Joyce Carol Oates - novelist
- Robert O'Connor - novelist
- Tom Perrotta - novelist and screenwriter
- Salvador Plascencia - novelist
- Mary Jo Putney - romance novelist
- David Ross - museum director
- William Safire - Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator and former New York Times columnist
- George Saunders - short story writer
- Alice Sebold – novelist
- Laurie Gwen Shapiro – novelist, director, Independent Spirit Award for Keep the River on Your Right
- William Tester - short story writer
- John A. Williams (author) - novelist
- Howard Wyeth - drummer and pianist
Education
- Molly Corbett Broad - President, American Council on Education
- Walter Broadnax - President, Clark Atlanta University
- George Campbell Jr. - President, Cooper Union
- Kent John Chabotar - President, Guilford College
- Michael Crow - President, Arizona State University
- John Crowley - Vice President for Federal Relations, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Mark Emmert - President, University of Washington
- A. Lee Fritschler - former President, Dickinson College
- Jonathan Gibralter - President, State University of New York at Farmingdale
- John Griffith - President, Presbyterian College
- Kermit L. Hall - former President, State University of New York at Albany
- Richard Hersh - President, Trinity College (Connecticut)
- Anne Hopkins - former President, University of North Florida
- Barry Mills - President, Bowdoin College
- Sean O'Keefe - former Chancellor, Louisiana State University (LSU)
- L. Jay Oliva - former President, New York University
- David Potter - President, Delta State University
- Kenneth P. Ruscio - President, Washington and Lee University
- Donna Shalala - President, University of Miami
- Deborah F. Stanley - President, State University of New York at Oswego
Investors, Industrialists & Key Executives
- P.O. Ackley - World-Renowned Gunsmith, CEO, P.O. Ackley Inc.
- William F. Allyn - CEO, WelchAllyn, Inc.
- Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal - founder and President, Kingdom Holding Co
- Daniel D'Aniello - founding partner, The Carlyle Group
- Steven Barnes - Managing Director, Bain Capital Inc
- Mark Begor - President & CEO, GE Card Services
- Bob Berenson - Vice Chairman and General Manager, Grey Global Group
- Jeffrey Cohen - CEO, Silverado Capital Management
- Angel Collado-Schwarz - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, NAZCA Saatchi & Saatchi
- John Couri - Co-Founder, Duty Free International
- Arthur Crames - Managing Director/Principal, Bear, Stearns and Co.
- Gerald B. Cramer - Chairman, Cramer Rosenthal & McGlynn
- John H. Chapple - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Nextel Partners Inc.
- Douglas D. Danforth - Former Chair and CEO of Westinghouse
- Nick Donofrio - Senior Vice President, Technology & Manufacturing, IBM
- Kelsey Doyle- CEO, Taylor and Anderson
- Edward E. Diefenbach - President & CEO, Peoplesolve Corporation
- Sue Frieden - Global Managing Partner, Ernst & Young
- Walter B. Gerken - Former Chairman and CEO, PIMCO Advisors
- Kenneth Goodman - President and COO, Forest Laboratories
- Louis Giuliano - Chairman, President & CEO , ITT Industries
- Paul Gordon - Managing Director, Bank of New York
- Irwin Guttag - Wall Street arbitrageur and former Director of the New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange
- Richard Haydon - Managing Director, Neuberger Berman
- Peter Hebert - co-founder and Managing Partner, Lux Capital
- John Heimann - Senior Advisor and former Chairman of Global Financial Institutions, Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc
- Patrick J. Hennigan - Managing Director, Morgan Stanley
- Joyce Hergenhan - Former President, The General Electric Fund
- JoAnn H. Heisen - Vice President & Chief Information Officer, Johnson & Johnson
- Joanne Hill - Managing Director, Goldman Sachs & Company
- Sharon Haines Jacquet - Managing Director, JPMorgan Private Bank
- William James - Director, Lazard Freres & Company
- Richard Kirshenbaum - Chairman/Executive Creative Director, Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners
- Scott Kronick - President of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide's China operations
- James D. Kuhn - President, Newmark Knight Frank
- E. Floyd Kvamme - Partner Emeritus; Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers. Chairman, Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
- Kenneth Leibler - Chairman & CEO, Boston Options Exchange
- Robert Menschel - Senior Director, Goldman Sachs Group
- Walter G. Montgomery - Partner, Robinson Lerer and Montgomery
- Ronald P. O'Hanley - Vice Chairman, Mellon Financial Corporation
- Akira Ohtomo - founder and CEO, Pan Pacific Enterprises, Japan
- Robert Pearlman - Managing Director, Neuberger Berman
- Michael Perlis - Managing Partner, SOFTBANK Capital Partners
- Howard Phanstiel - Chairman and CEO, PacifiCare Health Systems
- Cassandra Radar - Director of Operations, National Driver Placement Inc.
- Laique Rehman - CEO, US Petrochemical Industries
- H. John Riley Jr - former CEO, Cooper Industries
- Arthur Rock - investment banker, co-founder Intel
- Frederic N. Schwartz - former Chairman and CEO, Bristol-Myers Co
- Bob Seltzer - President and CEO, Ogilvy PR Worldwide
- Susan C. Volcker Penny - Managing Partner, Associated Mezzanine Investors
- Eugen von Baden-Manners-Schleswig - entrepreneur and founder of DIY Enterprises, Baden, Germany
- Michael G. Thonis - Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Charlesbank Capital Partners. former Director of Research, Harvard Management Company
- Peter Valdes - co-founder, Tivoli Systems (an IBM Company)
- Martin Whitman - founder and Chairman, Third Avenue Management
- Keisuke Yawata - venture capitalist and former president, Applied Materials, Japan
- Subhas Basu - CEO, Silicon Interfaces Pvt Ltd, India
Hospitality, Real Estate, Construction & Architecture
- Richard L. Chadakoff - partner and head of the global real estate practice group at Latham & Watkins, LLP
- Jerome M. Cohen - Chairman, Williams Real Estate Co. (GVA Williams)
- Winston C. Fisher - Partner in Fisher Brothers, a New York builder
- Bruce Fowle - architect, Fox & Fowle Architects
- Adam Gross - architect, Ayers Saint Gross
- Richard S. Hayden - architect responsible for restoring the Statue of Liberty
- Diane Paparo - interior designer; principal of Diane Paparo Associates and Diane Paparo Studio
- Jonathan D. Resnick - Managing Director, Jack Resnick & Sons, Inc.
- David Rockwell - founder and CEO, Rockwell Group
- Steve Rubell - former Studio 54 club owner
- Ian Schrager - hotelier and former Studio 54 club owner; pioneered the "boutique hotel" concept
- Werner Seligmann - architect
- Abdallah Yabroudi - CEO, Dubai Contracting Company
- Gianfranco Zaccai - President and CEO, Design Continuum
Law and Public Service
- Craig Benson, former New Hampshire Governor
- Joseph R. Biden, Jr. - U.S. Senator from Delaware, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and 2008 Vice-President-elect
- Joseph R. (Beau) Biden, III - Attorney General of Delaware
- Angus Cameron - former Senator from Wisconsin
- Gary Chan, Member of Legislative Council of Hong Kong since 2008
- John T. Connor - former U.S. Secretary of Commerce
- David Crane - former Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone
- Al D'Amato - former Senator from New York
- Richard Danzig - former Secretary of the Navy
- Robert Duffy - Mayor of Rochester, New York
- Ronald A. George - Maryland State Delegate
- David Gordon - Partner at Latham & Watkins, LLP
- James E. Graves, Jr. - Mississippi Supreme Court Justice
- Arthur T. Hannett - former Governor of New Mexico
- Randy Kuhl - Congressman, New York
- Belva A. Lockwood - first woman to receive her party’s nomination for President of the United States, and the first woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court
- Oren Lyons - Onondaga Faithkeeper and Global Indigenous Leader
- Joanie Mahoney - Onondaga County Executive
- Theodore McKee - federal appeals court judge, Philadelphia
- John H. Mulroy - former Onondaga County Executive
- Bismarck Myrick - former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia and Lesotho
- Sean O'Keefe - former NASA administrator
- Masahide Ota - former Governor of Okinawa, Japan
- John Prevas - Circuit Court Judge, City of Baltimore
- Elliott Portnoy - Chairman of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP
- Steven Rothman - Congressman, New Jersey
- Warren Rudman - former Senator
- Patrick Sammon - President of Log Cabin Republicans
- Donna Shalala - former Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Mitchel Wallerstein - former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for counter-proliferation policy
- George Warrington - NJ Transit president and former Amtrak president
- John P. White - former Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Defense
Media and Communications
- Marv Albert - sportscaster
- David Amber - reporter, ESPN
- Damon Amendolara - sportscaster
- Len Berman – sportscaster
- Matthew Berry - ESPN fantasy sports analyst
- Samantha Brown - TV host
- Joe Castiglione - sportscaster
- Michael Cole - WWE Raw commentator
- Bob Costas - sportscaster, NBC
- Bob Dotson - journalist
- Ian Eagle - sportscaster
- Marty Glickman – sportscaster
- Megyn Kelly - co-anchor of "America’s Newsroom," Fox News
- Ted Koppel - broadcast journalist, "Nightline"
- Larry Kramer - President, CBS Interactive (former President of CBS Marketwatch.com)
- Steve Kroft - co-editor and news correspondent, "60 Minutes"
- Michael Kranish - journalist
- David Levy - president, Turner Entertainment Group
- Harold E. Martin - Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaperman, Montgomery, Alabama Advertiser
- Mike McAlary - Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
- Sean McDonough - sportscaster, ESPN
- Joe McNally - photographer, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated
- Jim Naughtie - British journalist and radio presenter
- Bob Neumeier - sportscaster, NBC
- Donald Newhouse - president, Advance Publications
- S.I. Newhouse, Jr. - Chairman & CEO, Advance Publications/ Chairman, Conde Nast Publications
- Dave Pasch - sportscaster, ESPN
- Dave Ryan - sportscaster, ESPN
- Bob Shannon - radio DJ/Announcer, CBS-FM New York
- Arun Shourie - former editor, The Indian Express
- Fred Silverman - former President, NBC
- Jayson Stark - journalist/ sportscaster, ESPN
- Dick Stockton – sportscaster
- John Sykes - former Chairman and CEO, Infinity Broadcasting (former president of VH1)
- Mike Tirico - sportscaster, ABC/ESPN
Science, Engineering, Medicine and Exploration
- Albert Baez - developer of the X-ray reflection microscope, physics educator, and father of Joan Baez.
- Peter Bergmann - winner of the Einstein Prize for research on quantum gravity
- Eileen Collins - NASA astronaut and first female space shuttle commander
- Nina Fedoroff - geneticist and molecular biologist; Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State. Recipient of the National Medal of Science.
- Joan Feynman - astrophysicist
- Edith M. Flanigen - chemist and inventor
- George E. Fox - biologist and chemical engineer; co-discoverer of the Archaea kingdom of organisms
- Robert Jarvik - inventor of the first permanently-implantable artificial heart
- Joel Lebowitz - statistical physicist; member of the National Academy of Sciences
- Alfred U. MacRae - semiconductor physicist, developer of ion implantation; member of the National Academy of Engineering
- Story Musgrave - NASA astronaut
- Martin A. Pomerantz - astrophysicist, president emeritus of the Bartol Research Institute, and pioneer of Antarctic astronomy.
- Pierre Ramond - string theorist; winner of the 2004 Oskar Klein Medal
- Harry Frederick Recher - ornithologist; winner of the 1994 D.L. Serventy Medal
- Mark Reed - nanotechnology pioneer
- Joel Rosenbaum - cell biologist; winner of the E. B. Wilson Medal.
- Michael Streicher - developer of stainless steels; winner of the W. R. Whitney Award
- James Tour - organic chemist and nanotechnologist
- Clarence Abiathar Waldo - mathematician and educator known for his role in the Indiana Pi Bill affair
Sports
- Carmelo Anthony - basketball player
- Dave Bing – basketball player
- Jim Boeheim – basketball player and coach
- Jim Brown - football player, lacrosse player, actor
- Keith Bulluck - football player
- Derrick Coleman – basketball player
- John Coleman – baseball player
- Tom Coughlin - football coach, New York Giants
- Larry Csonka - football player
- Donovin Darius - football player
- Al Davis - NFL owner
- Ernie Davis - football player, Heisman Trophy winner
- Sherman Douglas – basketball player
- Randy Edsell - college football coach
- David Falk - Founder, SFX Basketball Group
- Dwight Freeney - football player
- Gary Gait - lacrosse player
- Paul Gait - lacrosse player
- Donte Greene - pro basketball player
- Tim Green - football player
- Marvin Harrison - football player
- Jason Hart - basketball player
- Qadry Ismail - football player
- Floyd Little - football player
- John Mackey - former NFL tight end, has college award named after him
- Donovan McNabb - football player
- Gerry McNamara - basketball player
- Dave Meggyesy - football player
- Gene Mills - wrestler, 1980 US Olympian, voted the "Athlete of the Year" by the U.S. Olympic Committee
- Art Monk - football player; NFL Hall of Fame inductee
- Joe Morris - football player
- Lawrence Moten - basketball player
- Louis Orr - basketball player
- Casey Powell - lacrosse player
- Mikey Powell - lacrosse player
- Ryan Powell - lacrosse player
- Myer Prinstein - Olympic medalist
- Leo Rautins - basketball player
- Mike Rotundo - professional wrestler
- Rony Seikaly - basketball player
- Wilmeth Sidat-Singh - football and basketball player
- Anthony Smith - football player
- Etan Thomas - basketball player
- John Wallace - basketball player
- Hakim Warrick - basketball player
- Dwayne Washington - basketball player
- Mike Willner - BWF Wrestler
- Doug Golden - Reliant Energy flag football
Visual & Performing Arts
- Lynn Ahrens - musical theatre lyricist
- Darryl Bell - actor
- Matthew Berry - screenwriter, Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles, Married with Children
- Tim Calpin - screenwriter
- Warren Casey - co-writer of the book, lyrics, and music for Grease
- Priscilla Chan - singer in Hong Kong
- Dick Clark - host of "American Bandstand;" television producer
- Taye Diggs - actor
- Peter Falk - actor
- Vera Farmiga - actress The Departed
- Judy Freudberg - writer for "Sesame Street" and for the Hollywood movies "An American Tale" and "The Land Before Time"
- Carl Gottlieb - screenwriter; vice-president of the Writers Guild of America, West
- Peter Guber - former studio head, Columbia Pictures and current CEO of Mandalay Entertainment
- Elizabeth Hendrickson - actress
- Miriam Hopkins - actress
- Grace Jones - singer, actress, and model
- Miss Jones - radio DJ and singer
- Lisa Lampanelli - comedian
- Frank Langella - actor
- James LaRosa - screenwriter, Tennis Channel blogger
- Riki Lindhome - actress
- Frank Marion - motion picture pioneer
- Neal McDonough - actor
- Sterling Morrison - musician
- Bill Viola - video artist
- Eliza Orlins - Survivor: Vanuatu contestant (4th Place); Survivor: Micronesia—Fans Vs. Favorites contestant (10th place)
- Suzanne Pleshette - actress, The Bob Newhart Show
- Kevin Michael Richardson - actor
- Maria Sansone - television presenter
- Reid Scott - actor
- Tom Everett Scott - actor
- Mark Stevens - President, Time-Life Music
- Lou Reed - musician
- Aaron Sorkin - television writer
- Jay Harrington - actor
- Jerry Stiller - actor
- Arielle Tepper - broadway producer
- Bill Viola - video artist
- Habib Tabani - Pakistani ghazal singer and industrialist, better known as Habib Wali Mohammad
- Vanessa Williams - singer, songwriter, actress, dancer
- Pete Yorn - musician
Other
- Jessica Cutler - blogger, Washingtonienne
- Maya Deren - 1933-35, avant-garde filmmaker and film theorist
- Harold Dorschug - radio engineer
- Eric Miller - designer of "The Wade" Converse shoe
- Jennifer Meyer - jewelry designer and founder of Jennifer Meyer Jewelry
- Lexington Steele - adult film star
- John Zogby - pollster, Zogby International
Notable WERW Radio Alumni
- Matt Fastow (general manager, 2006-2007), currently at Sirius Satellite Radio
- Adam Gold (general manager, 2005-2006) currently at WAER, in Syracuse, New York
- Sam Roberts (DJ, 2002-2006), currently works for Opie and Anthony (CBS, XM), and hosts the Sam and Than show
- Sharon Timure (general manager, 2002-2004), currently at Island Def Jam Records
- Doug Tribou (general manager, 1994-1996), currently at WBUR, Boston
- John Vacanti (general manager, 2000-2001), currently at Fuse TV
on XM Satellite Radio.
- Brian Jagoda (DJ, 2002-2003) currently works for the New York Mets and CBS Sports
- Matt Josephs currently works for WXGI in Richmond Virginia.
Notable educators
- William Alston
- Jonathan Bennett
- Peter Bergmann - won the Einstein Prize for research on quantum gravity.
- Catherine Bertini
- Philip Booth - poet.
- Arthur C. Brooks
- Raymond Carver
- Junot Diaz
- Mario Garcia [2]
- Per Brinch Hansen
- Douglas Holtz-Eakin - former Director of the U.S. Congressional Budget Office (2003-2005), and chief economic policy adviser to U.S. Senator John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign.
- Daniel Patrick Moynihan - Senator from New York, political scientist
- Ivan Mestrovic - artist
- Alexander Rosenberg
- George Saunders - writer.
- Delmore Schwartz - poet.
- Huston Smith - religious studies scholar.
- Robert Thompson
- Mark Trodden - theoretical cosmologist
- Peter Van Inwagen
- Frances Willard
- Tobias Wolff - writer.
- Julia Alvarez - poet, novelist, and essayist
Notable commencement speakers & honored guests
- 2008 - Bob Woodruff, ABC News journalist
- 2007 - Frank McCourt, author/Pulitzer Prize winner
- 2006 - Billy Joel, composer and singer
- 2005 - Jane Goodall, primatologist, ethologist and anthropologist
- 2004 - Phylicia Rashad, actress
- 2003 - Bill Clinton, former U.S. President, 1993-2001
- 2002 - Rudolph Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, 1994-2001
- 2001 - Eileen Collins, American astronaut
- 2000 - Ted Koppel, American journalist
- 1999 - Charles Schumer, U.S. Senator (D-NY), 1999-present
- 1998 - Robert Fulghum, author, essayist
- 1995 - Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services, 1993–2001
- 1994 - Kurt Vonnegut, novelist
- 1986 - Mario Cuomo, Governor of New York
- 1982 - Ted Koppel, journalist
- 1981 - Alexander Haig, U.S. Secretary of State, 1981-1982
- 1979 - Tom Brokaw, journalist
- 1973 - Edward M. Kennedy, U.S. Senator (D-MA), 1962-present
- 1969 - William F. Buckley, journalist
- 1966 - Nelson Rockefeller, Governor of New York, 1959-1973
- 1965 - Robert F. Kennedy, U.S. Senator (D-NY), 1965-1968
- 1961 - Ayn Rand, novelist
- 1960 - Harry S. Truman, former U.S. President, 1945-1953
- 1959 - Robert Frost, poet
- 1957 - John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senator (D-MA), 1953-1960
- 1937 - Herbert Hoover, former U.S. President, 1929-1933
- 1930 - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Governor of New York, 1928-1932