List of New School people

The list of New School people includes notable students, alumni, faculty, administrators and trustees of the New School. The New School is a private university located in New York City that offers degrees and diplomas in seventy one programs and majors in its eight colleges. Approximately 53,000 living New School alumni reside in more than 112 countries.

World leaders

 * Hage Geingob, 3rd President of The Republic of Namibia
 * Shimon Peres, President of Israel, Nobel Peace Prize recipient
 * Eleanor Roosevelt, political activist; First Lady; United Nations Human Rights Prize recipient

Academics

 * Stanley Aronowitz, B.A., 1968, sociologist
 * Nelson Barbosa, Ph.D., economist, ex Brazil's Minister of Finance
 * Ruth Benedict, psychological anthropologist, author of Patterns of Culture
 * Peter L. Berger, sociologist; co-author of The Social Construction of Reality
 * Heather Boushey, Ph.D., economist
 * Jean L. Cohen, Ph.D., political theorist
 * Barbara A. Cornblatt, Ph.D., M.B.A., psychologist
 * Uri Davis, M.A. anthropology, 1973
 * Eugene Goossen, art critic and historian
 * Richard Grathoff, Ph.D. 1969, sociologist
 * Eduard Heimann (1889–1967), economist and social scientist
 * Mady Hornig, psychiatrist
 * Stephen Kinsella Ph.D., economist
 * Abraham Maslow, psychologist, a founder of Humanistic Psychology
 * Kevin Mattson, historian and political analyst
 * George E. McCarthy, M.A., Ph.D., sociologist
 * Sidney Mintz, anthropologist
 * Franco Modigliani, Soc. Sci. D., economist; 1985 Nobel Prize in Economics winner
 * Richard Noll, clinical psychologist and writer
 * Ira Progoff, Ph.D. psychology, psychotherapist
 * Franklin Delano Roosevelt, III, Ph.D., economist
 * Yossi Sarid, M.A. political science, journalist
 * Steven Seidman, sociologist
 * Uri Ram, Ph.D. sociology, 1992, President of the Israeli Sociological Society
 * Michael Wenger, M.A., Zen priest, Dean of Buddhist Studies, San Francisco Zen Center
 * Ruth Westheimer, M.A. sociology, 1959, the first famous sex therapist, born Karola Siegel, 1928; known as "Dr. Ruth", German-American, also talk show host, author, professor, Holocaust survivor, and former Haganah sniper.
 * Nelson Ikon Wu, M.A. art historian, author of Song Never to End

Athletes

 * Nate Fish (born 1980), baseball player and coach
 * Nicole Ross (born 1989), Olympic foil fencer

Businesspeople

 * Douglas Cliggott, chief investment strategist, JPMorgan Chase
 * Stewart Krentzman, President & CEO Oki Americas, Inc.
 * Dolly Lenz, New York real estate agent
 * Bradford Shellhammer, entrepreneur and designer, founding editor of Queerty
 * Brian Willison

Writers

 * James Baldwin, Go Tell It on the Mountain
 * Anatole Broyard, writer, literary critic
 * Mike Doughty
 * Simone Gorrindo, journalist and memoirist
 * Lorraine Hansberry, playwright, A Raisin in the Sun, youngest Drama Desk Award winner in history
 * Andrew Hubner, novelist
 * Travis Jeppesen
 * Jack Kerouac, On the Road, forerunner of the Beat Generation
 * Jamaica Kincaid
 * Amy Kurzweil, cartoonist and graphic novelist
 * Sam Lansky, author of The Gilded Razor and Broken People
 * Paul Levinson, author of The Silk Code, Locus Award winner, Best First Novel, 2000, and The Plot to Save Socrates
 * Leandra Medine, author of the blog Man Repeller
 * Mario Puzo, author of The Godfather, two-time Academy Award Winner, including Best Screenplay
 * Brother Sean Sammon, Superior General of the Marist Brothers
 * William Styron, Sophie's Choice, The Confessions of Nat Turner
 * Tennessee Williams, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright
 * Sean Wilsey, author of Oh the Glory of It All

Designers

 * Hector Luis Bustamante, actor and graphic designer
 * Philippe Cramer, furniture designer
 * Herbert Muschamp, architectural critic
 * Paul Rand (born Peretz Rosenbaum), art director and graphic designer
 * Will Wright, creator of The Sims

Fashion designers

 * Gilbert Adrian, costumer designer
 * Bill Blass, President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities member; co-founder of Council of Fashion Designers of America
 * Donald Brooks
 * Angela Gisela Brown, former New York fashion designer, now known as Princess Angela of Liechtenstein
 * Doo-Ri Chung, Swarovski's Perry Ellis Award winner
 * Tom Ford, filmmaker and founder of the Tom Ford brand
 * Prabal Gurung
 * Lazaro Hernandez
 * Marc Jacobs, fashion designer
 * Elois Jenssen, costume designer for I Love Lucy
 * Kevin Johnn, appeared on Project Runway
 * Anand Jon, fashion designer; convicted serial rapist
 * Donna Karan, creator of the DKNY label
 * Reed Krakoff, creative director of Tiffany & Co.
 * Derek Lam
 * Jillian Lewis, appeared on Project Runway
 * Claire McCardell
 * Raul Melgoza, fashion designer, former CE at LUCA LUCA
 * Isaac Mizrahi, four-time CDFA award winner
 * Zac Posen, fashion designer
 * Sarah Phillips
 * Patrick Robinson
 * Narciso Rodriguez
 * Lela Rose
 * Behnaz Sarafpour
 * Willi Smith, fashion designer
 * Peter Som
 * Anna Sui
 * Kay Unger
 * Carmen Marc Valvo
 * Alexander Wang, fashion designer for Michelle Obama and Ivana Trump
 * Jason Wu, artist and fashion designer

Fine artists

 * Kevin Appel, painter
 * Rosemary Cove, sculptor
 * Julio Rosado del Valle, painter
 * Dorathy Farr, painter
 * Jane Frank (Jane Schenthal), painter, mixed media artist, sculptor, advertising designer, illustrator
 * Adolph Gottlieb, painter
 * Julie Harvey, painter
 * Edward Hopper, painter
 * D Hwang, sculptor and painter
 * Jasper Johns, forerunner of pop art and minimalism
 * Shirley Kaneda, painter, Guggenheim Fellow, National Endowment for the Arts Fellow
 * Sol Kjøk, visual artist
 * Dan Flavin, lighting artist
 * Shigeko Kubota, vice chairman of Fluxus
 * George Maciunas, founding member of Fluxus
 * Yucef Merhi, visual artist and new media art pioneer
 * Rob Pruitt, sculptor
 * Norman Rockwell, painter; Presidential Medal of Freedom winner
 * Gavin Spielman, painter and musician
 * Roman Turovsky, painter and musician
 * Julie Umerle, painter
 * Storme Webber, interdisciplinary artist
 * Ai Weiwei, filmmaker, installation artist and architectural designer
 * Janise Yntema, painter

Illustrators and animators

 * Peter DeSeve, illustrator and character designer
 * Julia Gran, graphic designer and illustrator, children's book writer and illustrator
 * Bessie Pease Gutmann, magazine and children's book illustrator in the early 1900s
 * Hidekaz Himaruya, manga artist (Hetalia: Axis Powers, Chibi-san Date)
 * Joel Resnicoff, commercial artist and fashion illustrator
 * Brian Wood, graphic novelist, illustrator, designer
 * Dan Yaccarino, children's book writer and illustrator

Musicians

 * Harry Belafonte, singer
 * Burt Bacharach, composer
 * Michel Camilo, pianist and composer
 * Kelly Chen, Hong Kong singer and actress
 * Bethany Cosentino, singer
 * Danielle de Niese, opera singer (lyric soprano)
 * Ani DiFranco
 * Mike Doughty, B.A. from Lang in poetry
 * Bill Evans, pianst and composer
 * Robert Glasper, jazz pianist and Grammy-winning R&B artist
 * Larry Goldings, jazz pianist and organist
 * Richard Goode, pianist
 * Larry Harlow, M.A. in Philosophy, salsa pioneer
 * Yonghoon Lee, opera singer (tenor)
 * Matisyahu (born Matthew Miller), 2002, reggae artist
 * Brad Mehldau, jazz pianist and composer
 * Murray Perahia, pianist
 * John Popper, singer/harmonica player for Blues Traveler
 * Jake Shears
 * Alex Skolnick, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Testament and the Alex Skolnick Trio
 * Sufjan Stevens, MFA, creative writing, 2000
 * Marcus Strickland, jazz saxophonist
 * Roman Turovsky-Savchuk, composer, lutenist and painter
 * Sean Yseult, bassist for White Zombie
 * Daniel Zamir
 * Michael Zager, music producer
 * Wallice, indie pop musician

Photographers

 * David Attie, photographer
 * Jill Enfield
 * Ed Feingersh, photojournalist
 * Ryan McGinley
 * Steven Meisel, fashion photographer
 * Stewart Shining, fashion photographer
 * Marion Post Wolcott

Actors, directors, and producers

 * Beatrice Arthur, theater and television actress, Tony Award winner, star of Maude and The Golden Girls
 * Sean Baker, director of The Florida Project
 * Harry Belafonte
 * Richard ("Dick") Bernstein
 * Derrick Borte
 * Marlon Brando
 * Vinnette Justine Carroll, playwright, actress, and theatre director
 * T.V. Carpio, actress and singer
 * Bradley Cooper, Academy Award-nominated actor
 * Adrian Cronauer
 * Tony Curtis
 * Paul Dano, Little Miss Sunshine
 * Matt Deitsch, film director and freelance photographer
 * Deepti Divakar, Indian model, actress, writer, Femina Miss India World 1981
 * Elisa Donovan, Clueless and Sabrina the Teenage Witch
 * Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
 * Peter Falk, B.A. political science, Columbo
 * Stacy Farber, actress, former Degrassi: The Next Generation cast member
 * Ben Gazzara
 * Jillian Hervey
 * Jonah Hill, Superbad, Academy Award Nominee Wolf of Wall Street, Moneyball
 * Harry Hurwitz, film director and artist
 * Adam Jasinski, winner of Big Brother 9
 * Sun Lee, Miss Korea 2007
 * Karen Maine, director and screenwriter, Yes, God, Yes, Starstruck (2021 TV series)
 * Walter Matthau
 * Charis Michelsen, actress
 * Adam Pally, actor
 * Lauren Patten, actress
 * Joel Schumacher, film director and producer
 * Kevin Smith, Clerks (did not graduate)
 * Rod Steiger, On The Waterfront
 * Elaine Stritch
 * Shih-Ching Tsou
 * Rob Weiss, kicked out of film program
 * Shelley Winters
 * Rob Zombie (born Robert Cummings), musician, writer and director

Politicians

 * Medea Benjamin
 * Kevin Parker, New York State Senator
 * William Donohue, sociology, Catholic League president
 * Millicent Fenwick, editor, politician, diplomat
 * Abraham Foxman, director of Anti-Defamation League
 * Alice-Mary Higgins, independent senator and member of the Irish Senate
 * Janine Jackson, MA sociology, program director of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
 * Ellen Johnson, MA political science, president of American Atheists
 * Illir Deda, member of parliament of Kosovo and founder of The Alternative party.
 * Tinga Seisay, diplomat, pro-democracy activist
 * Vanessa Wruble, co-founder of The Women's March on Washington

Past

 * Janet Abu-Lughod
 * Woody Allen
 * Hannah Arendt (1906–1975), German-born American political philosopher, author, and Holocaust survivor
 * W. H. Auden, British-American poet
 * Jason Bateman
 * Seth Benardete
 * Eugene Biel-Bienne (1902–1969), Austrian-born American painter
 * Franz Boas
 * André Breton
 * Nathan Brody
 * Laurie Halsey Brown
 * William F. Buckley, Jr.
 * Judith Butler
 * John Cage
 * Edmund Snow Carpenter
 * Harry Cleaver
 * Stanley Coren
 * Henry Cowell
 * Agnes de Lima, Director of Public Relations
 * Jacques Derrida
 * John Dewey
 * Stanley Diamond
 * W. E. B. Du Bois
 * John Eatwell
 * Fritz Eichenberg (1901–1990), German-American illustrator and arts educator
 * Millicent Fenwick
 * Sándor Ferenczi
 * Joel Fink, Associate Dean of Roosevelt University
 * Marvin Frankel
 * Betty Friedan
 * Erich Fromm (1900–1980), German social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist
 * Robert Frost, poet
 * Donna Gaines
 * Alexander Goldenweiser
 * David Gordon
 * Hermann Grab
 * Martha Graham
 * Joseph Greenberg
 * Aron Gurwitsch
 * Jürgen Habermas
 * Michael Harner
 * Marcia Haufrecht, actress, playwright and director, as well as a noted acting teacher and coach
 * Robert Heilbroner (1919–2005), economist and historian of economic thought
 * Werner Hegemann (1881–1936), German-born city planner, architecture critic, and author
 * Ágnes Heller (1929–2019), Hungarian philosopher and lecturer
 * Christopher Hitchens
 * Eric Hobsbawm
 * Karen Horney
 * Michael Hudson (born 1939), economics professor
 * Roman Jakobson
 * Hans Jonas, (1903–1993), German-born American philosopher, the Alvin Johnson Professor of Philosophy at the New School
 * Horace Kallen (1882–1974), German-born American philosopher
 * Ira Katznelson
 * John Maynard Keynes
 * Kenneth Koch
 * Julia Kristeva
 * Ernesto Laclau
 * Emil Lederer
 * Emanuel Levenson
 * Paul Levinson
 * Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908–2009), French anthropologist and ethnologist
 * Adolph Lowe
 * Ernest Mandel
 * Everett Dean Martin
 * Bohuslav Martinů
 * Margaret Mead
 * Jonas Mekas
 * N. B. Minkoff (1893–1958), Polish-born American Yiddish poet, newspaper editor, and educator
 * Piet Mondrian
 * Sidney Morgenbesser
 * Lewis Mumford
 * David Neiman (1921–2004), Russian-born American scholar in the fields of Biblical Studies and Jewish history
 * Reinhold Niebuhr
 * Claus Offe
 * Frank O'Hara
 * Elsie Clews Parsons
 * Cipe Pineles
 * Erwin Piscator
 * Richard Plant (1910–1998), gay Jewish emigre from Nazi Germany, taught German language and literature
 * Eliezer Rafaeli (1926–2018), Israeli founding President of the University of Haifa
 * Adolph L. Reed, Jr. (born 1947), professor emeritus of political science
 * Wilhelm Reich (1897–1957), Austrian doctor of medicine and a psychoanalyst
 * Herman Rose, the professional pseudonym of Herman Rappaport (1909–2007), painter and artist
 * Justus Rosenberg (1921–2021), Free City of Danzig-born literature professor
 * Bertrand Russell
 * Paul Ryan
 * Jeremy D. Safran (1952–2018), Canadian-born American clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, lecturer, and psychotherapy researcher
 * Albert Salomon (1891–1966), German-born American sociologist
 * Meyer Schapiro (1904–1996), Lithuanian-born American art historian
 * Alfred Schutz (1899–1959), Austrian philosopher and social phenomenologist
 * Benjamin Shwadran (1907–2001), Mandatory Palestine-born Israeli author and professor of Middle Eastern studies
 * Ali Shayegan (1903–1981), Iranian politician
 * Leo Strauss (1899–1973), German-American political philosopher and classicist
 * Sekou Sundiata
 * Paul Sweezy
 * G.M. Tamás
 * Charles Tilly
 * Thorstein Veblen
 * Thomas Vietorisz
 * Max Wertheimer (1880–1943), Austro-Hungarian psychologist
 * Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959), architect, designer, writer, and educator
 * Abraham Yahuda (1877-1951), Palestinian Jew, polymath, teacher, writer, researcher, linguist, and collector of rare documents
 * Michael Zager
 * Slavoj Žižek

Present

 * Robert Antoni
 * Andrew Arato
 * Jonathan Bach
 * Richard Barone
 * Jay Bernstein
 * Jane Ira Bloom
 * Susan Cheever
 * Michael Cohen
 * Alice Crary
 * Simon Critchley
 * Siddhartha Deb
 * Faisal Devji
 * Robert Dunn
 * Federico Finchelstein (born 1975), Argentine historian and chair of the history department at the New School
 * Nancy Fraser
 * Sakiko Fukuda-Parr
 * Mary Gaitskill
 * Paul Goldberger
 * Elana Greenfield, playwright and short story writer
 * Nina L. Khrushcheva
 * Marcel Kinsbourne
 * Ron Leibman
 * David Levithan
 * Arun Luthra
 * Vladan Nikolic
 * Pippin Parker
 * Austin Pendleton
 * Frank Pugliese
 * John Reed
 * Miguel Robles-Durán
 * Anwar Shaikh
 * Christopher Shinn
 * Arthur Storch
 * Rory Stuart
 * Eugene Thacker
 * Scott Thornbury
 * McKenzie Wark
 * Maya Wiley
 * Reggie Workman
 * Lana Lin

Dorothy H. Hirshon Directors-in-Residence

 * 2021: Sam Pollard
 * 2020: Mary Harron
 * 2019: Raoul Peck
 * 2018: Sean Baker
 * 2017: Jon Alpert and Keiko Tsuno
 * 2014: Toni Dove
 * 2013: Lynn Hershman Leeson and Benh Zeitlin
 * 2012: Ramin Bahrani
 * 2011: Guy Maddin
 * 2010: Haile Gerima
 * 2009: Jim Stark
 * 2008: Cynthia Wade
 * 2007: John Cameron Mitchell
 * 2005: Laurie Anderson
 * 2004: John Waters
 * 2003: D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus