List of Queens College people

This is a list of notable alumni and faculty of Queens College, City University of New York.

Business

 * Leslie Abramson - Attorney, defended Lyle and Erik Menéndez
 * Russell Artzt - Co-founder Computer Associates
 * Gary Barnett (real estate developer) - Founder of Extell Development Company
 * Jill E. Barad - Former CEO of Mattel
 * David Cancel - Serial Technology Entrepreneur and Entrepreneur in Residence at Harvard Business School
 * Jerry Colonna - Well-known venture capitalist and entrepreneur coach
 * Eugene R. Fidell - Attorney, Guantanamo Bay detention camp critic
 * Mark M. Ford - Entrepreneur
 * Lee Garfinkel - Former CEO of the New York office of Foote, Cone & Belding
 * Leonard Grunstein - Finance executive
 * Charlie Harary - Investor and motivational speaker
 * Patricia Hynes - Former president of the New York City Bar Association
 * Frederick S. Jaffe - Former vice president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America
 * Alan Lazar - Partner of southern California Law Firm
 * Stewart Liff - Management consultant and author
 * Ruth Madoff - Wife of Bernard L. Madoff
 * Donna Orender - WNBA president
 * Cindy Rakowitz - Division President for Playboy Enterprises (1986-2001)
 * Jeffrey Steinberger - Trial attorney, TV commentator & analyst
 * Charles Wang - founder of Computer Associates, owner of the New York Islanders

Education

 * Stevanne Auerbach - Psychologist, "Dr. Toy"
 * Werner Baer - Jorge Lemann Professor of Economics at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
 * Elaine Barkin - Music theorist educator
 * Warren Bebbington - retired Vice-Chancellor, University of Adelaide
 * Jean-Claude Brizard - CEO of Chicago Public Schools
 * Vévé Amasasa Clark - Professor of African-American studies at the University of California, Berkeley
 * Ester Fuchs Professor of Public Affairs and Political Science, Columbia University
 * Jeffrey Halperin - Professor of Psychology
 * Cheryl Lehman - Accounting academic
 * Stephanie Pace Marshall - Founder of Illinois Math and Science Academy
 * Joseph S. Murphy (1933-1998) - President of Queens College, President of Bennington College, and Chancellor of the City University of New York
 * Edward John Ray - President of Oregon State University
 * Linda Siegel - cognitive psychologist, holder of the Dorothy C. Lam Chair in Special Education at the University of British Columbia 1996–2015
 * Arthur M. Langer - Professor of Professional Practice, Columbia University, Founder of Workforce Opportunity Services

Entertainment and media

 * Ted Alexandro - comedian
 * Martin Aronstein - theatrical lighting designer
 * Annet Artani - singer, songwriter, co-wrote "Everytime" with Britney Spears
 * Jay Bak - rapper and singer based in South Korea
 * Lidia Bastianich - celebrity chef and host of Lidia's Italy
 * Joy Behar - comedian and co-host of The View
 * Adrien Brody - actor, Academy Award winner, attended as student in 1990
 * Glen Brunman - film and television soundtrack executive and producer
 * Danny Burstein - Broadway actor
 * Fran Capo - comedian
 * Lucille Carra - documentary film producer
 * Angelo Corrao - Italian American Film Editor
 * Jason Cuadrado - director and producer
 * Yanna Darili - model, Greek television personality
 * Peter Dizozza - composer
 * Fran Drescher - actress, producer The Nanny
 * Dennis Elsas - radio personality: WNEW–FM, WFUV–FM
 * Nargis Fakhri - model and Bollywood actress
 * Jon Favreau - actor and director, director of Iron Man and Iron Man 2
 * David Zelag Goodman - screenwriter, playwright
 * Marvin Hamlisch - Hollywood and Broadway composer
 * Neophytos Ioannou - AEA Actor, Singer, Voice Teacher & Audition Coach
 * Annette Insdorf - film historian and author
 * Alan Jacobson - thriller writer
 * Ron Jeremy - prolific pornographic film actor
 * Herb Kaplow - television news correspondent
 * Jason Katims - television writer and producer
 * Carole King - songwriter and recording artist
 * Richard Kline - "Larry Dallas" in Three's Company
 * Carol Leifer - Stand-up comedian, writer, actress and producer
 * Bob Linden - host and producer of Go Vegan Radio
 * Hal Linden - actor, producer, and musician
 * Clair Marlo - composer, singer, record producer, songwriter - went from 1976 to 1977 and then went to Berklee College of Music
 * Perri Pierre - actor and film producer
 * DJ Rekha Malhotra - DJ, producer, educator of South Asian music
 * Ray Romano - actor, comedian (attended 1975–1978 – dropped out after accumulating only 15 credits in three years but returned in later years during which he made Dean's list)
 * Howie Rose - sportscaster for the New York Mets and New York Islanders.
 * Neil Rosen - Emmy award-winning movie critic, NY1
 * Michael Savage (formerly known as Michael Weiner) – radio talk show personality and author
 * Nancy Savoca - screenwriter, film director and producer
 * Jerry Seinfeld - comedian
 * Nestor Serrano - actor
 * Paul Simon - singer, songwriter, musician, and member of Simon and Garfunkel
 * Michael Stewart - playwright
 * Bobby Susser - songwriter, record producer, and performer
 * Lorenzo Thomas - poet
 * Mal Waldron - jazz pianist
 * Dennis Wolfberg - comedian
 * Marv Wolfman - comic book and animation writer
 * Jay Wolpert - television producer, screenwriter
 * Ben Younger - screenwriter and director
 * Karen Yu (born 1992), professional wrestler, also known as "Karen Q" and "Wendy Choo".

Fictional characters

 * George Costanza - Fictional television character from Seinfeld
 * Carrie Heffernan - Took courses for law during season 3 of 'King of Queens
 * Eric Murphy - Fictional television character from Entourage. Attended for two years before dropping out to become the manager of Vincent Chase.
 * Jerry Seinfeld - Fictional television character from "Seinfeld"
 * Elliot Stabler - Fictional television character from Law & Order: SVU first mentioned in S1E6
 * Betty Suarez - Fictional television character from Ugly Betty. Graduated in 2005 with a BFA in Media

Government and politics

 * Gary Ackerman - United States Representative from New York (1983-2013)
 * Joel Benenson - Democratic pollster, chief political consultant for Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016
 * Shifra Bronznick - Prominent Jewish Women's rights activist
 * Kema Chikwe - National Women Leader of the Nigerian political party PDP, former aviation minister
 * Anthony Como - former NYC Council Member
 * Costa Constantinides - nonprofit leader, former NYC Council Member, Queens College professor
 * Joseph Crowley - former United States Representative from New York's 7th congressional district (1999-2019), former Queens County Democratic Chairman
 * Mark Danish - former Florida House of Representatives
 * Adriano Espaillat - United States Representative from New York's 13th congressional district, former member of the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly
 * Rafael Espinal - Executive Director of Freelancers Union former NYC Council Member
 * Arthur J. Finkelstein - GOP political consultant
 * Steven W. Fisher - former New York State Justice, attorney in Wendy's massacre
 * Marvin E. Frankel - litigator, judge, legal scholar, and human rights activist
 * Helen W. Gillmor - U.S. Federal Judge
 * Deborah J. Glick - NY State Assemblywoman
 * Mark M. Goldblatt - Political commentator
 * Andrew Goodman - civil rights worker, murdered in Mississippi at the age of 20 during Freedom Summer of 1964, while still a student
 * Dan Halloran - former NYC council member, Theodist
 * Julia Harrison - NYC Council Member
 * Alan Hevesi - former New York State Comptroller, former New York State Assemblyman, former Queens College professor
 * Andrew Hevesi - New York State Assembly
 * Dov Hikind - former New York State Assemblyman
 * Blaise Ingoglia - Florida state assembly
 * Dennis G. Jacobs - Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
 * Jeffrey D. Klein - former New York State senator
 * Alan P. Krasnoff - former Chesapeake, Virginia Mayor
 * Rory I. Lancman - former NYC Council Member and former New York state Assemblyman
 * Nathan Leventhal - former NYC Deputy Mayor, former President, Lincoln Center
 * Joseph McGoldrick (1901–1978) - former NYC Comptroller and NY State Residential Rent Control Commissioner, lawyer, and professor at Queens College
 * Helen Marshall - former Queens Borough President
 * Nettie Mayersohn - former member of New York State Assembly
 * Hiram Monserrate - former New York State Senator
 * Diane Patrick (B.A. 1972) - labor lawyer and former First Lady of Massachusetts (2007–2015)
 * Jose Peralta - Former New York State Assemblyman and New York State Senator
 * Sylvia Pressler - former Judge
 * Ronald Spadafora - former FDNY chief and supervisor of September 11 rescue and recovery efforts
 * Toby Ann Stavisky - New York state Senator
 * James Vacca - former NYC Council Member and Queens College professor
 * Jeffrey White - former North California District Judge

Humanities

 * Yitzchok Adlerstein - Rabbi, Writer
 * David A. Adler - Author
 * Mel Alexenberg - Science Artist and Art Educator
 * Amin Tarzi - Middle East Studies
 * Toni Cade Bambara - Author, activist
 * Nino Lo Bello - Journalist
 * Michael Berenbaum - Scholar, writer, Rabbi
 * Ann Birstein - Memoirist, Fulbright Scholar
 * Erika Bourguignon - Anthropologist
 * Robert Boyers - Literary essayist, cultural critic and memoirist.
 * Alex Caldiero - Poet, scholar of humanities
 * Vévé Amasasa Clark - Scholar of African American Studies
 * Marylyn Dintenfass - Painter
 * Alan Dugan - Poet
 * Yael Eckstein - Religious Activist
 * Marc Estrin - Political writer
 * Jeff Faux - Founder of Economic Policy Institute
 * Bella Feldman - Sculpting innovator
 * Marie Ferrarella - Romance writer
 * Juan Flores - Scholar of Latino Studies
 * Ellen G. Friedman - Author, Woman's studies
 * Ruth Gay - Writer about Jewish Life
 * Jeff Gomez - Writer and transmedia producer
 * Martin Gottlieb - Editor at New York Times
 * Robert Hessen - Economist, historian
 * Cynthia Holz - Correspondent and Author
 * Johanna Hurwitz - Children's Author
 * Jane Irish - Ceramicist
 * Susan Isaacs - Author, essayist, screenwriter
 * Bernard Kalb - Journalist, media critic, author
 * Marvin Kalb - Journalist
 * Nasser Khalili - Scholar, philanthropist
 * Bernard Krisher - Journalist
 * Corky Lee - Journalistic Photographer
 * Judith Lorber - Sociologist
 * Felipe Luciano - Journalist
 * Irving Malin - Literary critic
 * Nellie Y. McKay - scholar and co-editor of Norton Anthology of African-American Literature
 * Samuel Menashe - Poet, Biochemist, Veteran
 * Bruce Bueno de Mesquita - Political Scientist
 * Joan Nestle - Author
 * Richard Ofshe - Sociologist
 * Jim Osman - Sculptor
 * Claude V. Palisca - professor of music history
 * Herbert S Parmet - Distinguished historian and political author
 * Irene Peslikis - Feminist artist
 * Mark Podwal - Artist and physician
 * Shana Poplack - Linguistics
 * Lina Puerta - Artist
 * Dorothy Rabinowitz - awarded 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary
 * Colleen Randall – American abstract painter
 * Marcia Resnick - Photographer
 * Robert Rosenblum - Art historian, curator, writer
 * John Rowan - Vietnam Veteran
 * Arlene Rush – artist and sculptor
 * Lloyd Schwartz - Pulitzer Prize winner in Journalism
 * Joel Shatzky (1943-2020) - writer and literary professor
 * Lowery Stokes Sims - Former curator at Museum of Arts and Design
 * Marilyn Singer - Children's author
 * Arnold Skemer - novelist and publisher
 * Elliot Sperling - Expert on Tibet
 * Linda Stein - Sculptor, feminist (interviewed in Borat)
 * Rosalyn Terborg-Penn - historian
 * Eric Wolf - anthropologist

Music

 * Edward W. Hardy - composer, violinist
 * Salman Ahmad - musician, Junoon
 * Sol Berkowitz - composer and music educator
 * Peter Calandra - pianist and composer
 * Noel DaCosta - jazz musician, composer
 * Tina Chancey - multi-instrumentalist
 * Gil Dor - Israeli guitar player
 * Leslie Dunner - composer and conductor
 * JoAnn Falletta - classical musician and orchestral conductor
 * John Feeley - classical guitarist
 * Ellie Greenwich - singer, songwriter and producer
 * Reri Grist - coloratura soprano
 * Herbert Grossman - conductor
 * Lisa Gutkin - Grammy winning violinist
 * Antonio Hart - jazz musician
 * Conrad Herwig - jazz trombonist
 * Douglas Knehans - composer
 * Leo Kraft - composer
 * Meyer Kupferman - composer and clarinetist
 * Paul Lansky – pioneer computer musician and composer at Princeton
 * Carolyn Leigh - lyricist, composer
 * Mimi Lerner - opera singer
 * Lewis Lockwood - musicologist
 * Frank Lopardo - American operatic tenor
 * John Mateer - Singer/songwriter & recording artist.
 * Marcus Miller - jazz composer
 * Tito Munoz - conductor
 * Arturo O'Farrill - jazz musician
 * Marco Oppedisano - guitarist and composer
 * Lou Pearlman - music producer
 * Luis Perdomo - pianist
 * Raoul Pleskow - composer
 * Nancy B. Reich - musicologist
 * James Nyoraku Schlefer - composer of Shakuhachi
 * Paul Simon - composer, singer, musician, and member of Simon and Garfunkel
 * Erika Sunnegårdh - operatic soprano
 * George Tsontakis - composer and conductor
 * William Westney - classical pianist
 * Davide Zannoni - classical music composer

Science and technology

 * Kenneth Appel - Mathematician proved four color theorem
 * Boris Aronov - Computer scientist (computational geometry)
 * Inge Auerbacher - Chemist, author, playwright, Holocaust survivor
 * Steven J. Burakoff - cancer specialist and the author of Therapeutic Immunology (2001) and Graft-Vs.-Host Disease: Immunology, Pathophysiology, and Treatment (1990)
 * Anne Carter - Technology economist
 * Arturo Casadevall - Molecular microbiologist
 * Marie Maynard Daly - Biochemist, first African American woman to earn a Phd in chemistry
 * Celso-Ramón García - Obstetrician and gynecologist
 * Edgar Gilbert - Coding Theorist
 * David Gries - Computer Scientist
 * Mohammad Salman Hamdani - Biochemist, cited in the Patriot Act for heroism on 9/11
 * Michael Hecht - Researcher
 * Richard Laub - Paleontologist
 * Ira B. Lamster - Periodontist and professor of health management
 * Jerry Lawson - Electronic engineer
 * Stanley Milgram - Psychologist
 * Bernard Salick - Entrepreneur, researcher, nephrologist
 * Robert Moog - inventor of the Moog synthesizer
 * Howard Moskowitz - market researcher and psychophysicist
 * Elizabeth F. Neufeld - Geneticist
 * Nicholas Rescher - Philosopher
 * Elissa Shevinsky - Entrepreneur, information security researcher, feminist
 * Russell Targ - Physicist
 * Alexander L. Wolf - Computer Scientist, president of Association for Computing Machinery
 * Aaron D. Wyner - information theorist noted for his contributions in coding theory
 * Bruce M. Zagelbaum - Physician and researcher in sports ophthalmology

Sports

 * Marilyn Aschner (born 1948) - professional tennis player
 * Jane Bartkowicz - tennis player
 * Glenn Braica - Men's basketball coach
 * Charlie Hoefer - Basketball player
 * Gail Marquis - basketball player
 * Tre McLean (born 1993) - basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Donna Orender (née Geils; born 1957) - Women's Pro Basketball League All-Star & former WNBA president
 * Diana Redman (born 1984) - Israeli soccer player
 * Norm Roberts - Assistant men's basketball coach at Kansas

Notable faculty
Famous faculty at Queens College have included:
 * Salman Ahmed, musician, band Junoon
 * Benny Andrews, artist
 * Paul Avrich, historian
 * Ben-Zion Bokser, prominent Conservative Rabbi
 * Donald Byrd, jazz musician
 * Elliott Carter, composer
 * Barry Commoner, biologist
 * Costa Constantinides, political scientist and urban expert
 * Luigi Dallapiccola, composer
 * Bogdan Denitch, sociologist
 * Joshua Freeman, historian
 * Azriel Genack, physicist
 * Susanna Grannis, outspoken academic on helping minority students and students with disabilities gain access to education
 * Andrew Hacker, political scientist
 * Michael Harrington, political philosopher
 * Samuel Heilman, Sociologist
 * Banesh Hoffmann, mathematician, worked with Albert Einstein
 * Chin Kim, violinist
 * John Frederick Lange, Jr., author
 * Mieczysław Maneli, philosopher and diplomat
 * Joseph McElroy, author
 * Elliott Mendelson, mathematician
 * Edwin E. Moise, mathematician
 * Luc Montagnier, virologist, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (endowed professorship, 1997/8–2001)
 * Thea Musgrave, composer
 * Marco Oppedisano, composer
 * Arbie Orenstein, American musicologist, author, and pianist
 * George Perle, composer
 * Koppel Pinson, historian
 * Hortense Powdermaker, anthropologist
 * Gregory Rabassa, literary translator
 * Stefan Ralescu, mathematician
 * Karol Rathaus, composer
 * Charles Repole, actor, theater director
 * Reynold Ruffins, Visual artist and professor emeritus
 * Douglas Rushkoff, Media Expert and futurologist
 * Roger Sanjek, anthropologist
 * Arthur Sard, mathematician
 * Bruce Saylor, composer
 * Carl Schachter, musician
 * Dennis Sullivan, mathematician
 * David Syrett, naval historian
 * Harold Syrett (1913-1984), President of Brooklyn College
 * John Tytell, author
 * James Vacca, urban expert
 * Robert Ward, composer
 * Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Russian poet
 * Roby Young, Soccer