List of Cornell University alumni

Cornell University, an Ivy League university founded in 1865 in Ithaca, New York

This list of Cornell University alumni includes notable graduates, non-graduate former students, and current students of Cornell University, an Ivy League university whose main campus is in Ithaca, New York.

As of 2024, Cornell has over 250,000 living alumni.[1] Since the university's founding, its alumni have included 25 recipients of National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation combined, 38 MacArthur Fellows, 34 Marshall Scholars, 31 Rhodes Scholars,[1][2][3][4] 249 elected members of the National Academy of Sciences, 201 elected members of the National Academy of Engineering, and over 190 heads of higher learning institutions.

Cornell is the only university in the world with three female winners of unshared Nobel Prizes among its graduates; Cornell alumni Pearl S. Buck, Barbara McClintock, and Toni Morrison each were unshared recipients of the prize.[5][6] Many alumni maintain university ties through the university's homecoming. Its alumni magazine is Cornell Magazine.[7] In Manhattan, the university maintains the Cornell Club of New York for alumni. In 2005, Cornell ranked third nationally among universities and colleges in philanthropic giving from its alumni.[1] Alumni are known as Cornellians, many of whom are noted for their accomplishments in public, professional, and corporate life.[1][8]

In contemporary culture, fictional alumni have been portrayed in several films, television shows, and books. In television, Andy Bernard on The Office (2005 to 2013),[9] Tom Kirkman on Designated Survivor (2016 to 2018), Mitchell Pritchett on Modern Family (2009 to 2020),[10] and Shane Patton on HBO's The White Lotus (2021 to present) are each Cornell University alumni.[11] In films, Christina Pagniacci in Any Given Sunday (1999)[12] and Natalie Keener in Up in the Air (2009)[13] are both Cornell alumni.

  1. ^ a b c d "2009–10 Factbook" (PDF). Cornell University. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2006. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
  2. ^ "Uncle Ezra". Cornell University. Archived from the original on January 2, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
  3. ^ "Rhodes Scholarships Number of Winners by Institution" (PDF).
  4. ^ "Statistics". Marshallscholarship.org. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  5. ^ "C.U. Should Embrace Female Nobel Laureates". The Cornell Daily Sun. October 6, 2010. Archived from the original on January 12, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2010.
  6. ^ "Cornell Nobel laureates". Cornell News Service. Retrieved June 6, 2006.
  7. ^ "Place a Reunion Ad in Class Notes" (PDF). Cornell Alumni News. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  8. ^ Altschuler, Glenn C.; Isaac Kramnick; R. Laurence Moore (2003). The 100 Most Notable Cornellians. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-3958-2.
  9. ^ "Big Red Yuks on NBC's 'The Office'". Cornell Alumni News. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  10. ^ Gibbs, Lynn (2023-03-10). "Every Job Mitchell Had On Modern Family (The Complete Timeline)". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
  11. ^ Goldsmith, Annie (24 August 2021). "Cornell's President Reacts to That White Lotus Hat Choice". Yahoo Life. Yahoo. Archived from the original on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021. the reference made its way to the real-life Cornell president, Martha Pollack. In a recent interview, she was asked about Shane's baseball cap and the ensuing publicity.
  12. ^ Williams, Mary Elizabeth (December 23, 1999). "Any Given Sunday". Salon Media Group. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  13. ^ Anderson, Joey (January 21, 2010). "The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Business Traveler". Cornell Daily Sun. Archived from the original on January 12, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2010.