24 notable alumni

Notable Alumni of SUNY at Fredonia

Notable alumni of SUNY at Fredonia include Mary McDonnell (Actress with two Academy Award nominations), Neil Postman (Media theorist and author of Amusing Ourselves to Death) and Jean Webster (Author of Daddy-Long-Legs).

College data and admissions

Alumni list

Politics and law

Anthony Brindisi 1978–

US district judge and politician from New York

Also attended: Albany Law School, Siena University
Ozra Amander Hadley 1826–1915

Acting governor of Arkansas
Jim Shaw 1946–2024

Former mayor of Rapid City, South Dakota

Also attended: South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Catharine Young 1960–

New York State senator from 2005 to 2019

Also attended: St Bonaventure University

Business

Thilan Wijesinghe

Sri Lankan financier, former cricketer and musician

Also attended: Cornell University

Science and academia

Jeffery W. Kelly 1960–

Chemist at the Scripps Research Institute

Bachelor of Science · Chemistry · Class of 1982

Also attended: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Rima Salah 1943–

Yale Child Study Center professor, chair of ECPC

Also attended: Binghamton University
Michael Marletta 1951–

Biochemist and UC Berkeley professor

Also attended: University of California-San Francisco
David J. Weber 1940–2010

Historian of the American Southwest

Also attended: University of New Mexico-Main Campus

Arts and media

Mary McDonnell 1952–

Actress with two Academy Award nominations
Neil Postman 1931–2003

Media theorist and author of Amusing Ourselves to Death

Also attended: Teachers College at Columbia University
Jean Webster 1876–1916

Author of Daddy-Long-Legs

Also attended: Vassar College
Lucille Clifton 1936–2010

Poet and former Poet Laureate of Maryland

Also attended: Howard University
Peter Shukoff 1979–

Musician and YouTuber, co-creator of Epic Rap Battles
Rockwell Blake 1951–

Operatic tenor, first Richard Tucker Award winner

Also attended: Catholic University of America
Jennifer Cody 1969–

American actress and dancer
Andrea Romano 1955–

Voice director and casting director
Dave Fridmann 1946–

Record producer and Mercury Rev founding bassist
Randy Merrill

Mastering engineer

Also attended: Jamestown Community College
Gaelen Foley 1973–

Author of Regency-era romance novels
Clint Holmes 1946–

Singer-songwriter and Las Vegas entertainer
Michael David 1954–

American painter

Also attended: The New School
Nina Hole 1941–2016

Danish artist, sculptor and performance artist

Sports

Tom Pokel 1967–

Ice hockey coach and former defenseman

From Wikidata “educated at” records (including people who attended without graduating), ordered by the number of Wikipedia language editions. Degrees and years follow Wikidata and are left out where it has none.