List of Vassar College people

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

Academics

 * Jane Kelley Adams, class of 1875 — educator
 * Heloise Hersey, class of 1876 – professor of literature
 * Emily Jordan Folger, class of 1879 – co-founder of the Folger Shakespeare Library
 * Anita Florence Hemmings, class of 1897 – Vassar College's first African-American graduate
 * Scottie Fitzgerald, class of 1942 – writer and journalist, only daughter of novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald
 * Ida Hill, class of 1901 – archaeologist, classical scholar and historian
 * Belle Turnbull, class of 1904 – award-winning poet
 * Marion Coats Graves, class of 1907 – philosophy, first president of Sarah Lawrence College
 * Edith Clarke, class of 1908 – America's first female professor of electrical engineering
 * Alice D. Snyder, class of 1909 (A.B.) and 1911 (A.M.) – Vassar College English professor 1914–1943
 * Helen Hull Law (1890–1966), class of 1911, college professor of Latin and Greek
 * Ruth Wendell Washburn, class of 1913 – educational psychologist
 * Chen Hengzhe, class of 1919 – China's first female professor and a pioneer of vernacular literature
 * 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
 * Jean Schneider, class of 1921 – Pulitzer Prize for History winner; research associate of Leonard D. White
 * Mary Bunting, class of 1931 – microbiologist and president of Radcliffe College
 * Millie Almy, class of 1936 – psychologist and "Grandame" of early childhood education
 * Winifred Asprey, class of 1938 – pioneering mathematician and computer scientist
 * Laura Sumner, class of 1942 – numismatist
 * 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
 * Eleanor M. Fox, class of 1956 – Walter J. Derenberg Professor of Trade Regulation in the New York University School of Law
 * 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
 * Sandra Lach Arlinghaus, class of 1964 – mathematical geographer; adjunct professor, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor); founder and director, Institute of Mathematical Geography
 * 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 of Oberlin College
 * Jo Ann Gora, class of 1969 – president of 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)
 * Susan Casteras, class of 1971 – professor of art history at the University of Washington
 * 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; professor at Williams College
 * Molly Nesbit, class of 1974 – modern and contemporary art historian
 * 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 – professor and Director of the Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience; 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 at the iSchool at the University of Toronto; Founding Director of HATII
 * 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, professor of English and Asian Studies at SUNY New Paltz
 * Matthew Koss, class of 1983 – solid-state physicist and professor
 * Valerie Martinez, class of 1983 – poet, retired professor of English and Creative Writing at Ursinus College, New Mexico Highlands University, College of Santa Fe, University of Miami, and founding director of Artful Life
 * 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, University of Alabama at Birmingham
 * 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
 * Michael Witmore, class of 1989 – Director of the Folger Shakespeare Library
 * 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 performance artist and playwright; 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
 * Jason Blakely, class of 2003 - political philosopher
 * John Figdor, class of 2006 – Humanist Chaplain at Stanford University
 * Helen L. Webster (1853-1928) – philologist and educator, taught at Vassar College 1889–1890 before leaving for Wellesley College

Activists and philanthropists

 * Mary Louise Frost, class of 1866 – peace activist, editor
 * Mary Boyce Temple, class of 1877 – preservationist and philanthropist
 * Susie Forrest Swift, class of 1883 – editor, Salvation Army worker, Catholic nun
 * Ethel Moore, class of 1894 – civic, education, and national defense work leader
 * Marion Cothren, class of 1900 – suffrage and peace activist, children's author
 * Edna L. Smith, class of 1907 - co-founder of Juvenile Protection Association, director of Western Wheeled Scraper Company (Austin-Western)
 * Emma Waldo Smith Marshall, class of 1900 – missionary in Burma, taught Greek at a Baptist seminary
 * Gertrude Gogin, class of 1908 – YWCA national secretary for girls' programs, 1918-1927
 * Eliza Kennedy Smith, class of 1912 – prominent suffragist and government watchdog
 * Eleanor Fitchen, class of 1934 – landmarks and environment in New York State
 * Lucy Kennedy Miller, class of 1902 – prominent suffragist
 * 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 – former 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 documentary filmmaker
 * Alexandra Sicotte-Levesque, class of 2000 – founder of Journalists for Human Rights

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 unknown (19th century) – painter and art critic
 * Elizabeth Coffin, class of 1870 – first person in the United States to receive their Master of Fine Arts
 * Ruth Maxon Adams, class of 1904 – architect
 * Margaret Burnham Geddes, class of 1929 – architect and urban planner
 * Elizabeth Bauer Mock, class of 1932 – influential advocate for modern architecture in the United States
 * Louise Serpa, class of 1946– rodeo photographer
 * Linda Nochlin, class of 1951 – pioneer in the field of feminist art theory
 * Mira Lehr, class of 1956 – artist
 * Nancy Graves, class of 1961 – first woman to solo at the Whitney Museum of American Art
 * Margaret McCurry, class of 1964 – architect
 * Michael Portnoy, class of 1993 – multimedia artist, choreographer, musician, actor and curator
 * Phyllis Lambert, class of 1947 – leading architect, creator of the Seagrams building in Manhattan, founder of the Canadian Centre for Architecture
 * Mary Ping, class of 2000 – New York based fashion designer
 * Faith Holland, class of 2007
 * Clancy Philbrick, class of 2008 – contemporary artist
 * Alexa Meade, class of 2009 – uses the human body as a canvas
 * Terry deRoy Gruber – photographer and author
 * Ruth Inge Hardison – sculptor, artist, and photographer; studied music and creative writing
 * Ruth Starr Rose – artist, lithographer, and serigrapher

Business

 * Mary F. Hoyt, class of 1880 – 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, board member of 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 – former president of KNBC
 * Ken Kaess, class of 1976 – former CEO of DDB Worldwide
 * Robert Friedman, class of 1978 – president of Classic Media, New Line TV, and AOL, Interactive Marketing & TV
 * Scott Kauffman, class of 1978 – former CEO of MDC Partners
 * 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 president in 2007; executive vice chairman of the independent oil refinery Motor Oil Hellas
 * 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
 * Elisabeth Murdoch, class of 1992 – CEO of Shine Limited, daughter of Rupert Murdoch
 * Jon Fisher, class of 1994 – entrepreneur
 * 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
 * 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

Drama, film, and television

 * Mary P. Hamlin, class of 1896 – playwright, Hamilton
 * Frances Sternhagen, class of 1951 – Tony Award-winning actress
 * Zuzana Justman, class of 1954, documentary filmmaker and writer
 * Toni Grant, class of 1964 – psychologist and radio host
 * Rebecca Eaton, class of 1969 – Emmy Award-winning executive producer of Masterpiece on PBS; listed among Time magazine's "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; 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
 * Hung Huang, class of 1984 – fashion figure, publisher; listed among Time magazine's "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 Award-winning producer; president of Jerry Bruckheimer Television
 * Hope Davis, class of 1986 – actress
 * Dan Bucatinsky, class of 1987 – Emmy Award-winning actor, writer, and producer
 * Paul Zehrer, class of 1987 – film and television director, writer, producer, and editor
 * Kerri Green, class of 1989 – actress and producer
 * Carlos Jacott, class of 1989 – actor and writer
 * Saar Klein, class of 1989 – Academy Award-nominated film editor
 * Tanya Wright, class of 1989 – actress
 * John Gatins, class of 1990 – Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, Real Steel and Flight
 * Jonathan Karl, class of 1990 – ABC News Senior Political Correspondent, author
 * 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 Corps
 * Stacy London, class of 1991 – television host, author, and magazine editor
 * Jason Blum, class of 1991 – producer of films, including Get Out and 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 – Emmy Award-winning writer and 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 and co-creators, writers, and producers of the HBO series Somebody Somewhere
 * 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
 * Shaka King, class of 2001 – Academy Award-nominated film producer, screenwriter, and director of Judas and the Black Messiah
 * 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
 * Sasha Velour, class of 2009 – winner of RuPaul's Drag Race season 9
 * Lilli Cooper, class of 2012 – Tony-nominated actress in Tootsieand SpongeBob SquarePants, The Broadway Musical
 * Jeff Davis – writer and creator of police procedural drama Criminal Minds and MTV's Teen Wolf
 * Thomas Dean Donnelly – screenwriter of films such as Sahara and an upcoming adaption of the Uncharted video games
 * Aviva Drescher – television personality
 * Tom Gorai – film producer
 * Kerri Green – actress, director
 * Shaka King – Academy Award-nominated film director, screenwriter, and film producer
 * Lisa Lassek – film producer and editor
 * Lester Lewis – television writer and television producer, The Larry Sanders Show
 * Malinda Kathleen Reese – YouTube personality, actress and singer
 * Alysia Reiner – actress in Orange is the New Black
 * Jay Severin – commentator and talk radio host
 * Ethan Slater – Tony-nominated actor in SpongeBob SquarePants, The Broadway Musical
 * Sandy Stern – film producer, known for his work on the films Pump Up the Volume, Being John Malkovich, and Saved!
 * Lisa Zane – actress

Espionage

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

Fashion

 * Louisa Gummer, class of 2013, model; daughter of Meryl Streep

Music

 * Elizabeth Bristol Greenleaf, class of 1917 – collector of folk songs
 * Jane O'Leary, class of 1968 – musician and composer
 * Jamie Broumas, class of 1981 – jazz singer, vocal instructor and arts administrator
 * Jonathan Elliott, class of 1984 – Classical composer
 * 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
 * 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, class of 2000, 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
 * Ōyama Sutematsu, class of 1882 – first Japanese woman to earn a college degree
 * Crystal Eastman, class of 1903 – co-author 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 (1951–1956), chairwoman of the New Jersey Highway Authority (1955–1964), and United States Ambassador to Denmark (1964–1968)
 * Ann Cole Gannett, class of 1937 - Massachusetts House of Representatives
 * Lydia Stevens, class of 1939 – Connecticut House of Representatives (1988, 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 (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
 * Diana Gribbon Motz, class of 1965 – Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
 * Margaret Milner Richardson, class of 1965 – IRS commissioner (1993–1997)
 * 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 "Preppie Murder" trial of Robert Chambers and head of sex crimes unit in the Central Park jogger case; author
 * Catherine Abate, class of 1969 – New York state senator, president and 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 – United States Representative
 * 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 (1995–2003)
 * Philip Jefferson, class of 1983 - Vice Chair of Federal Reserve Board
 * Sherrilyn Ifill, class of 1984 – President and Director-Counsel of NAACP Legal Defense Fund
 * Marc Thiessen, class of 1989 – White House speechwriter (2004–2009)
 * Alfonso H. Lopez, class of 1992 – Virginia State Delegate
 * Carrie Goldberg, class of 1999 – attorney who specializes in sexual privacy violations
 * Deborah L. Wince-Smith – president of the Council on Competitiveness

Science and medicine

 * Christine Ladd-Franklin, class of 1869 – psychologist
 * Ellen Swallow Richards, class of 1870 – chemist
 * Frances Fisher Wood, class of 1874 – educator and scientist
 * Ellen Churchill Semple, class of 1882 – geographer
 * Alice G. Bryant, class of 1885 – otolaryngologist and inventor
 * Antonia Maury, class of 1887 – astronomer
 * Margaret Floy Washburn, class of 1891 – psychologist
 * Millicent Todd Bingham, class of 1902 – geographer
 * Ruth Benedict, class of 1909 – anthropologist
 * Edith Banfield Jackson, class of 1916 – behavioral pediatrician
 * Harriet Guild, class of 1920 – physician
 * Mary Calderone, class of 1925 – physician
 * Frances Lawrence Parker, class of 1928 - geologist and micropaleontologist
 * Grace Hopper, class of 1928 – computer scientist
 * Grace Lotowycz, class of 1938 – botanist; alpinist; Women Airforce Service Pilots
 * 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
 * June Biedler, class of 1947 – biomedical scientist
 * Vera Rubin, class of 1948 – astronomer
 * Beatrix Ann (McCleary) Hamburg, class of 1944 – first African American admitted to Vassar; psychiatrist, medical researcher
 * Lois Haibt, class of 1955 – computer scientist
 * Heather Lechtman, class of 1956 – materials scientist and archaeologist; Director of the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology (CMRAE) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 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 of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (1991–1993), dean of Ohio State University Medical School; president of the American Red Cross (1999–2001)
 * Valerie Rusch, class of 1971 – thoracic surgeon, Miner Family Chair for Intrathoracic Cancers and Vice Chair for Clinical Research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
 * Ellen Kovner Silbergeld, class of 1967 – engineer
 * Alice F. Healy, class of 1968 – psychologist
 * Claudia L. Thomas, class of 1971 – surgeon, helped form the Students' Afro-American Society (SAS) and pushed for the Black Studies program at Vassar
 * 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

 * Carol Brightman – author
 * Celeste Gold Broughton – writer
 * Patricia Buckley Bozell – author and publisher
 * Marion Hamilton Carter – educator, journalist, author
 * Elizabeth Williams Champney, class of 1869 – author of Three Vassar Girls series
 * Barbara Culliton, science journalist and editor
 * Dorothy Deming, nurse and author
 * Rebecca Odes – author and co-founder of Gurl.com
 * Mary Harriott Norris, class of 1870 – author and dean of women
 * Mary Parker Woodworth, class of 1870 – writer and speaker
 * Maria Brace Kimball, class of 1872 – educator, elocutionist, writer
 * Eva March Tappan, class of 1875 – author
 * Amy Wentworth Stone, class of 1898, – children's book 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 – 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 1949–1950
 * Eleanor Ruggles (1916-2008) class of 1938, biographer
 * 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 for 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
 * 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
 * Susan Gordon Lydon, class of 1965 – feminist writer known for "The Politics of Orgasm"
 * Reggie Nadelson, class of 1966 – mystery novelist and biographer
 * Lucinda Franks, class of 1968 – 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 – novelist
 * Esther Friesner, class of 1972 – 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 – poet and children's book writer
 * Paco Underhill, class of 1975 – environmental psychologist and business writer
 * Judith Regan, class of 1975 – 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
 * David Wong Louie, class of 1977 – writer and essayist
 * Janet McDonald, class of 1977 – writer of young adult fiction
 * Michael Specter, class of 1977 – 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
 * 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 – poet
 * Heinz Insu Fenkl, class of 1982 – writer, editor and translator
 * Kimberly Quinn, class of 1982 – journalist, commentator and magazine publisher and writer
 * Matthew Kauffman, class of 1983 – Hartford Courant journalist
 * Valerie Martinez, class of 1983 – poet, retired professor of English and Creative Writing at Ursinus College, New Mexico Highlands University, College of Santa Fe, University of Miami, and Founding Director of Artful Life
 * A. V. Christie, class of 1985 – poet
 * David Oliver Relin, class of 1985 – journalist and co-author of the book Three Cups of Tea
 * Scott Westerfeld, class of 1985 – author of the Uglies series, among other novels
 * Thomas Beller, class of 1987 – author
 * Evan Wright, class of 1987 – author, best known for 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
 * Rebecca Stead, class of 1989 – 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 series at Marvel and DC Comics
 * Nunzio DeFilippis, class of 1991 – with Christina Weir (class of 1992), husband and wife comic book writing team
 * Greg Rucka, class of 1991 – comic book writer
 * Meghan Daum, class of 1992 – author, essayist, and journalist
 * Daphne Kalotay, class of 1992 – novelist, short story writer, and professor
 * Christina Weir, class of 1992 – with Nunzio DeFilippis (class of 1991), husband and wife comic book writing team
 * Renee Gladman, class of 1993 – author, poet, and visual artist
 * 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, novelist, and professor
 * Joe Hill, class of 1995 – novelist, Heart-Shaped Box; son of Stephen King
 * Jeremy Jackson, class of 1995 – author of 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 – Rhodes Scholar and author
 * Taije Silverman, class of 1996, poet
 * Owen King, class of 1999 – author; son of Stephen King
 * Melissa Walker, class of 1999 – author
 * 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 – writer
 * Shelby Bach, class of 2008 – author
 * M.J. Alexander
 * Augusta Clawson
 * Geri Doran – 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
 * Michael Wolff, class of 1975 – author of Fire and Fury

Attended, but did not graduate

 * Anthony Bourdain (graduated from The Culinary Institute of America) – chef, writer
 * Janet Cooke – journalist forced to return a Pulitzer Prize for a fabricated story (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 popular culture.

Anthropology Department

 * Martha Warren Beckwith
 * Ruth Benedict
 * Martha Kaplan
 * Margaret Mead – visiting lecturer
 * Colin Turnbull – visiting lecturer

Art Department

 * Leila Cook Barber – art historian
 * Alfred H. Barr Jr.
 * C.K. Chatterton
 * Gregory Crewdson
 * Richard Krautheimer
 * Brian Lukacher
 * Elias Lyman Magoon – visiting lecturer
 * Molly Nesbit
 * Linda Nochlin
 * Lewis Pilcher
 * Harry Roseman
 * Concetta Scaravaglione
 * Carolee Schneemann – visiting lecturer
 * Andrew Tallon
 * Oliver Samuel Tonks
 * Henry Van Ingen

Dance Department

 * Miriam Mahdaviani
 * John Meehan

Drama Department

 * Jean Arthur
 * Larry Atlas
 * Catherine Filloux
 * Hallie Flanagan
 * Shona Tucker

English Department

 * Donald Foster
 * Eamon Grennan
 * Hua Hsu
 * Michael Joyce
 * Amitava Kumar
 * Kiese Laymon
 * Thomas Mallon
 * Gabriela Mistral
 * Mary Mitchell
 * Paul Russell
 * Nancy Willard

History Department

 * Robert K. Brigham
 * James H. Merrell
 * Lucy Maynard Salmon

Mathematics Department

 * Winifred Asprey
 * Louise Duffield Cummings
 * Grace Hopper

Music Department

 * Gustav Dannreuther
 * Karen Holvik
 * Ernst Krenek
 * Annea Lockwood
 * Harold Meltzer
 * Quincy Porter
 * John Solum
 * Richard Wilson

Philosophy Department

 * Giovanna Borradori
 * David Kelley
 * Mitchell Miller
 * Uma Narayan

Physics and Astronomy Department

 * Debra Elmegreen
 * Caroline Furness
 * Maud Worcester Makemson
 * Maria Mitchell
 * Mary Watson Whitney

Political Science Department

 * Mary Lyndon Shanley
 * Peter Stillman

Psychology Department

 * Margaret Floy Washburn
 * Diana Zuckerman

Other departments

 * Alida Avery – Physiology and Hygiene
 * Harriet Isabel Ballintine – Athletics and Physical Education
 * Mark Dion – visiting lecturer
 * Liza Donnelly – The New Yorker staff cartoonist; American Culture and Women's Studies
 * Heinz Insu Fenkl – writer, editor, folklorist, and translator; visiting faculty
 * Louise Holland – academic, philologist and archaeologist
 * Geoffrey A. Jehle – Economics
 * Abby Leach – Greek
 * Hannah Lyman – first lady principal of Vassar College
 * Richard Möller – coach of the soccer team
 * Joseph Nevins – Geography
 * Aaron Louis Treadwell – Zoology
 * Adelaide Underhill – librarian
 * Helen Worthing Webster – Physiology and Hygiene