Notable Alumni of University at Buffalo

Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed 1962–

Former president of Somalia

Bachelor's degree, Master's degree · History, Political science · Class of 1993

Abiola Ajimobi 1949–2020

Former Governor of Oyo State, Nigeria

Also attended: Governors State University

Dave Weldon 1953–

Physician and former US Representative from Florida

Bachelor of Science, Doctor of Medicine · Class of 1981

Jeanine Pirro 1951–

U.S. attorney for D.C., TV host and former judge

Bachelor of Arts

Also attended: Albany Law School

Burton C. Andrus 1892–1977

US Army colonel, commandant of Nuremberg Prison

Also attended: The United States Military Academy at West Point, University of Puget Sound

Zhou Ji 1946–

Former Chinese Minister of Education

Lin Tzou-yien 1948–

Taiwanese physician and former acting health minister

Lam Siu-lo

Hong Kong businessman and Legislative Council member

Robin Li 1968–

Co-founder and CEO of Baidu

Jeffrey Wigand 1942–

Tobacco industry whistleblower

Brad Grey 1957–2017

Former chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures

Also attended: University of Southern California

Zhang Rujing 1948–

Founder of SMIC

Also attended: Southern Methodist University

Herbert A. Hauptman 1917–2011

Mathematician and Nobel laureate

Also attended: Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland-College Park, Columbia University in the City of New York

Silvia Federici 1942–

Italian-American Marxist feminist scholar and activist

Master's degree, Doctor of Philosophy

Gregory Jarvis 1944–1986

Payload specialist killed in the Challenger disaster

Also attended: Northeastern University

Ellen S. Baker 1953–

Physician and former NASA astronaut

Also attended: Cornell University, Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Bram Cohen 1975–

Creator of the BitTorrent protocol

Leslie White 1900–1975

Anthropologist and advocate of neoevolutionism

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Wilson Greatbatch 1919–2011

Engineer and inventor with over 325 patents

Also attended: Cornell University, Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Wilfrid Sellars 1912–1989

Philosopher and developer of scientific realism

Also attended: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Father: Roy Wood Sellars (University of Michigan-Ann Arbor)

Richard Hofstadter 1916–1970

Historian and Columbia University professor

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York

Sidney Farber 1903–1973

Pediatric pathologist, father of modern chemotherapy

Also attended: Harvard University

Spouse: Norma Farber (Harvard University, Wellesley College)

Sibling: Marvin Farber (Harvard University, University at Buffalo)

Warren Bennis 1925–2014

Pioneer of leadership studies, USC professor

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Antioch University-Los Angeles, Antioch College

Alexander Vilenkin 1949–

Cosmologist at Tufts University

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1977

Jacob Akiba Marinsky 1918–2005

Chemist, co-discoverer of promethium

Also attended: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

William Lawvere 1937–2023

Mathematician, founder of categorical logic and topos theory

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, Columbia University in the City of New York

Robert Pound 1919–2010

Physicist who helped discover nuclear magnetic resonance

Roman Yampolskiy 1979–

Computer scientist focused on AI safety

Zhijian Chen 1966–

Chinese-American biochemist, UT Southwestern professor

Doctor of Philosophy · Class of 1991

Guoping Feng 1960–

Neuroscientist and MIT professor

Also attended: SUNY College at Potsdam

Harvey Weinstein 1952–

Co-founder of Miramax, former film producer

Donald Barthelme 1931–1989

Postmodernist short story writer and novelist

Also attended: University of Houston

Sibling: Frederick Barthelme (Johns Hopkins University)

Winston Duke 1986–

Trinidadian and Tobagonian actor

Also attended: Yale University

Samuel R. Delany 1942–

Science fiction author and literary critic

Also attended: University of Massachusetts-Amherst, CUNY--City College

Spouse: Marilyn Hacker (New York University)

Ron Silver 1946–2009

Actor who portrayed Henry Kissinger

Also attended: Columbia University in the City of New York, St John's University (NY)

Peter Riegert 1947–

Actor known for Animal House and Local Hero

James Foley 1953–2025

Film and television director

Lukas Foss 1922–2009

German-American composer, pianist and conductor

Also attended: Yale University, Harvard University, Curtis Institute of Music

Maury Chaykin 1949–2010

Actor known for playing Nero Wolfe on television

Wolf Blitzer 1948–

CNN anchor and host of The Situation Room

Also attended: Johns Hopkins University

Taylor Caldwell 1900–1985

Prolific popular novelist

Ishmael Reed 1938–

American poet, novelist and playwright

Peter Christopherson 1955–2010

Musician, photographer and Coil co-founder

Harold J. Stone 1913–2005

Stage, radio, film and television character actor

Terry Gross 1951–

Host of NPR's Fresh Air

Spouse: Francis Davis (Temple University)

Max Grodénchik 1952–

Actor, played Rom in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Peter V. Brett 1973–

Fantasy novelist, author of the Demon Cycle

Alan Zweibel 1950–

Original Saturday Night Live writer and producer

Charles Bernstein 1950–

Poet, essayist, University of Pennsylvania professor emeritus

Also attended: Harvard University

Spouse: Susan Bee (Barnard College, CUNY Hunter College)

Martha Thorne 1953–

Former Executive Director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize

Also attended: University of Pennsylvania

Robert Hass 1941–

Poet, U.S. Poet Laureate 1995–1997

Also attended: University of California-Berkeley, Saint Mary's College of California, University of Iowa

Spouse: Brenda Hillman (Pomona College, University of Iowa)

Peter Weibel 1944–2023

Austrian artist, curator and new media theorist

Sloan Wilson 1920–2003

Writer of The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Also attended: Harvard University

Child: David Sloan Wilson (Michigan State University, University of Rochester)

Sharon Salzberg 1952–

Meditation teacher, author, Insight Meditation Society co-founder

John Patterson 1940–2005

Television director who directed 13 Sopranos episodes

Also attended: Stanford University

Robert Lieberman 1947–2023

Film and television director

Spouse: Marilu Henner (University of Chicago)

Parry Shen 1973–

Actor in Better Luck Tomorrow

Elliott Sharp 1951–

Avant-garde composer and multi-instrumentalist

Also attended: Bard College, Cornell University

Sherwood Hu 1961–

Chinese American theatre and film director

Also attended: University of Hawaii at Manoa, New York University

Li Yuan 1951–

Taiwanese novelist and screenwriter, pen name Hsiao Yeh

Ezekiel Jackson 1978–

Professional wrestler and former WWE Intercontinental Champion

Chris Kanyon 1970–2010

Professional wrestler with WCW and WWF

Jonathan Akpoborie 1968–

Nigerian former footballer who played mostly in Germany

Mark Copani 1981–

Former pro wrestler, WWE's Muhammad Hassan

Khalil Mack 1991–

NFL outside linebacker, fifth pick in 2014 draft

Bobby Shuttleworth 1987–

Former MLS goalkeeper, Texas A&M women's soccer coach

Shannon Evans 1994–

Basketball player for Promitheas Patras

Matt Rhule 1975–

Head football coach at University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Also attended: The Pennsylvania State University, University of Pennsylvania