Alumni Doctorates

In the most recent data reported by the National Science Foundation, Pitzer College ranked 8th in the number of alumni who pursued a PhD in psychology, 29th in the number of alumni who pursued a PhD in anthropology, and 38th in the number of alumni who pursued a PhD in sociology out of 154 private colleges and universities.

Alumni Attend Prestigious Graduate Universities

Pitzer College graduates have been accepted at the following prestigious institutions: Cambridge University; Columbia Medical School; Cornell University; Duke University; Georgetown University; Harvard University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Northwestern University; New York University; Princeton University; Rice University; Rutgers University; Smith College; Stanford University; Tufts University; University of California, Berkeley; University of Chicago; University of California, Davis; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Michigan; University of Southern California; Vanderbilt University; Washington University; and Yale University.

Notable Alumni

Pitzer College graduates are prepared to take on life’s challenges while making a difference in their communities. Pitzer’s many impressive alumni include diverse individuals with varied careers such as:

Arts

• Susan Patron ’69, Winner of the American Library Association’s John Newbery Medal for her children’s book The Higher Power of Lucky;
• Matt Baer ’86, Producer of films such as City by the Sea, Jack Frost and The Replacement Killers;
• Matthew Cooke ’96, Editor and Producer of the Academy Award nominated documentary film Deliver Us from Evil;
• Jessica Hurley ’92, Emmy Award winner of Best Documentary for A Dose of Reality and Gold Mike Award winner for Best Documentary as producer, writer and host of Life Lessons, Truths and Consequences;
• Deborah Shelton ’78, Co-producer for CNN and 2006 recipient of the National Headliner Award for her article “Lives on the Line.”

Science and Research

• Stuart Goldstein ’86, Medical Director of the Renal Dialysis Unit at Texas Children’s Hospital and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine;
• Sue Celniker ’75, Research Scientist and Co-director of the Drosophila Genome Center at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories;
• Thomas Perls ’82 MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine and Geriatrics at Boston University’s Alzheimer’s Disease Center.

Nonprofit

• Hunter Lovins ’72, President and Founder of Natural Capitalism, Inc. and named “Hero of the Planet” by Time Magazine in 2000;
• Kirsten Grønbjerg ’68, Recipient of the 2005 Award for Distinguished Achievement and Leadership in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Research from the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA);
• Thomas Brock ’83, Director of Young Adults and Postsecondary Education Policy Area for Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC);
• Judith Treas ’69, President-elect of the Pacific Sociological Association (PSA).

Public Service

• Fabian Núñez ’97, Speaker of the California State Assembly;
• Emily Stevens ’71 and Yvonne Sanchez ’78, L.A. Superior Court judges;
• Debra Yang ’81, the first Asian American to be named U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California (the largest federal prosecutor’s office outside Washington DC);
• Kevin de León ’03, California State Assemblyman representing the 45th Assembly District.

Business

• Lance Auer ’87, Vice President of the Bank Supervision Group for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York;
• Bridget Baker ’82; President, Television Networks Distribution, NBC Universal;
• Nancy Goldfarb Pope ’78, Vice President of Human Resources for EMI Music Marketing;
• John Landgraf ’84, President and General Manager of FX Networks;
• JoAnn Copperud ’73, CEO of RGA Environmental, provider of environmental and health and safety services.