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 Menendez Russell Artzt - co-founder, Computer Associates Gary Barnett - founder of Extell Development Company Jill E. Barad - former CEO of Mattel David Cancel - serial technology entrepreneur; entrepreneur in residence at Harvard Business School Jerry Colonna - 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 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 and 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 Arthur M. Langer - professor of Professional Practice, Columbia University, founder of Workforce Opportunity Services 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
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 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 at 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 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 - played "Larry Dallas" on 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; attended 1976–1977, then went to Berklee College of Music Perri Pierre - actor and film producer DJ Rekha - 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 later, during which he made the dean's list) Howie Rose - sportscaster for the New York Mets and New York IslandersHowie Rose, MSG Network. Accessed September 20, 2007. "A graduate of Queens College, Rose’s career began in 1975 when he became one of the original voices for SportsPhone." 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 Dorothy Wiggins (born 1925), socialite and social media personality. 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 - from Seinfeld Carrie Heffernan - took courses for law during season 3 of King of Queens Eric Murphy - from Entourage; attended for two years before dropping out to become the manager of Vincent Chase Jerry Seinfeld - from Seinfeld Elliot Stabler - from Law & Order: SVU; first mentioned in S1E6 Betty Suarez - 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 Avi Berkowitz - attorney and political adviser Shifra Bronznick - prominent Jewish women's rights activist Kema Chikwe - National Women Leader of the Nigerian political party PDP, former aviation minister Nikos Christodoulides - president of Cyprus (2023–present) 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 member, Florida House of Representatives Adriano Espaillat - United States representative from New York's 13th congressional district (2017–present), 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 by members of the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi at the age of 20 as he sought to register African Americans to vote in Mississippi during Freedom Summer of 1964, while he was 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 Yorks State assemblyman 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 Shabbos Kestenbaum - Jewish activist 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 Helen Marshall - former Queens borough president Nettie Mayersohn - former member of New York State Assembly Joseph McGoldrick (1901–1978) - former NYC comptroller and NY state residential rent control commissioner, lawyer, and professor at Queens College 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 Mario Savio (B.A. 1963) - leader of the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley in the 1960s; during an era of de jure segregation and violence against Civil Rights activists, he registered African Americans living in Mississippi to vote 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
David A. Adler - author Yitzchok Adlerstein - rabbi, writer Mel Alexenberg - science artist and art educator Shalom Auslander - novelist, memoirist, and essayist 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, women'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 Harold Holzer - scholar of Abraham Lincoln and the political culture of the American Civil War Era 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 Cristina Jiménez Moreta (B.A. 2007) - Ecuadoran immigration activist who co-founded United We Dream 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, author, filmmaker, and physician Shana Poplack - linguistics Lina Puerta - artist Dorothy Rabinowitz - awarded 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary Colleen Randall - 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) Amin Tarzi - Middle East Studies Rosalyn Terborg-Penn - historian Eric Wolf - anthropologist
Music
Salman Ahmad - musician, Junoon Sol Berkowitz - composer and music educator Peter Calandra - pianist and composer Noel DaCosta - Nigerian-Jamaican jazz musician, composer