List of Hofstra University people
The list of Hofstra University people includes notable graduates, professors, and administrators affiliated with Hofstra University.
Academia
- David B. Allison, class of 1987, Distinguished Professor, Quetelet Endowed Professor of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Steven Feld, class of 1971, anthropologist and ethnomusicologist
- Lawrence C. Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University, and journalist
- Jonathan D. Moreno, BA 1973, professor at the University of Pennsylvania; Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress; author
- Sharon Oster, BA 1970, professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at Yale School of Management
- Tina Park, trustee, Los Angeles Community College District
- Victor Ricciardi B.B.A. 1991, professor of business and author
- Steve Salbu, dean emeritus of the Scheller College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology
- Morton O. Schapiro, president of Northwestern University
- Robert Swirsky, author, lecturer, and computer scientist
Business
- Chris Albrecht, former president and CEO of Starz, LLC; former chairman of HBO
- Avi Arad, B.B.A. 1972, CEO of Marvel Studios
- Diane Garnick, investment manager, author
- Gerald Guterman, real estate investor and developer; chairman and CEO of Guterman Partners, LLC
- Charles Kushner, J.D. 1979, billionaire real estate developer; founder and co-owner of Kushner Properties
- Ralph S. Larsen, B.B.A. 1962, chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson from 1989 to 2002
- Bernie Madoff, B.S. 1960, Wall Street investor convicted of multiple felonies related to the largest Ponzi scheme in history
- Kathryn V. Marinello, M.B.A. 1983, chairman, CEO, and a director of the Company for Stream Global Services
- Shawn Matthews, M.B.A., CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
- James C. Metzger, B.A. 1983, chairman and CEO of The Whitmore Group, Ltd.
- Tommy Mottola, former chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment; attended but did not graduate
- Scott Ross, B.S. 1974, founder, chairman, and CEO of Digital Domain, Inc.
- Steven C. Witkoff, B.A. 1980, J.D. 1983, Special Envoy to the Middle East for U.S. President Donald Trump; real estate investor and developer, founder of the Witkoff Group, attorney
- Frank G. Zarb, B.B.A.1957, MBA 1962, former chairman of NASD, Inc. and the Nasdaq Stock Market and chairman of insurer AIG
Government, law and politics
- Bruce Blakeman, Nassau County Executive, former adjunct professor
- Joseph Borg, J.D., Securities Commissioner of Alabama
- Jon Bramnick, J.D., represents District 21 in the New Jersey General Assembly
- Anutin Charnvirakul, BEng 1989, Prime Minister of Thailand
- Norm Coleman, former U.S. senator
- Taylor Darling, member of the New York State Assembly
- Thomas DiNapoli, 1976, former New York state assemblyman; current New York State Comptroller
- Timothy S. Driscoll, justice of Supreme Court of New York, Nassau County
- Lenora Fulani, first woman and first African American to appear on the ballot for U.S. president in all 50 states
- Owen H. Johnson, BA 1956, honorary JD '98, New York State Senator
- Peter S. Kalikow, MTA chairman
- Norm Kent, BA 1971, attorney, publisher, radio talk show host, chair of the board of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws
- Jeff Korek, New York City-based trial lawyer; partner at Gersowitz Libo & Korek, a personal injury law firm
- Ron Kovic, activist, paraplegic, author of Born on the Fourth of July
- Norman F. Lent, former U.S. congressman, New York
- David A. Levy, former U.S. congressman, New York
- Ed Mangano, Republican, Nassau County, NY County Executive
- Hun Many, Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia
- Joseph Margiotta, former Nassau County, Long Island Republican chairman
- Mary Matalin, political consultant for the Republican Party; advisor to President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney
- Richard McCormack, BA 1970, member of the Vermont Senate
- Thomas McKevitt, BS, JD, represents District 17 in the New York State Assembly, which includes large portions of Nassau County
- Joseph Mondello, BA 1962, chairman, Nassau County Republican Committee
- Robert O. Muller, JD 1974, co-founder of International Campaign to Ban Landmines, the Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1997
- Callistus Ndlovu, Zimbabwean politician; taught history and politician science at Hofstra between 1969 and 1980
- David Paterson, first African American governor of New York; former minority leader of the New York State Senate
- Evy Poumpouras, former U.S. Secret Service special agent
- Kathleen Riebe, member of the Utah State Senate
- Howard Safir, former New York City Police commissioner; former head of the United States Marshals Service
- Vincent Sapienza, former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection
- Peter J. Schmitt, county legislator of Nassau County, New York's 12th District
- Luis R. Sepulveda, member of the New York State Senate, former Member of the New York State Assembly
- Richard Socarides, J.D., head of public affairs for Gerson Lehrman Group, former White House advisor
- Maryanne Trump Barry, U.S. Court of Appeals judge
- Thomas C. Wales, assassinated federal prosecutor
Film, theater, television, and radio
- Scott Aharoni, film producer and director; Bardo, Leylak, Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer
- Avi Arad, film producer; founder of Marvel Studios; producer of the Spider-Man and X-Men films
- James Stacy Barbour, actor
- Brian Barry, SAG actor, X-Files, I Am Legend
- Lou Berger, 1972, head writer for children's television show Sesame Street; winner of 10 Emmys for outstanding writing
- James Caan, actor, The Godfather
- Godfrey Cambridge, actor, comedian, Watermelon Man
- Clifford Chapin, voice actor
- Margaret Colin, actress
- Alan Colmes, talk radio host, former co-host of Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes
- Ryan Colucci, film producer, director and writer; Battle for Terra, Suburban Cowboy, With You, Orient City: Ronin & The Princess
- Francis Ford Coppola, Academy Award-winning director, producer and writer of classics including The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now, Patton, The Outsiders, American Graffiti
- Peter Dante, played lacrosse at Hofstra; actor; The Waterboy, Big Daddy, Grandma's Boy
- Robert Davi, actor; Licence to Kill, Die Hard, The Goonies, Wiseguy
- John DeBella, disc jockey, WMGK Philadelphia
- Elizabeth Dennehy, actress
- Rosemarie DeWitt, actress; granddaughter of James Braddock
- Meredith Eaton-Gilden, actress and psychologist
- Steven Epstein, Sony Classical music producer
- Joe Frank, radio monologuist and playwright
- Peter Friedman, actor
- Lisa Glasberg, "Lisa G", radio and TV personality, The Howard Stern Show
- Adam Green, filmmaker, writer, director; Hatchet, Spiral, and Frozen
- Ellie Greenwich, songwriter, "Leader of the Pack", "Be My Baby", "Chapel of Love"
- Steven Haft, film producer and later senior executive at AOL and Time Inc
- Rashad Haughton, writer, film director, actor, screenwriter; brother of singer, actress and model Aaliyah
- Monica Horan, actress, Everybody Loves Raymond
- Dan Ingram, disc jockey, WCBS-FM, New York
- Anthony Ingrassia, playwright, producer and director
- Madeline Kahn, Tony Award winner for Best Actress, The Sisters Rosensweig; twice nominated for an Academy Award; Paper Moon, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, High Anxiety
- Lainie Kazan, actress, starred in My Big Fat Greek Wedding
- Francis Kenny, cinematographer, 2012 ASC Presidents Award
- Norm Kent, BA 1971, attorney, publisher, radio talk show host, WFTL
- Donnie Klang, solo artist, Making the Band 4
- Dennis Latos, film producer director and writer; Bardo, The Untimely Gift, Leylak
- Frederic Lebow, screenwriter, While You Were Sleeping
- Charles Ludlam, playwright
- Tom McGowan, actor
- Stewart Mead, actor and former airline pilot
- Joe Morton, actor, Terminator 2, American Gangster
- Katie Nolan, sports personality and television host
- Lisa Ortiz, voice actress, The Slayers, Pokémon, Sonic X
- Corey Rae, actress, model, writer, and activist
- Andrew Rea, YouTuber and filmmaker, Binging with Babish
- Anwar Robinson, American Idol Top 10 finalist
- Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson, NBA columnist, host on MSG Networks, CBS Sports Radio
- Robbie Rosen, B.S. 2016, American Idol contestant and EDM vocalist
- Philip Rosenthal, creator, producer and writer, Everybody Loves Raymond
- Scott Ross, producer; executive; founder of Digital Domain; General Manager of Industrial Light and Magic
- Susan H. Schulman, theater director
- Leslie Segrete, designer on TLC's While You Were Out and Trading Spaces
- Mike Starr, screen and stage actor; Goodfellas, Dumb and Dumber, Summer of Sam,'' The Natural, The Bodyguard, The Black Dahlia''
- Joey Styles, play-by-play announcer for Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment
- Susan Sullivan, actress
- Steven Tsapelas, writer and filmmaker
- Eliot Wald, B.A. 1967, television and film writer
- Mickey Waldman, received her Juris Doctor in 1981; WBAI radio host and producer
- Christopher Walken, attended as a dance student but did not graduate; Academy Award-winning actor
- Jay Wallace, president of Fox News
Art, literature, and print media
- Emily Austin, social media influencer, sports journalist
- Jean Butler, dancer and choreographer
- August Darnell, aka Kid Creole, co-founder of Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, and later, Kid Creole and the Coconuts
- Gene Demby, journalist, reporter at NPR and host of the Code Switch podcast
- Nelson DeMille, author
- Stephen Dunn, Pulitzer Prize for poetry, 2001; former varsity basketball player
- Marilyn French, feminist, author of The Women's Room
- Pamela Geller, blogger, author, political activist, and commentator
- Patricia Reilly Giff, children's literature author, teacher
- Brenda Janowitz, writer and attorney
- Charlie Kadau, senior editor, Mad Magazine
- Madeline Kahn, Broadway Tony Award winner; appeared in television shows and movies including Blazing Saddles and High Anxiety
- Larry Keigwin, dancer and choreographer; choreographed Broadway's If/Then
- Donald S. Kellermann, journalist and opinion researcher
- Olivia, R&B singer
- Robert Phillips, classical guitarist
- Bob Rozakis, writer, editor, director of production at DC Comics
- Laurie Rozakis, writer of the Complete Idiots books
- Michelle Sakhai, painter
- Ron Shandler, national baseball analyst, writer
- George Vecsey, sportswriter for ''The New York Times''
Military
- Charles W. Dryden, lieutenant colonel and Tuskegee Airmen in World War II; Congressional Gold Medal
Technology
- Jeff Pulver, internet entrepreneur
- Lance Ulanoff, former editor-in-chief of ''PCMag''
Other
- Michael Franzese, former Mafia Captain in the Colombo crime family
- Kira Kazantsev, Miss America 2015; majored in political science, global studies and geography
Sports
Baseball
- Randy Levine, Hofstra Law School, 1980; Senior Counsel at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld, LLP; President of the New York Yankees
- Jen Pawol, baseball umpire; previously an All-American softball player for the Hofstra Pride softball team
- Ken Singleton, former New York Mets, Montreal Expos, and Baltimore Orioles player; current YES Network commentator
- Don Taussig, Major League Baseball player
Basketball
- Kenny Adeleke, Nigerian basketball player
- Rick Apodaca, Puerto Rican professional basketball player who has played in the NCAA, USBL, NBDL, and the National Superior Basketball League of Puerto Rico
- Speedy Claxton, Golden State Warriors point guard
- Jimmy Hall, basketball player in the Israeli National League
- John Irving, led the nation in rebounding in NCAA Div 1, picked for NBA by Detroit; one of two Hofstra players with 1,000 pts AND 1,000 rebounds
- Charles Jenkins, Philadelphia 76ers guard
- Bob McKillop, 1972, men's head basketball coach, Davidson College
- Nat Militzok, New York Knicks forward
- Steve Nisenson, holder of Hofstra all-time scoring record for 43 years
- Eli Pemberton, basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Norman Richardson
- Loren Stokes, NBA free agent guard
- Zeke Upshaw, NBA G League player
Football
- Charlie Adams, wide receiver for the Houston Texans
- Kyle Arrington, New England Patriots cornerback
- Stephen Bowen, defensive end, Dallas Cowboys
- Rocky Butler, quarterback for the Toronto Argonauts
- Giovanni Carmazzi, former professional quarterback, drafted 65th in 2000 by San Francisco 49ers, but never took a regular season NFL snap
- Wayne Chrebet, former New York Jets wide receiver
- Brian Clark, linebacker
- Willie Colon, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line
- Marques Colston, wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints
- Mike D'Amato, NFL defensive back, Oakland and New York Jets; Super Bowl III winner; Lacrosse All-American for Hofstra; only person to be All-American in lacrosse and win a Super Bowl
- Jordan Dangerfield, NFL football player
- Devale Ellis, wide receiver for the Detroit Lions
- Dave Fiore, former San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins guard
- Don Gault, quarterback, Cleveland Browns
- DeMingo Graham, former offensive lineman for the San Diego Chargers Houston Texans
- Arlen Harris, running back and kick returner for the Atlanta Falcons
- Raheem Morris, BS Physical Education 1997, head coach of the Atlanta Falcons
- John Schmitt, center, played for 10 years with the New York Jets and one year with the Green Bay Packers; member of New York Jets Super Bowl III Championship team
- Lance Schulters, free safety for the Miami Dolphins
- Renauld Williams, former linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers
Ice hockey
Lacrosse
- Athan Iannucci, midfielder, Philadelphia Wings, Chicago Machine and New Westminster Salmonbellies
- Blake Miller, midfielder, Long Island Lizards
- Nicky Polanco, Long Island Lizards
- Doug Shanahan, midfielder, Chicago Machine
- Vincent Sombrotto, midfielder, New York Saints, Long Island Lizards, Four-time Word Lacrosse Championship Gold Medalist, U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame
MMA
- Phil Baroni, two-time Junior College All-American wrestler; former UFC fighter; current mixed martial artist
- Jay Hieron, Junior College Champion wrestler; retired MMA fighter
- Gian Villante, Hofstra Pride wrestler and football player; current MMA fighter in the UFC's Light Heavyweight Division
- Chris Weidman, two-time NCAA D-1 All-American wrestler, 3rd 2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships, and former UFC Middleweight Champion
Soccer
- Danny Elliott, striker, played for Hofstra Pride before moving back to England to play for Port Vale and Hartlepool United; also played in Spain for San Cristóbal
Faculty
- Yousef Al-Abed, professor of Molecular Medicine
- Lance Becker, professor of Emergency Medicine
- Peter B. Berger, professor of Cardiology
- Herman A. Berliner, provost; senior vice president for Academic Affairs; dean of faculties; Lawrence Herbert Distinguished Professor
- Joel Block, Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
- Frank Bowe, former professor; disability rights activist and pioneer
- David Jung-Kuang Chiu, former professor; dean of University Advisement; director of Asian Studies
- Barbara A. Cornblatt, professor of Psychiatry
- Herbert Deutsch, former professor; composer and co-inventor of the Moog synthesizer
- Stephen Dolgin, professor of Surgery
- Silvia Federici, autonomist Marxist-feminist
- Jay Fiedler, NFL football quarterback, as Hofstra receivers coach in 1997
- Monroe Freedman, Lichtenstein Distinguished Professor of Legal Ethics; former HLS Dean ; author of Lawyers' Ethics in an Adversarial System, the seminal work on lawyer-client privilege
- Michael J. Freeman, professor
- Robert W. Greene, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, professor of journalism and mass media studies
- Gary Gruber, professor, author, testing expert, physicist, educator
- Tammy Hensrud, opera singer and adjunct professor of voice
- Martha Hollander, professor, art historian, and poet
- Ken Kelsch, professor of film, cinematographer
- David Langer, professor of neurosurgery and radiology
- Harvey J. Levin, former university research professor, first holder of Augustus B. Weller Chair in Economics, communications economics author and government consultant
- Thomas G. McGinn, professor of Medicine
- Barbara Patton, assistant professor of Accounting, Taxation and Legal Studies in Business at Frank G. Zarb School of Business since 2002
- Leonid Poretsky, professor of Medicine
- Sina Y. Rabbany, professor of engineering; Dean of the Fred DeMatteis School of Engineering and Applied Science
- Jesse Roth, clinical professor of Molecular Medicine
- David B. Samadi, professor of urology
- Robert Sobel, professor and author
- Kevin J. Tracey, professor of Molecular Medicine
- Aaron Twerski, the Irwin and Jill Cohen Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School; former dean and professor of tort law at Hofstra University School of Law