Ithacans are persons affiliated with Ithaca College, especially alumni. The following is a list of notable Ithacans.
Art Nydia Blas, visual artist whose works explore the identities of young black women Cathleen Chaffee, art curator, art historian
Business Chris Burch (B.S. 1976), founder and CEO of Burch Creative Capital; co-founder of Tory Burch LLC Bess Freedman (B.S. 1992), CEO Brown Harris Stevens Bob Iger (B.S. 1973), chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company Stew Leonard, Jr. (B.S. 1977), president and CEO, Stew Leonard's
Entertainment
Actors Kathryn Allison, 2014 winner of the NYMF Next Big Broadway Sensation competition Erinn Bartlett, actress The Birthday Boys (2005, 2006), sketch comedy group and stars of IFC comedy show David Boreanaz (B.S. 1991), actor, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Bones John Ross Bowie, actor, The Big Bang Theory Kerry Butler (B.F.A. 1992), Tony Award-nominated Broadway actress, Xanadu, Catch Me If You Can and Little Shop of Horrors Daniel Motta (B.F.A. 2021), Famed Youtuber, Danny Motta Channel also known as Alex Brightman's rival Matt Cavenaugh (B.F.A. 2001), Broadway actor, West Side Story Thom Christopher, Emmy Award-winning actor, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and One Life to Live Andy Daly (1993), actor and comedian Ben Fankhauser (B.F.A.), theater actor best known for his role as Davey Jacobs in Newsies Michelle Federer (B.F.A. 1995), theater and film actress; originated the character Nessarose in Broadway's Wicked Ben Feldman, Emmy Award-nominated actor known for Mad Men and Superstore Ilene Graff, actress and singer Sean Grandillo, actor, Spring Awakening, The Real O'Neals, The Lost Boys. Jennifer Hall, actress Jeremy Jordan (B.F.A., 2007), Tony Award-nominated and Grammy Award-nominated star of Newsies and Bonnie & Clyde, also starred on Smash and in Joyful Noise Ricki Lake (non-degreed), Emmy Award-winning actress, Serial Mom, Hairspray; television host Gavin MacLeod, Golden Globe Award-nominated actor, The Love Boat, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show Daniel McDonald, Tony Award-nominated actor Mark Moses, actor, Desperate Housewives, Mad Men David Newsom, actor and producer Joe Pera (2010), stand-up comedian, actor, star/creator of Adult Swim's Joe Pera Talks with You CCH Pounder, Emmy Award-nominated actress, Bagdad Café, The Shield and Avatar Judson Pratt (1938), television, film and stage actor known for Union Pacific, Sergeant Rutledge and Born Yesterday"College Graduate Has Part in Movie". The Ithaca Journal. September 25, 1952. p. 4. Retrieved January 7, 2024.Cassidy, John M. (1986). Civil War Cinema : A Pictorial History of Hollywood and the War Between the States. Missoula, MT : Pictorial Histories Publishing. p. 121. . Josh Andrés Rivera, (B.F.A ‘18), actor known for portraying Chino in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story Brian Sack, humorist, author, and contributor on Fox News Channel's Glenn Beck program Charlie Schlatter, actor, Diagnosis: Murder Amanda Setton (B.A. 2007), film and TV actress, Gossip Girl, The Mindy Project, The Crazy OnesOphir, Edon. "Ithaca's own 'Gossip Girl,'" The Ithacan (Ithaca College), August 28, 2008. Aaron Tveit, Tony Award-winning actor in Moulin Rouge!, Catch Me If You Can and Next to Normal, starred in USA Network's Graceland and Fox's Grease: Live Jeff Winkless, voice-over actor Ali Louis Bourzgui, (B.F.A '21), Tony Award-winning actor and musician, The Lost Boys, The Who's Tommy.
Directors and producers Matthew Bennett (1986), scripted and non-scripted director and producer; created modern aftershow format with After the Catch Bill D'Elia, writer, director and executive producer of How to Get Away with Murder, Chicago Hope, Boston Legal, Ally McBeal and others; co-creator of Judging Amy Anna DeShawn, media personality and podcaster Peter Dougherty (1977), creator of Yo! MTV Raps Barbara Gaines (B.A. 1979), Emmy Award-winning executive producer, Late Show with David Letterman Brian Herzlinger (1997), director, special correspondent on The Tonight Show David Guy Levy, film producer, Would You Rather and Terri Jesse Zook Mann (B.S. 2002), Emmy Award-winning documentary film and television producer and director Mark Romanek, filmmaker (One Hour Photo, Never Let Me Go) and Grammy Award-winning music video director Mike Royce, executive producer and writer, Everybody Loves Raymond and One Day at a Time Deborah Snyder (1991), executive producer of Suicide Squad, 300 and Watchmen Larry Teng, television director and producer Liz Tigelaar, television writer and executive producer, Life Unexpected and Casual Alex Westerman, Webby Award-winning creative director
Hosts, presenters, and news anchors
David Brody (B.S.1988), Emmy Award-winning journalist and White House Correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network Alan Colmes (non-degreed), television and radio host of Hannity & Colmes and The Alan Colmes Show Chip Hines (B.A. 1990), host of Spotlight on CatholicTV Chris Kellogg, morning radio host for WMAS-FM and The Kellogg Krew Bob Kur (B.S. 1970), Washington Post Radio, former NBC News national reporter David Muir (B.S. 1995), ABC World News anchor Jessica Savitch (B.S. 1968), the first female network anchor Todd Schnitt, conservative radio personality and host of The Schnitt Show Giorgio A. Tsoukalos (1998), television presenter specializing in the ancient astronaut hypothesis Robin Young, host of National Public Radio's Here and Now
Music
Kate Aldrich (B.M. 1996), internationally renowned mezzo-soprano Rick Beato (B.M. 1980), YouTube personality, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer and educator Cindy Bradley (B.F.A. Jazz Studies 1998), jazz trumpet player and composer Nick Brignola, jazz baritone saxophonist Suzan Brittan, dance vocalist Robert E. Brown, lead ethnomusicologist and musician Ted Cohen (non-degreed), music industry executive Alec Coone, multi-instrumentalist member of Balam Acab Patricia Craig, renowned operatic soprano Margaret Daum, opera singer Richard De Benedictis (B.A. 1958), Broadway and television composer Henrique de Curitiba, composer Gavin DeGraw (non-degreed), Grammy Award-nominated and platinum-selling musician Tony DeSare (1997), jazz musician Julius Eastman (non-degreed), composer of minimal music Arnald Gabriel (1950), conductor emeritus of the U.S. Air Force Band Matthew Hoch, singer; leading music scholar and teacher Scott LaFaro, influential jazz bassist with the Bill Evans Trio New York Voices, Grammy Award-winning vocal music group of Ithaca alumni Maureen Tucker, drummer for The Velvet Underground Ruth Underwood, xylophonist for Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention Bora Yoon (B.A. 2002), musician
Screenwriters and designers Max Brallier, children's book author, Emmy Award-winning writer, and screenwriter; author of The Last Kids on Earth and Eerie Elementary Paul Gallo (B.F.A. 1974), Tony Award-nominated lighting designer, has designed more than 200 shows in NYC and regional theaters Allan Loeb, film screenwriter, Things We Lost in the Fire, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, The Dilemma Chris Regan (1989), Emmy Award-winning writer for The Daily Show Rod Serling, former faculty, taught at Ithaca College Communications School 1967–1975; Emmy Award-winning screenwriter; creator of The Twilight Zone
Sportscasters Bruce Beck (B.S. 1978), weekend sports anchor for WNBC, NY Brendan Burke (B.S. 2006), sportscaster for Fox Sports and television announcer for New York Islanders on MSG Network Mike Catalana (B.S. 1985), sports director WHAM-TV Rochester, New York Ed Cohen (B.S 2005), WEPN-FM radio voice of the New York Knicks Kevin Connors (B.S. 1997), ESPN sportscaster Giselle Donnelly, author of AEI's National Security Outlook Lanny Frattare (B.S. 1970), play-by-play announcer for MLB's Pittsburgh Pirates Eric Frede (B.S. 1988), Boston Bruins studio host, NESN Drew Goodman (B.S. 1985), television announcer for Colorado Rockies 2002–present, Denver Nuggets 1994–2004 Neil Hartman (B.S. 1982), sports anchor, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia Jack Michaels (B.S. 1995), announcer for the Edmonton Oilers on Sportsnet Nick Nickson, hockey broadcaster for Los Angeles Kings Sal Paolantonio, ESPN sportscaster; member of the college's Philadelphia Executive Committee Karl Ravech (B.S. 1987), ESPN sportscaster Eric Reid, TV announcer for Miami Heat
Law Mitchell S. Goldberg (BA 1981), judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Literature and journalism Robert Bluey, editor of the daily online edition of Human Events Kristen Britain, author of Green Rider and First Rider's Call Jason Colavito, author Andrew Marchand, sports media reporter for the New York Post Sandra McDonald, author of The Outback Stars and The Stars Down Under Tish Rabe (1973), children's book author and writer of over 40 Dr. Seuss books Bill Roorbach, novelist, short story writer and memoirist K. M. Soehnlein, novelist and essayist Julia Spencer-Fleming, author of the Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series Julie Spira, author of The Perils of Cyber-Dating David A. Weiner (1990), executive editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland and writer/director of In Search of Darkness
Politics Christopher Bateman, member of the New Jersey General Assembly Michael A. Battle, former director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, United States Department of Justice Ed Diana, county executive of Orange County, New York Richard K. Eaton, senior judge on the United States Court of International Trade Eileen Filler-Corn (B.A. 1986), speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates Emily Gallagher (2006), member of the New York State Assembly Loni Hancock, member of the California State Senate Ben Walsh (B.A. 2001), mayor of Syracuse, New York
Science and medicine Richard Jadick (B.S. 1987), combat surgeon who was awarded the Bronze Star for service in Iraq C. William Schwab (B.A. chemistry 1968), chief of the Division of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care and Emergency Surgery Research at the University of Pennsylvania Steven Van Slyke (B.S. 1978), chemist, inventor of the OLED, with over twenty patents related to OLEDs, materials, and device architecture
Sports
Glen Cook, professional baseball player for the Texas Rangers Conor Heun, mixed martial artist Tommy Hicks, former light heavyweight boxer Henny Hiemenz, head college football coach, Carroll University George Kissell, coach for St. Louis Cardinals Tim Locastro, professional baseball player for the New York Yankees Robert Marella, former professional wrestler (known as Gorilla Monsoon), ringside commentator for the World Wrestling Federation Emily Morley, first Bahamian rower to qualify for the Olympic Games Meghan Musnicki, rower and member of the gold medal-winning women's 8+ for the United States at the 2012 London Olympics Tom Nugent, college football head coach and sportscaster; College Football Hall of Famer; developer of the I Formation Les Otten (B.S. 1971), vice chairman and partner, Boston Red Sox Organization Eddie Sawyer, former Philadelphia Phillies manager and MLB scout Barry Smith, former NHL associate coach Travis Warech, American-German-Israeli basketball player for Israeli team Hapoel Be'er Sheva Jerry Welsh, head coach college basketball Potsdam State University, head coach college basketball Iona College Tony Wise, former NFL assistant coach Jeff Wittman, member of the College Football Hall of Fame
References
External links Official alumni website