List of American University people

This is a sorted list of notable persons who have had ties to the American University in Washington, DC.

Notable alumni

A list of notable alumni of AU. Some particularly notable individuals are also listed in the main University article. Individuals are sorted by category and alphabetized within each category. The degree, school and year of graduation is noted when available.

Government, politics, society, royalty

*Juan Mari Brás – Puerto Rican independence advocate, founder of the Puerto Rican Socialist Party, WCL
*Hubert Horatio "Skip" Humphrey III – American Politician, son of the 38th United States Vice President, Hubert Humphrey and U.S. Senator, Muriel Humphrey
*Robert Kagan – Scholar, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Columnist, The Washington Post
*Petra Kelly – Founder of Germany's Green Party, SIS/BA '70
*Edward von Kloberg III – American Lobbyist, CAS
*Koko Tanimoto-Kondo – Prominent atomic bomb survivor (Hiroshima) and international peace activist, '69
*Alice Paul – Feminist, author of the Equal Rights Amendment, WCL/LLM '27 PhD '28
*Yabshi Pan Rinzinwangmo – only child of the 10th Panchen Lama of Tibet

Ambassadors, diplomats, foreign ministers

*Nizar Bin Obaid Madani – Deputy Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, SIS/MA '71, SIS/PhD '77
*Connie Morella – United States Ambassador to the OECD, former US Representative from Maryland, MA '67
*Khadija al-Salami – Press and Cultural attaché and director of the Yemeni Information Centre at the Embassy of Yemen in Paris; first female Yemeni film producer, SOC '90
*H.E. Omar Samad – Ambassador of Afghanistan to Canada, former CNN analyst
*Kantathi Suphamongkhon – Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, former Thai Member of Parliament, SIS/MA

Foreign heads of state, deputy heads of state, and ministers

*Pongpol Adireksarn – Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand
*H.R.H. Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al–Khalifa – Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain; Commander-In-Chief of the Bahrain Defense Force of Bahrain, SPA '92
*Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer – President of Iraq under the Iraqi Interim Government of 2004 - 2005, Vice President of Iraq under the Iraqi Transitional Government of 2005
*Peter Hughes – Chief Executive, New Zealand Ministry of Social Development
*Ousmane Issoufi Maïga – Prime Minister of the Republic of Mali
*Keith Mitchell – Prime Minister of Grenada
*Longin Pastusiak – Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, '62

United States Senators and Representatives

*James Bilbray – United States Representative from Nevada; Nevada State Senator, CAS/BA '62, WCL/JD '65
*Don Bonker – United States Representative from Washington, MA
*Robert Byrd – United States Senator from West Virginia, WCL '63
*Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. – United States Representative from South Carolina, Governor of South Carolina, MA
*Lawrence Joseph Hogan – United States Representative from Maryland, County Executive of Prince George's County, Maryland 1969 - 1975, '65
*Rick Lazio – United States Representative from New York, WCL
*Jim McGovern – United States Representative from Massachusetts, CAS/BA '81, SPA/MA '84
*Donald Manzullo – United States Representative from Illinois, SPA '67
*Connie Morella – United States Ambassador to the OECD, former United States Representative from Maryland, MA '67
*Mike Panetta – United States Shadow Representative from the District of Columbia, SPA '93, '94
*Loretta Sanchez – United States Representative from California, KSB '84
*Edward Schrock – United States Representative from Virginia
*Bill Shuster – United States Representative from Pennsylvania, KSB/MBA
*Bud Shuster – United States Representative from Pennsylvania, PhD '67
*Paul Strauss – United States Shadow Senator from the District of Columbia, SPA '86, WCL '93
*Ed Whitfield – United States Representative from Kentucky

US state, local governments

*Toney Anaya – Governor of New Mexico, WCL '67
*James Bilbray – Nevada State Senator; United States Representative from Nevada, CAS/BA '62, WCL/JD '65
*Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. – Governor of South Carolina, South Carolina State Representative and United States Representative, MA
*Bill Emmerson – California State Assemblyman, SPA
*Hugh Farley – New York State Senator from the New York's 44th Congressional District, WCL/JD
*Hubert Horatio "Skip" Humphrey III – former Minnesota State Senator and Attorney General; son of Vice President Hubert Humphrey and U.S. Senator Muriel Humphrey
*Pam Iorio – Mayor of Tampa, Florida
*Christopher Jacobs – Former Secretary of State of New York, 2006 candidate for Lieutenant Governor
*Howard Mills – New York Legislature, Former New York State Superintendent of Insurance; 2004 United States Senate Candidate, SPA '88
*Lawrence Joseph Hogan – County Executive of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States Representative from Maryland '65
*Kirill Reznik, State Delegate, Maryland House of Delegates, SIS M.A.'98, WCL J.D. '03
*Linda Stender – New Jersey State Assemblywoman and Congressional candidate
* Mary Margaret Whipple – Virginia State Senate Democratic Caucus Chair

United States government, military

*Walter E. Boomer – former Marine Corps General and leader of all Marines in the Gulf War
*Cari M. Dominguez – 12th Chair of the United States' Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, SIS/BA, SIS/MA
*Kenneth Duberstein – White House Chief of Staff under President Ronald Reagan
*Bo Gritz – United States Army Special Forces officer during the Vietnam War; Radio Host
*Paul Hackett – Iraq War Veteran, 2006 United States Senate candidate from Ohio, and trial lawyer, Washington Semester
*John Macy – Director of the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States Government administrator and civil servant
*Barry McCaffrey – White House Drug Czar under President Bill Clinton, Retired United States Army General, NBC News and MSNBC military analyst
*Ron Nessen – White House Press Secretary under President Gerald Ford
*William H. Pickle – 37th United States Senate Sergeant at Arms; highly decorated Vietnam War veteran
*Donna Shalala – United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, current President of the University of Miami, Washington Semester
*William C. Sullivan – head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation intelligence operations, MA
*Frances Townsend – United States Department of Homeland Security advisor to President George W. Bush, SPA, CAS '82
*Brian Willson – United States Air Force veteran, lawyer, prominent anti-war activist, WCL

Business and economy

*Gary Cohn – President and COO, Goldman Sachs, KSB/BSBA '82
*Avram Glazer – President and CEO of the Zapata Corporation
*Tom Karsch – Executive Vice President and General Manager, Turner Classic Movies
*Robert Kogod – President of the [http://www.archstonesmith.com/ Archstone-Smith] Companies, KSB/BSBA '62
*Terence M. O'Sullivan, Jr., general president, Laborers' International Union of North America KSB/BSBA '74

ports, entertainment and media

Reporters and journalists

*Alisyn Camerota, Fox News anchor, BA '88 [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,1181,00.html (1)]
*Jarrett Bellini – American writer and noted world traveler; host of [http://www.cnn.com/services/podcasting CNN.com video podcast] , "The Gryst", SOC '01
*Neil Cavuto – FOX News Commentator, WCL
*Alan Green – Senior editor, Center for Public Integrity
*David Gregory – White House correspondent NBC News, SIS
*Florence King – Conservative social commentator and writer for the National Review, and best selling author.
*Barry McCaffrey – NBC News and MSNBC military analyst, White House Drug Czar under President Bill Clinton, Retired United States Army General
*Rick Leventhal – FOX News Correspondent, former WNBC-TV reporter, SOC/BA '86 [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,1221,00.html (1)]
*Nicole Petallides – FOX Business Network anchor and correspondent, SOC '93
*Peter Plantec Contributing Editor StudioDaily.com New York and VFXWorld.com Hollywood.
*Omar Samad – former CNN analyst, ambassador of Afghanistan to Canada
*Jamie Smith – Reporter, Associated Press Award Winner, CBS 3-KYW Philadelphia [http://cbs3.com/bios/local_bio_008133748.html (2)] , '97
*Jeffrey St. Clair — editor of "CounterPunch

Cinema, television, radio

*Alex Albrecht – Co-Host of Revision3's "Diggnation", former host of "The Screen Savers" on G4techTV
*Max Brooks – Actor, author and Emmy-Award winning writer, former writer for "Saturday Night Live", son of filmmaker Mel Brooks and actress Anne Bancroft, CAS '94
*Bryan Callen – American actor and comedian, original cast of comedians on the sketch comedy television series, "MADtv", CAS
*Giuliana DePandi – American celebrity news personality; co-host, E! network's "E! News Live" alongside Ryan Seacrest, SOC/MA
*Bo Gritz – Radio host, United States Army Special Forces officer during the Vietnam War
*Gale Harold – American actor, role of Brian Kinney on Showtime's "Queer as Folk", lead role on FOX's "Vanished" (no degree)
*Goldie Hawn – Academy Award-winning American film actress, director and producer
*Clark Howard – Host of the nationally syndicated radio show, "The Clark Howard Show" '76
*Aamir Ali – Indian television actor, currently potraying the role of Anurag/Rahul Punj in Balaji Telefilms soap named Kya Dill Mein Hai which airs on Indian channel 9X, SOC/BA [http://www.india-forums.com/tv_actor.asp?id=293 (1)]
*Star Jones – Television personality, lawyer and author; former co-host, "The View", former Assistant District Attorney in New York
*Barry Levinson – Film Director, SOC '64
*Nancy Meyers – Film Writer and Director, SOC '71
*Mike O'Meara – Co-host, "The Don and Mike Show", nationally syndicated radio show
*Khadija al-Salami – first female Yemeni film-producer; Press and Cultural attaché and director of the Yemeni Information Centre at the Embassy of Yemen in Paris, SOC '90
*Benjamin Salisbury – actor, role of Brighton Sheffield on "The Nanny"
*Willard Scott – Performer, NBCs "The Today Show"
*Judy Sheindlin – lawyer and television court show judge, "Judge Judy", SPA '63

ports

*David Aldridge – TNT Sportscaster and Columnist
*Avery John – Trinidadian football (soccer) player, who currently plays as a defender for the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer and the Trinidad and Tobago national football team, KSB '99
*Kermit Washington – NBA Basketball player
*Steve Farr – MLB Baseball player
*Sergio López Miró – swam at the 1988 olympics placing third in the 200 meters breaststroke
*Frederik Hviid – swam at the 1996 and 2000 olympics.
*Gabriella Csépe – swam at the 1988 and 1992 olympics.

Law

*Terrence Boyle – Federal Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina; nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (US Senate confirmation vote pending), WCL/JD
*Adrian Cronauer – American lawyer and former radio disc jockey, inspiration for the Robin Williams film, "Good Morning, Vietnam"
*Paul Hackett – Trial Lawyer, Iraq War Veteran,and 2006 United States Senate candidate from Ohio, Washington Semester
*Claude M. Hilton – Federal Judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, WCL/JD '66
*Hubert Horatio "Skip" Humphrey III – Minnesota's 27th Attorney General and former State Senator; son of Vice President Hubert Humphrey and U.S. Senator Muriel Humphrey
*Gerald Bruce Lee – United States District Court Judge, Eastern District of Virginia CAS/BA '73, WCL/JD '76
*Sharon Prost – Federal Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, WCL/JD '79
*Warren M. Silver – Maine Supreme Judicial Court Justice, WCL '73

Arts, sciences, academia and literature

*Ann Beattie – Author and educator
*Max Brooks – Actor, author and Emmy-Award winning writer, author of "The Zombie Survival Guide" and , CAS '94
*John Fahey – Guitarist and composer
*Dominic Giampaolo – Software engineer, developed the Be File System, CAS
*Donald Harward – Philosopher, President of Bates College
*Gale Harold – actor (no degree)
*Frederick Hart – American sculptor notable for his public monuments and works in bronze, marble, and clear acrylic (a technique Hart coined as "sculpting with light")
*Dr. Bhante Henepola Gunaratana – Sri Lankan Buddhist Monk and Philosopher, Author of the influential work, "Mindfulness in Plain English", CAS/BA, CAS/MA, CAS/PhD
*Shawna Kenney – author of "I Was A Teenage Dominatrix", which concerns her time spent at American, '95
*Cornelius M. Kerwin – President of American University, SPA/BA '71
*Matthew Lesko – Author on government grants
*Arnost Lustig – renowned Czech author and Holocaust survivor.
*Dan Mathews – Senior Vice President PETA author of "Committed: A Rabble-Rouser's Memoir"
*William Moulton Marston – Inventor and Cartoonist, invented the polygraph and produced Wonder Woman
*Florence King – Novelist, BA '57
*Bruce Schneier – Author, leading internet security advisor
*Zaid Shakir – noted Western scholar of Islam, SIS/BA
*Donna Shalala – President of the University of Miami, former United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Washington Semester
*Alice Sheldon – Novelist, BA '59
*Ernest Thompson – Playwright, actor, Academy Award winner, CAS '71

Notable professors and staff

A list of notable AU professors and staff, past and present, listed in alphabetical order.

*Akbar S. Ahmed - former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United Kingdom
*Anita Alpern - former assistant commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service
*Betty T. Bennett - Dean, College of Arts and Sciences (1985-1997) and Professor, Department of Literature
*Richard E. Berendzen - Department of Physics
*Julian Bond - Chairman, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and distinguished professor in residence, Department of Government, School of Public Affairs
*Joe Clark - Prime Minister of Canada between June 4, 1979 and March 3, 1980
*Max Cleland - former U.S. Senator of Georgia (former professor)
*Christine DeGregorio - Department of Government
*Charles B. Ferster - Department of Psychology, noted behavioral psychologist, co-author with B.F. Skinner of "Schedules of Reinforcement" (1957)
*Lesley Gill - Latin America researcher, author, Department of Anthropology
*Louis W. Goodman - dean of the School of International Service
*Jane Hall - former "Los Angeles Times" reporter, Fox News Watch panelist, School of Communications
*Andrew Holleran - author, Creative Writing Program
*Louis C. Hunter (1898 - 1984), professor of history and author of "Steamboats on the western rivers, an economic and technological history"
*Ellis O. Knox, (former Professor of Education)
*Stephen G. Kurtz - historian, principal of Phillips Exeter Academy (1974-1987)
*Allan Lichtman - historian, candidate for Maryland Senate (2006), Department of History
*Charles Malik - former president of the UN Economic and Social Council (former professor)
*Howard McCurdy - NASA expert, Department of Public Administration
*Robert S. Mulliken - 1966 Nobel Prize in Chemistry recipient (former professor)
*Karen O'Connor - political scientist, Department of Government
*Jim Ramstad - U.S. Congressman from Minnesota
*Egon Ranshofen-Wertheimer -
*Jamin Raskin - professor, constitutional law, codirector, Program on Law and Government and Marshall-Brennan Fellows Program, author of "The Supreme Court versus the American People", Maryland state Senator
*John Richardson - director of the [http://www.american.edu/cte/ Center for Teaching Excellence] , Department of International Development
*Floyd M. Riddick - Department of Political Science.
*Abdul Aziz Said - founder, [http://www.aupeace.org/faculty/farsi Mohammed Said Farsi Chair of Islamic Peace] , founder and director of the [http://www.american.edu/academic.depts/acainst/cgp/ Center for Global Peace] , School of International Service, Department of International Peace and Conflict Resolution, author and professor
*Edward C. Smith - director of the Department of American Studies
*Ben Stein (former professor)
*Henry Taylor - 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winner
*James Thurber - director Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, professor of [government, School of Public Affairs
*Paul Williams - Executive Director of the [http://www.publicinternationallaw.org/ Public International Law & Policy Group] , School of International Service and Washington College of Law

Honorary degree recipients and commencement speakers

A list of notable AU honorary doctorate degree recipients and commencement speakers, sorted by category and alphabet.

Nobel Laureates

*Aung San Suu Kyi
*Shimon Peres
*Archbishop Desmond Tutu
*Lech Wałęsa
*Elie Wiesel

United States Presidents

*Bill Clinton
*Jimmy Carter
*Dwight D. Eisenhower
*John F. Kennedy
*Franklin D. Roosevelt

International figures

*Alexander Dubček
*Thomas Buergenthal
*Jan Eliasson
*Mikhail Gorbachev
*H.M. King Hussein of Jordan
*H.M. Queen Noor of Jordan

National figures

*Charlene Barshefsky
*Ruth Bader Ginsburg
*Lee H. Hamilton
*Paul Volcker
*Daniel Inouye
*Barbara Jordan
*John Lewis
*Ralph Nader
*Sandra Day O'Connor
*Robert Reich
*Paul Sarbanes
*Theodore Sorenson
*Andrew Young
*Karl Rove
*Barack Obama

cholars

*Chinua Achebe
*Stephen Jay Gould
*John Hope Franklin
*Henry Steele Commager
*Alfred Kazin
*Sean Gunn

Journalists

*David Broder
*Walter Cronkite
*Sam Donaldson
*Ted Koppel
*Carl Rowan
*Tim Russert
*Judy Woodruff

Performing artists

*Marian Anderson
*Mstislav Rostropovich

Visual artists

*Sam Gilliam

Chancellors/Presidents of American University

A listing of the Chancellors and Presidents of American University, listed together with dates of life and service, as well as concurring notable AU events.

Trustees

Notable trustees of American University, past and present:
* William Jennings Bryan – United States Secretary of State to President Woodrow Wilson
* Michael D. Capellas – President and CEO of MCI
* Dwight D. Eisenhower – 34th President of the United States
* Thomas Gottschalk – General Motors Executive Vice President and General Counsel
* Warren Harding – 29th President of the United States
* Herbert Hoover – 31st President of the United States
* Robert Kogod – President of the Charles E. Smith real estate corporation
* William McKinley – 25th President of the United States
* Theodore Roosevelt – 26th President of the United States
* Wiley Rutledge – U.S. Supreme Court Justice (WCL)
* Harry S Truman – 33rd President of the United States

Kennedy Political Union (KPU) speakers

Notable speakers past (in alphabetical order)
* Madeleine Albright – former U.S. Secretary of State
* Kareem Abdul-Jabar – former NBA basketball star
* Benazir Bhutto – Former prime minister of Pakistan
* Cherie Blair – barrister, wife to Prime Minister Tony Blair
* Candace Bushnell – "Sex in the City" creator
* The Capitol Steps political satire singing group
* Tucker Carlson – CNN political commentator, host of Crossfire
* James Carville – political consultant
* Linda Chavez – AFL–CIO chair
* Andrei Cherny – President Clinton's speechwriter
* Joe Clark – Former Prime Minister of Canada
* Eldridge Cleaver – Former chief publicist of the Black Panthers
* Dalai Lama – religious leader
* Arthur Dewey – assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration,
* Bob Dole – Former US Presidential candidate, Senator
* Elizabeth Edwards – Breast cancer awareness advocate and wife of John Edwards
* John Edwards – Former US Presidential and Vice President candidate, Senator
* Ari Fleischer – President Bush's Press Secretary
* Jane Fonda – actress, political activist
* John Glenn – astronaut, US Senator
* Dan Glickman – President and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
* Mikhail Gorbachev – Former leader of the Soviet Union
* Jack Gordon – moderator of the CNN show 'The Capital Gang,'political commentator
* Tipper Gore – Former Second Lady, political activist
* Darrell Green – cornerback for the Washington Redskins
* Charlton Heston – actor, gun-rights activist
* David Ivry – Israeli Ambassador to the US
* John F. Kennedy – President of the United States
* Ted Kennedy – Senator
* Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. – lawyer and author
* Coretta Scott King – political activist, wife of MLK Jr.
* Felipe Luciano – reporter, poet, activist, first Puerto Rican to anchor the news for WNBC in New York, Young Lords Party chairman
* Mary Matalin – political consultant
* Norman Mineta – former U.S. Secretary of Transportation
* George Pataki – Governor of New York
* Colin Powell – Secretary of State
* Phyllis Schlafly – political author, commentator
* Bobby Seale – Black Panther
* Rev. Al Sharpton – civil rights leader and activist
* Martin Sheen – actor, political activist
* Mark Shields – CNN commentator
* Nadine Strossen – president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
* Helen Thomas – White House correspondent
* Desmond Tutu – South African cleric and activist
* Bradley Whitford – actor, political activist
* John Wood, – New Zealand Ambassador to the US
* Bob Woodward – Washington Post editor