Hunter College High School
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Hunter College High School is a
secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
located in the
Carnegie Hill Carnegie Hill is a neighborhood within the Upper East Side, in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Its boundaries are 86th Street on the south, Fifth Avenue (Central Park) on the west, with a northern boundary at 98th Street that continue ...
neighborhood on the
Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...
of
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. It is administered by
Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...
of the
City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...
(CUNY). Hunter is publicly funded, and there is no tuition fee. Enrollment is approximately 1200 students. According to the school, "students accepted to Hunter represent the top one-quarter of 1% of students in New York City, based on test scores." Hunter has been ranked as the top public high school in the United States by both ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' and '' Worth''.Wall Street Journal rankings reprint
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called Hunter "the prestigious Upper East Side school known for its Ivy League-bound students" and "the fast track to law, medicine and academia.""https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/19/nyregion/a-surprise-gift-from-martin-shkreli-who-became-a-hated-ceo.html?_r=0 Publicly available data indicate that Hunter has the highest average SAT score, the highest average ACT score and the highest percentage of National Merit Finalists of any high school in the United States, public or private.


History

Hunter was established in 1869 as "The Female Normal and High School", a private school to prepare young women to become teachers. The original school was composed of an elementary and a high school. A kindergarten was added in 1887, and in 1888 the school was incorporated into a college. The high school was separated from what would become
Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...
in 1903. In 1914, both schools were named after the Female Normal School's first president, Thomas Hunter. The school was almost closed by Hunter College President Jacqueline Wexler in the early 1970s. Hunter was an all-girls school for its first 105 years, with the official name "Hunter College High School for Intellectually Gifted Young Ladies". The prototypical Hunter girl was the subject of the song ''Sarah Maria Jones'', who, the lyrics told, had "Hunter in her bones." In 1878, '' Harper's Magazine'' published an approving article about the then-new school:
The first thing to excite our wonder and admiration was the number – there were 1,542 pupils; the second thing was the earnestness of the discipline; and the third was the suggestiveness of so many girls at work in assembly, with their own education as the primary aim, and the education of countless thousands of others as the final aim, of their toil. Girls all the way from fourteen to twenty years of age, from the farther edge of childhood to the farther limit of maidenhood; girls with every shade of complexion and degree of beauty; girls in such variety that it was amazing to contemplate the reduction of their individuality to the simple uniformity of their well-drilled movements. The catholicity and toleration crystallized in the country's Constitution prevail in the college: about two hundred of the students are Jewesses, and a black face, framed in curly African hair, may occasionally be seen. The aim of the entire course through which the Normal students pass is not so much to burden the mind with facts as it is to develop intellectual power, cultivate judgment, and enable the graduates to take trained ability into the world with them.
The school began admitting boys in 1974 as a result of a lawsuit by Hunter College Elementary School parents, a development which was described in the ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'' with the headline "Girlie High Gets 1st Freshboys." In January 1982, the school was featured in a ''
New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...
'' article entitled "The Joyful Elite." Hunter was the subject of the 1992 book ''Hunter College Campus Schools for the Gifted: The Challenge of Equity and Excellence'' published by Teachers' College Press. The high school has occupied a number of buildings throughout its history, including one at the East 68th Street campus of the college (1940–1970). For several years in the 1970s, it was housed on the 13th and 14th floors of an office building at 466 Lexington Avenue (at East 46th Street), the current location of what is now known as the Park Avenue Atrium. Since 1977, it has existed at the former site of the Madison Avenue Armory at East 94th Street between
Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...
and Madison Avenues on the
Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...
. Although most of the armory building was demolished, the armory's facade, including two empty towers, was left partly standing on Madison Avenue. The school building itself, which faces Park Avenue, was constructed to resemble the armory. Because of its unusual design, including many classrooms without windows and the rest with only narrow windows, Hunter is called "The Brick Prison." The building contains both the high school (grades 7–12) and the elementary school (K-6), which are collectively known as the Hunter College Campus Schools. Tony Fisher is the principal of the high school. Dawn Roy is the principal of the elementary school, and Lisa Siegmann is the Director of the Campus Schools. Jacqueline Zenon is the assistant principal for grades 7–9, while Maysa Perez Antonio is the assistant principal for grades 10–12.


Admissions

Admission to the high school is only granted in seventh grade, and is a two-step process. Students from the five
boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...
of New York City who have high scores on standardized tests are eligible to take the Hunter College High School entrance exam in the January of their sixth grade school year. Eligible students must first meet Hunter's standards in reading and mathematical proficiency on fifth-grade standardized exams, namely public school students must score at the 90th percentile (statewide) or above on both the New York State reading and math tests, while private and parochial school students must score in the 90th percentile (of all of the private school students in the country) or above on both the reading and math tests administered by their schools. This results in an eligible pool of much less than 10% of New York City fifth graders for two reasons. The first is that much fewer than 10% of New York City public school students score above the statewide 90th percentile on either the math or reading test. The second reason is that a student must score in the top 10% on both reading and math tests (so for example, a student scoring in the 99% percentile in math and the 89% percentile in reading will not be eligible to sit for the test, even though their overall score is in the 95th percentile). Thus, of about 65,000 fifth-graders in New York City, only 2,500 will be eligible to take the test. Most of those, between 2,000 and 2,300, do sit for the test and of those, between 182 and 185 are offered admission. Thus, "students accepted to Hunter represent the top one-quarter of 1% of students in New York City, based on test scores." For example, in 2015, 182 (8.8%) of 2064 test takers were offered admission. The other entrance to Hunter is through the elementary school. Prospective students must take an exam before kindergarten and pass in order to be eligible for HCES. Approximately 45 students from Hunter College Elementary School also enter the 7th grade class each year. Beginning with incoming students in the 2010–2011 school year, elementary school students must make "satisfactory progress" by fifth grade in order to gain admission to the high school. Prior to this, students at Hunter College Elementary School were guaranteed admission into the high school. In total, an entering 7th grade class contains approximately 225 students, known as "Hunterites," about 200 of whom will graduate from the school. Those who leave go to other magnet schools, private schools, local public schools or leave the city. Some of those who leave are expelled, usually for low grades. The total enrollment from grades 7 through 12 is approximately 1,200 students.


Concerns about admission policies

Author and alumnus
Chris Hayes Christopher Loffredo Hayes (; born February 28, 1979) is an American political commentator, television news anchor, activist, and author. Hayes hosts '' All In with Chris Hayes'', a weekday news and opinion television show on MSNBC. Hayes also ...
stated in '' Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy'' that the school's sole reliance on the one test for admissions reproduces societal inequalities; that students whose families cannot afford intensive test prep courses are less likely to earn competitive scores on the entrance exam. In recent years underrepresentation of African-Americans among students admitted to the school, compared to their numbers in the public school system, has increased. Hayes quotes Hunter College High School's 2010 graduate Justin Hudson's commencement speech:
If you truly believe that the demographics of Hunter represent the distribution of intelligence in this city then you must believe that the Upper West Side, Bayside and Flushing are intrinsically more intelligent than the South Bronx, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Washington Heights, and I refuse to accept that.
Because of its relatively small size, and because the school is run by Hunter College rather than by the city's education department, Hunter has largely avoided being caught up in the debate over diversity at the
specialized high schools in New York City The specialized high schools of New York City are nine selective public high schools, established and run by the New York City Department of Education to serve the needs of academically and artistically gifted students. The Specialized High S ...
. However, some alumni, students, and alumni expressed concern about the lack of diversity at the school where only 6.3 percent of the student body is Hispanic and 2.2 percent African-American (67% of NYC public school children are black or Hispanic). On the other hand, while Asians make up 16.2% of NYC public-school children, they make up 49.4% of the student body at the school, based on NYC department of education data. In 2021, some elected officials in New York City urged Hunter College High School to suspend its entrance examination because of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.


Academics

In light of Hunter's academic excellence, ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' ranked it as the top public school in the United States and noted that it is a feeder to
Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...
and other elite colleges. ''Worth'' likewise ranked Hunter as the top public school in the country. ''The New York Times'' called Hunter "the prestigious Upper East Side school known for its Ivy League-bound students" and "the fast track to law, medicine and academia." Publicly available data indicate that Hunter has both the highest average SAT score and the highest average ACT score of any school in the United States, public or private, though complete data is needed to be conclusive. Hunter offers "a wealth of opportunities for brilliant kids" according to the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
''. All Hunter students pursue a six-year program of study. Hunter is a college preparatory high school that provides a liberal arts education. The majority of subjects are accelerated such that high school study begins in the 8th grade and state educational requirements are completed in the 11th. During the 12th grade, students take electives, have the option to attend courses at
Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...
(for transferable credit), undertake independent academic studies, and participate in internships around the city. Students in grades 7 and 8 are required to take courses in communications and theater (a curriculum that includes drama, storytelling, and theater). Students in grades 7–9 must take both art and music, each for half a year, and then choose one to take in tenth grade. One of the four available foreign language courses (French, Latin, Mandarin, or Spanish) must be taken each year in grades 7–10, and
Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...
(AP) language electives are offered through the 12th grade. A year each of biology, chemistry, and physics must be completed in addition to the introductory science classes of life science and physical science in the 7th and 8th grades, respectively. During 7th and 8th grades, students must also participate in the school's
science fair Science and engineering fairs, hosted by schools worldwide, offer students the opportunity to experience the practices of science and engineering for themselves. In the United States, the Next Generation Science Standards makes experiencing the ...
; the fair is optional for older students. After the introductory 7th grade social studies course, 4 semesters of global studies (8th-9th grades) and 2 semesters (10th grade) are followed by 2 semesters of 20th century history (11th grade). A series of English and mathematics courses are taught from 7th through 11th grades. (The math curriculum is split into a track of "honors" and a track of "extended honors" classes for students of different strengths after 7th grade). If students pass a placement test, they are able to skip a grade and attend classes of a higher grade (for example, a student who passes the test in 7th grade and is currently in 8th grade can take 9th grade "extended honors" mathematics.) Two semesters of physical education are taught each year, including swimming in the 8th grade (held at Hunter College). In 9th grade, students are required to take a
CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...
course for one semester and a
computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...
course the other semester. Starting in their junior year, students are allowed to take a limited number of electives and AP courses. The senior year, however, is free of mandated courses except for a year of physical education electives and courses to fulfill leftover educational requirements. Hunter's English Department incorporates reading novels and writing analytical papers beginning in the 7th grade. Students have historically graduated with strong writing and reading comprehension skills, reflected by the school's high average SAT scores in critical reading and writing, and by the number of students who have earned recognition by the scholastic writing awards. Upper-level electives and AP courses are offered by all six academic departments. AP courses include:
AP Computer Science In the United States, Advanced Placement Computer Science (commonly shortened to AP Comp Sci) is a suite of Advanced Placement courses and examinations covering areas of computer science. They are offered by the College Board to high school stud ...
,
AP Calculus Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus (also known as AP Calc, Calc AB / Calc BC or simply AB / BC) is a set of two distinct Advanced Placement calculus courses and exams offered by the American nonprofit organization College Board. AP Calculus AB cover ...
AB and BC, AP Microeconomics and
AP Macroeconomics Advanced Placement (AP) Macroeconomics (also known as AP Macro and AP Macroecon) is an Advanced Placement macroeconomics course for high school students that culminates in an exam offered by the College Board. Study begins with fundamental econ ...
,
AP Psychology Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology (also known as AP Psych) and its corresponding exam are part of College Board's Advanced Placement Program. This course is tailored for students interested in the field of psychology and as an opportunity to ...
,
AP European History Advanced Placement (AP) European History (also known as AP Euro, or APEH), is a course and examination offered by the College Board through the Advanced Placement Program. This course is for high school students who are interested in a first year ...
,
AP Chemistry Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry (also known as AP Chem) is a course and examination offered by the College Board as a part of the Advanced Placement Program to give American and Canadian high school students the opportunity to demonstrate thei ...
,
AP Physics C In the United States, Advanced Placement (AP) Physics collectively refers to the College Board Advanced Placement Program courses and exams covering various areas of physics. These are intended to be equivalent to university courses that use bes ...
,
AP Biology Advanced Placement (AP) Biology (also known as AP Bio) is an Advanced Placement biology course and exam offered by the College Board in the United States. For the 2012–2013 school year, the College Board unveiled a new curriculum with a greate ...
,
AP Statistics Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics (also known as AP Stats) is a college-level high school statistics course offered in the United States through the College Board's Advanced Placement program. This course is equivalent to a one semester, non-ca ...
, AP Spanish, AP French, AP Mandarin, and
AP Latin Advanced Placement (AP) Latin, formerly Advanced Placement (AP) Latin: Vergil, is an examination in Latin literature offered by the College Board's Advanced Placement Program. Prior to the 2012–2013 academic year, the course focused on poetry s ...
(Virgil). The English Department previously offered AP English and Literature but has since replaced it with the elective Advanced Essay Writing. Other electives include: Introduction to African-American Studies, "Race, Class, and Gender", International Relations, US Constitutional Law, Classical Mythology, Photography, Astrophysics, Advanced Art History I & II, Organic Chemistry, Creative Writing, Joyce's ''
Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...
'', Shakespeare's Comedies and Romance/Shakespeare's Tragedies and Histories, and Physiology. Hunter's AP offerings are currently being evaluated by the Faculty and Curriculum Committee. The class of 2013 took 366 AP tests (≈1.8 per student) with an average score of 4.5. There were 87 faculty members in 2013. 89% had advanced degrees. Many teachers are scientists, writers, artists, and musicians. Many come to Hunter with university-level teaching experience. The student/faculty ratio is 13:1, much lower than the city's other selective public schools (e.g. Stuyvesant = 22:1). Nearly 99% of Hunter's classes of 2002 through 2005 went directly to college, and about 25% of these students accepted admission into an Ivy League school. ''Worth'' reported that 9.4% of Hunter's classes of 1998 through 2001 attended Harvard, Yale or Princeton (the highest rate of any public school in the United States). In 2006–2007, 73 of the graduating seniors were accepted into at least one Ivy League school, constituting approximately 40% of the whole class. In the graduating class of 2015, out of about 190 students, Hunter received 89 total acceptances from the Ivy League, and ultimately, 56 students (≈30%) matriculated into one of the eight Ivy League schools. There are six guidance counselors serving the student population. Each junior and senior is assigned a college guidance counselor. Hunter students win many honors and awards during their high school careers, including numerous scholastic writing awards. Hunter wins approximately 23% of all New York State Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. 74 members of the Class of 2013 (38%) were National Merit or National Achievement Scholarship Semifinalists. Of particular fame are the winners of the
Regeneron Science Talent Search The Regeneron Science Talent Search, known for its first 57 years as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, and then as the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS) from 1998 through 2016, is a research-based science competition in the United Sta ...
(formerly Intel and Westinghouse STS), of which Hunter has had four: Amy Reichel in 1981, Adam Cohen ('97, now a professor in the Chemistry and Physics Departments at Harvard) in 1997, David L.V. Bauer ('05) in 2005, and Benjy Firester ('18) in 2018. In addition, two of New York State's four 2005
Presidential Scholars The United States Presidential Scholars Program is a program of the United States Department of Education. It is described as "one of the Nation's highest honors for students" in the United States, United States of America and the globe. The pr ...
were Hunter College High School seniors.
Sandra Fong Sandra Fong (born April 15, 1990, in New York, New York) is an American Olympic sport shooter. She is a multiple-time American junior record holder, and a three-time medalist (one gold and two silver) for the small-bore rifle prone and rifle t ...
('08) represented the United States in the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing. She competed in the rifle shooting competition. Publicly available data indicate that Hunter has both the highest average SAT score and the highest average ACT score of any school in the United States, public or private, though complete data is needed to be conclusive. For the graduating class of 2012, the average SAT score was a 2207. The class of 2013 averaged 2200 on the test and the class of 2016 averaged 2208. The class of 2013 scored an average of 32.6 on the ACT.


Extracurricular activities

Hunter offers many extra- and co-curricular offerings for a small school: 32 varsity teams, 14 co-curricular organizations, five music groups, four theater groups, student government, 22 publications and over 130 clubs. Clubs are diverse in their topics, and include politics, film, music, and knitting. Clubs and organizations at Hunter are all student-run, with faculty members as advisers. During club open house, members of the student body have the opportunity to spend their lunch time meeting representatives of clubs. The school publishes a list of clubs available in this footnote’s link.


Student government

The General Organization (G.O.) represents the student body. The executive board is composed of tenth through twelfth graders, elected by the student body, and includes a president, administrative vice president, activities vice president, treasurer, publicity secretary, and recording secretary. These officers organize school activities and communicate with the administration and faculty, frequently becoming involved in school policy. The G.O. organizes school-wide events such as Spirit Day, a school-wide outdoor recreation day usually held in October, and Carnival, held at the end of the school year. Term Councils are grade governing bodies. They elect two senators for each grade who share their concerns with the G.O. They also plan grade-wide events such as dances and fundraisers, as well as the Semiformal and Prom.


Co-curricular activities

Students can choose to further pursue their academic interests through school activities such as the National Economics Challenge, Hunter United Nations Society,
Fed Challenge The National Fed Challenge is an academic competition that provides high school students (grades 9-12) with an insider's view of how the United States central bank, the Federal Reserve, makes monetary policy. The Fed Challenge begins with regional ...
(economics),
Mock Trial A mock trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisti ...
, Debate Team, Math Team, the Hunter Chess and Go Teams, Quiz Bowl,
Science Bowl The National Science Bowl (NSB) is a high school and middle school science knowledge competition, using a quiz bowl format, held in the United States. A buzzer system similar to those seen on popular television game shows is used to signal an an ...
, History Bowl,
FIRST Robotics For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (''FIRST'') is an international youth organization that operates the ''FIRST'' Robotics Competition, ''FIRST'' LEGO League Challenge, ''FIRST'' LEGO League Explore, ''FIRST'' LEGO Leagu ...
, and the Washington Seminar. The Economics Challenge (run by the
Council for Economic Education The Council for Economic Education (the new name, since 2009 January, of the National Council on Economic Education) is an organization in the United States that focuses on the economic and financial education of students from kindergarten throug ...
) team was formed in 2013 by two juniors and one sophomore, who subsequently led the Hunter team to become National Champions of the David Ricardo division in their inaugural year. The Hunter Chess Team has won numerous tournaments and championships. The Washington Seminar on Government in Action was introduced in the 1950s; students selected for this program research public policy issues throughout the year; arrange meetings with various public figures in Washington, D.C.; and then meet with them for questioning and discussion regarding their researched issue during a three-day trip in May. The Mock Trial team was the top team from New York City in 2015. The debate team is completely student run and is nationally recognized and attends various tournaments throughout the year including tournaments at universities such as Harvard, Yale and
Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
. The Middle School debate team is a top-ranked team, that took the top three spots at the Middle School Public Debate Program's National Invitational Tournament at Claremont McKenna College in 2013. Hunter's Quiz Bowl team was started in 2006, and was nationally ranked in its inaugural year. The Quiz Bowl team went on to gain the title of national champions at the 2012 PACE National Scholastic Championship and was runner-up in 2020. Hunter won the 2016 and 2017 High School National Championship Tournaments and also placed second in 2022. The middle school team also won first place at the 2019 Middle School National Championship Tournaments. The History Bowl team were varsity national champions in the 2012
National History Bee and Bowl The National History Bee and Bowl (NHBB) are nationwide history quiz competitions for high school, middle school, and elementary students in the United States. International Academic Competitions oversees both NHBB and the comparable Internatio ...
during its second year and won junior varsity championships in 2015 and 2019. The Robotics team, started in 2009, takes part in FIRST Robotics Competition won the Chesapeake regional in 2012. The Science Bowl Team placed 4th and 9th at the National Science Bowl championships in 2011 and 2012.


Musical extracurriculars

Students with substantial musical training can choose to enroll in the String Ensembles, Band, and/or
Chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...
groups. In 2002, the music groups toured in Spain, performing a number of collaborative pieces. They toured Greece in 2006 and Budapest in 2008. The string ensembles are divided into "Strings" and "
Chamber Orchestra Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numbe ...
", the latter being a much more selective group. They have performed a number of both
contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...
and
traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
pieces. The band is a woodwind-
brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...
-percussion ensemble, and their focus is mainly on contemporary music, though they sometimes branch off into classical pieces such as
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
's Horn Concerto in E Flat. Chorus is divided into the concert choir and the chamber choir. The concert choir is a larger group than the chamber choir, and consists of members from the tenth to twelfth grades. Students can audition for a
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
chorus, founded by former music teacher Campbell Austin, which focuses solely on jazz music. The Jazz Band is split into Junior Jazz (grades 7–9) and Senior Jazz (grades 10–12), and performs arrangements of jazz music during Art Festivals, which are biannual. Students may also audition for Junior Orchestra (grades 7–8, except in special cases) or Senior Orchestra (grades 9–12, except in special cases), which perform in the two semi-annual concerts at Hunter, the Winter Concert and the Spring Concert. The concerts for the Junior Orchestra and Senior Orchestra are divided into two distinct concerts, the "Middle School Concert" and the "Winter (or Spring) concert", respectively.


Sports

Hunter's sports teams are extremely competitive given the school's size; several, including both Girls' and Boys' Volleyball, Swimming, Wrestling, Fencing, Golf, Tennis, and Lacrosse are usually among the top 10 in the city. The number of varsity teams (32) that compete in the
Public Schools Athletic League The Public Schools Athletic League, known by the abbreviation PSAL, is an organization that promotes student athletics in the public schools of New York City. It was founded in 1903 to provide and maintain a sports program for students enrolled in ...
(
PSAL The Public Schools Athletic League, known by the abbreviation PSAL, is an organization that promotes student athletics in the public schools of New York City. It was founded in 1903 to provide and maintain a sports program for students enrolled in ...
) is also an exceptional number, given the school's size. These sports are cross-country (boys' and girls' varsity),
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
(boys' varsity, junior varsity and middle school and girls' varsity and middle school),
swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
(boys' and girls' varsity and co-ed middle school),
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
(boys' varsity and girls' varsity, junior varsity and middle school),
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
(coed and girls' varsity),
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
(boys have two middle school teams, one junior varsity team, and one varsity team, while the girls' have one middle school and one varsity team),
indoor track Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping event ...
(boys' and girls' varsity, middle school, and recently it was extended to the elementary school as well),
outdoor track Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping event ...
(boys' and girls' varsity, middle school and elementary),
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
(boys' middle school and varsity),
softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
(girls' middle school and varsity),
lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
(boys' and girls' varsity and junior varsity),
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
(boys' and girls' varsity),
ultimate Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album) * ''Ultimate'' (Pet Shop Boys album) *''Ultimate!'', an album by The Yardbirds *''The Ultimate (Bryan Adams Album)'', a compilatio ...
(boys' and girls' varsity),
bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thou ...
(
Co-Ed Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
varsity),
fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...
(boys' and girls' varsity),
badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...
(boys' and girls' varsity),
handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
(coed varsity) and
wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
(boys' and girls' varsity and co-ed middle school). Many teams are called "Hunter Hawks" because the school
mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
is a
hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...
. Some exceptions, however, are the boys' volleyball team (Hunter Hitmen), the girls' volleyball team (Headhunters), the girls' swim team (Hunter Duckies), and the Ultimate Frisbee teams (Hunter Halcyons). In the 1983–84 school year, the Hunter Heat, Hunter's bowling team, finished as the top team in Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx, losing to Cardozo High School (number one team in Queens and Brooklyn) in the PSAL city championship. Benjamin Sobel ('12) bowled for Ohio State University after great success in the high school level, both in PSAL and nationally. In 1984 the boys' cross country team, in its second year in existence, defeated George Washington High School for the Manhattan Championship. The boys' X-C team upset a George Washington squad that had not lost the Manhattan X-C championship in twelve years. In 1988 and 1995, the boys' volleyball team won the New York City
PSAL The Public Schools Athletic League, known by the abbreviation PSAL, is an organization that promotes student athletics in the public schools of New York City. It was founded in 1903 to provide and maintain a sports program for students enrolled in ...
title. In 1992, 1993 and 1994 the girls volleyball team reached the New York City PSAL championships, clinching a win only in the autumn 1994 final. In more recent years, a few teams have made runs at the city championship. During the 1998–2001 era, an unusual concentration of athletic talent led the basketball team deep into the PSAL playoffs for 3 consecutive seasons. In 2005, the boys' volleyball team finished 4th in the city, the girls' soccer team reached the playoff semifinals, and co-ed fencing finished 3rd in the city. In 2008 the girls middle school soccer team were undefeated in the entire season and won the league. In the winter of 2005, co-ed fencing captured the city title. This was quickly followed, on November 22, 2005, with the Hunter Girls Varsity Volleyball team's defeat of JFK High School to become the New York City Champions. Boys' and girls' swimming were also successful in 2005. The boys' swimming team defeated its rival, Bronx Science, breaking a 15-year dry spell against the school. The girls had the first ever tie in PSAL Playoff history against
Brooklyn Technical High School Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is an elite public high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is one of t ...
(47–47). The win was later awarded to Hunter. In 2009 Hunter's girls swim team beat rival school Bronx Science for the first time in nine years by six points. During the 2005–2006 school year, the girls' volleyball team won the PSAL city championship after many years of falling short of the championship, losing in the semifinals and finals. The girls' and boys' tennis teams also did well in the 2006 season, with the girls' team ranked 4th in the city, and the boys' team ranked 7th. In 2008, the tennis team reached the A division finals but lost to top-seeded Beacon. In the winter of 2006 the boys' fencing team won the PSAL city championship for the second year in a row, beating rival school Stuyvesant in the finals. It has since captured the silver medal in winter 2008, losing to Stuyvesant in the final, and the bronze medal in winter 09, again losing to Stuyvesant, after beating them twice during an undefeated regular season to win the division championship. It proceeded win the city championship again in 2011, followed by bronze in 2012, and silver in 2013. Following another undefeated season, the team took first place in 2014, winning in a single-touch tie-breaker against rival
Brooklyn Technical High School Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated High School 430, is an elite public high school in New York City that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is one of t ...
. In the 2009–2014 seasons, the Girls' Varsity Fencing Team won five consecutive PSAL championships. Hunter's varsity baseball and basketball teams were relegated to the B Division at the beginning of the 2006–07 school year, and reacted well to these changes. Both teams made deep playoff runs, with basketball losing in the second round, and baseball upsetting the second seeded team and losing in the quarterfinals. In the spring of 2008, the baseball team lost in the second round of the playoffs to eventual finalist and top-seeded Bayard Rustin. In the 2008–2009 school year, the varsity basketball team rejoined the A division and achieved an impressive undefeated record. At the beginning of the 2007–08 school year, Hunter's boys varsity soccer team also moved to the B Division of the PSAL, and finished the season with a 7–1 record, culminating in a heartbreaking playoff loss. In 2010, Hunter's boys varsity soccer team, under the lead of returning Coach Asumana Randolph, defied all odds by winning their division, and winning the first round of playoffs in overtime, a game which in past seasons has been the last. They went on to win the quarter finals, playing the defending champion, Queens Vocational, and also to win semi-finals. Hunter continued their streak to the championship, where they played Monroe Campus and won in a shut out; 3–0, becoming the first Hunter Boys' soccer team to win the
PSAL The Public Schools Athletic League, known by the abbreviation PSAL, is an organization that promotes student athletics in the public schools of New York City. It was founded in 1903 to provide and maintain a sports program for students enrolled in ...
championship. A rough game, the championship was won at the cost of broken leg of Captain Emmett Kim, who was injured while scoring a goal. Standout Julian Ricardo also was injured, tearing his ACL, but continued to play on. Coach Asumana Randolph, ecstatic about the magnificent season, promised the team an African dinner; motivation which helped them push through each playoff round. In 2011, both the Boys' and Girls' varsity lacrosse teams won the PSAL Bowl Division Championships. In 2013 Boys' Lacrosse won the City Championship against Tottenville. That season, prior to winning the City Championship, they were ranked third overall among all city schools, both public and private (after first-ranked Dalton and second-ranked Tottenville). In the 2012 season, the Boys' Middle School Soccer Team were the Citywide PSAL Champions winning the finals against Salk. In the 2016 season, the Girls' varsity golf team won the citywide PSAL championship, defeating Bronx Science High School 5–0 in the finals. The team went on to win the city championship in the 2017 and 2018 seasons as well, capturing the title for three years in a row. In the 2021 season, the Girls' Varsity Golf team won the citywide PSAL Championship by defeating Staten Island Technical High School 3-2 in the final. In the 2019 season, the Boys' Middle School Soccer Team won the City Championships, and in the 2020 season, the Boys' Varsity Soccer Team reached the Manhattan Championships, but lost to Middle College High School in penalty kicks, 4–3. In the 2021 season, Hunter again lost to Middle College High School in the finals on penalty kicks, losing 5-4. In the 2021 season, the Girls Varsity Soccer Team triumphed over Brooklyn Technical High School with a decisive 4-1 victory to finish an undefeated, division winning season. The Athletic Association (AA) is an organization of varsity athletes that promotes school spirit and the interests of student athletes. The AA organizes
intramural Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, or a set geographic region. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' meaning " ...
tournaments, sells Hunter apparel, and promotes sporting events. The AA coordinates and executes Sports Banquet and the annual Junior-Senior football games during Spirit Day as well.


Student publications

Hunter has many student publications, including its official newspaper, ''What's What''. Student-produced magazines include ''Coloring Book'' (creative magazine for all grades), ''Argus'' (literature and art magazine for the 10th-12th grades), "The Hunter Economist" (political and economic commentary), ''Chapter 11'' (satire), ''The Precipice'' (climate justice),''Tapestry'' (science fiction and fantasy), ''Radicals'' (math), "The Desk" (literature and art magazine for the 7th-9th grades), ''Annals'' (the school's yearbook), ''The Idealist'' (social justice), ''The Observer'' (unofficial newspaper), ''The Leading Strand'' (science), "F-Stop" (photography), "Noteworthy" (music), "Purple Politico" (politics), "Violet" (popular culture and fashion magazine), "Rewind Magazine" (movies and media), "Storyboard" (a comic/graphic novel compilation), "Artillery" (student art), ''T.H.A.T. Theatre Review'' (theater), "Eats" (recipes, restaurant reviews, and food-interest stories), "Grapevine" (popular culture), "Palette" (LGBTQ+ art and literature), and ''Polyglot'' (foreign language literature).


Theater productions

The Hunter theater program is an active one, often with a season of five main-stage productions and many other showcase productions. In a season of four main-stage productions, they normally fall into these categories: a Shakespeare play (often referred to as Shax); a Musical (Musical Repertoire, often referred to as REP); Hunter Classics, a middle school play for students in grades 7 through 9; and the Brick Prison Playhouse, commonly referred to simply as "Brick", showcasing several student-written plays. There are likewise two Theater Production Practicum (TPP) showcases (grades 9-10), with student-written, directed, and designed performances (through the class TPP), as well as a 7th grade play festival. In the 2016–17 school year, the theatre season consisted of Musical Rep, followed by a student directed straight play, followed by Classics, then Brick. Since the 2017–2018 school year, Black Box theater productions have been performed, with several notably being directed by students. Many cultural clubs also produce performances highlighting their culture, such as SAYA (South Asian Cultural Society), ACS (Asian Cultural Society), JCAC (Jewish Cultural Awareness Club), BSU (Black Student Union, formerly African American Cultural Society), MSA (Muslim Students Association), and more.


School events and traditions

Students at Hunter often enjoy various social events that are sponsored by the school administration, faculty and the student-run General Organization (G.O.). These include: * ''Seventh Grade Picnic'': an orientation and welcoming event held in
Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
at the end of September. Seventh-graders play various sports and become more familiar with each other under the supervision of 11th grade "Big Sibs". For the last few years, it has always rained on this day, leading it to occur indoors. In 2020, due to the pandemic, the class of 2026 didn't get a picnic. However, the following year, the class of 2027 continued the tradition that had gone on a 1 year hiatus. * ''Spirit Week'': a week in October in which each day consists of activities centered around a "theme" (e.g.
retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the "nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...
) as designated by the G.O. It was created in the 1990s as a replacement for a spring "Field Day", which was once organized by the Athletic Association. * ''Spirit Day'': the second to last day of Spirit Week. (Unless it rains, then Spirit Day is held sometime in the spring or a date within a few weeks of the original.) It is a day-long school-wide excursion to a recreation spot. The trip is often to Bear Mountain State Park, but destinations have included
Belmont Lake State Park Belmont Lake State Park is a day-use state park located in North Babylon, New York on Long Island. History Belmont Lake State Park was established in 1926 on land that was formerly part of the " Nursery Stud Farm", a Thoroughbred horse farm owne ...
, Playland,
Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
, or Randall's Island. It includes the annual Senior-Junior
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
game. * ''
Homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...
'': a day in which the previous year's graduates return to the school to revisit current students in December. There is usually a basketball game on this day. * ''Senior Walkout'': carried out on the first day of snowfall. Seniors leave class for the day to engage in snowball fights or pursue other activities outside of the school with parents of seniors providing refreshments. Originally an act of rebellion, in recent years the event has become a school-sanctioned ritual and is done in consultation with the administration. * ''Ski trip'': An unofficial parent-planned trip that occurs on the last weekend of January, during intersession, which is the space between midterms and the 2nd semester. * ''
Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...
'': a major end-of-year event for the student body. It usually has a theme, features both live and recorded music, and stalls run by various school clubs that showcase games, food, or other items of interest. * ''Senior Week'': traditionally the week after Carnival and before graduation. During this week, there are events designed to say goodbye to the graduating seniors. They include: ** ''Senior Tea'': students of the graduating class are presented with white carnations and served refreshments by their teachers. ** ''Senior Barbecue'': graduating students serve lunch to the faculty. ** In addition to these, the hall of the graduating class becomes off limits to all but members of said graduating class. In 2011, an agreement was reached to let faculty through. * "
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
Trip": A trip run by the Hunter Science department that takes students to Washington D.C. to view Intel Science Project finalists and sightseeing in surrounding areas. Several formal dances are arranged throughout the year: * ''
Prom A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school y ...
'' is a similar event to many proms held all across the United States, consisting of
formal dress Formal wear or full dress is the Western dress code category applicable for the most formal occasions, such as weddings, christenings, confirmations, funerals, Easter and Christmas traditions, in addition to certain state dinners, audiences, ...
and a sit-down dinner. The event is usually followed by an after-party at a student's house. In June 2001, Prom was held at the World Trade Center (Windows on the World). Prom is held on a Thursday evening. Attendees return to school on Friday in their finery so students and teachers can admire their glamorous outfits. * ''Semi-formal'' is the "junior prom," held for eleventh graders at the end of January. * Lower-termers have their own annual dances, including dances for
Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...
and
Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
for the seventh and eighth graders. In some years, there may also be themed dances; for example, in 2006, dances included the Halloween and Valentines' Dances as well as a "Black, White, and Silver Dance" for seventh and eighth graders. Several classes and extracurricular groups hold annual trips outside of New York City. International trips include the bi-annual
AP Art History Advanced Placement (AP) Art History (also known as AP Art, or APAH) is an Advanced Placement art history course and exam offered by the College Board. AP Art History is designed to allow students to examine major forms of artistic expression rele ...
trip, the
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
Etc. club trip, Foreign Language cultural trips, and trips taken by various school-run musical groups (such as Jazz Band or Chorus).


Alumni

Notable alumni include: *
Shirley Abrahamson Shirley Schlanger Abrahamson (December 17, 1933December 19, 2020) was the 25th chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. An American lawyer and jurist, she was appointed to the court in 1976 by Governor Patrick Lucey, becoming the first femal ...
(class of 1950) – first female Justice, first female Chief Justice and longest ever serving Justice,
Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin. Location The Wi ...
; past President, Conference of upreme CourtChief Justices *
Randy Altschuler Randolph Brody Altschuler (born December 8, 1970) is an American businessman and politician. He was the Republican and Conservative Party candidate for Congress in New York's 1st Congressional District in 2010 and 2012. He is the co-founder and ...
(class of 1989) – co-founder, OfficeTiger; U.S. Congressional Candidate,
New York's 1st congressional district The 1st congressional district of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in eastern Long Island. It includes the eastern two-thirds of Suffolk County, including most of Smithtown, as well as the ent ...
* Birdie Amsterdam (class of 1918) – first female
New York State Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...
Justice * Charles Ardai (class of 1987) – founder and CEO, Juno; managing director, D.E. Shaw; author, editor, publisher/co-founder of Hard Case Crime, TV producer of Haven *
Martina Arroyo Martina Arroyo (born February 2, 1937) is an American operatic soprano who had a major international opera career from the 1960s through the 1980s. She was part of the first generation of black opera singers to achieve wide success. Arroyo first ...
(class of 1953) – opera singer, fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences; member, National Council of the Arts; Kennedy Center Honoree; director, Carnegie Hall and Hunter College *
Eli Attie Eli Attie is an Emmy-winning writer, producer, and former White House staff member. He served as Vice President Al Gore's chief White House and campaign speechwriter through Gore's concession of the 2000 presidential election, which Attie and Gor ...
(class of 1985) – TV writer and producer, Emmy winner and former chief speechwriter for Al Gore * Michelle Au (class of 1995) –
Georgia State Senator The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Legal provisions The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, with the lower house being the Georgia Ho ...
* Rachel Axler (class of 1995) – four-time Emmy-winning TV writer *
Kyle Baker Kyle John Baker (born 1965) is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series ''Plastic Man''. Baker has won numerous Eisner Awards and Harvey Awards for his wor ...
(class of 1983) – comic book artist/writer, cartoonist, animator and satirist * Maria Bentel (class of 1946) – American architect and founding partner of the architecture firm Bentel & Bentel Architects/Planners A.I.A *
Adam Berinsky Adam J. Berinsky (born 1970) is a professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the author of the 2004 book '' Silent Voices: Public Opinion and Political Participation in America'' and the 2009 book '' In Time o ...
(class of 1988) – Mitsui Professor of Political Science at
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
*
Etel Billig Etel Billig (December 16, 1932 – March 28, 2012) was an American actress and director; her career spanned more than 60 years. She founded Illinois Theatre Center (ITC) in 1976 with her husband, Steven. For more than three decades she appeared ...
(unknown) – actress and founder of
Illinois Theatre Center The Illinois Theatre Center (ITC) was a theater in the southern Chicago suburb of Park Forest which began operation in 1976. In 1999, ITC moved to a state-of-the-art facilityChana Bloch Chana Bloch (March 15, 1940 – May 19, 2017) was an American poet, translator, and scholar. She was a professor emerita of English at Mills College in Oakland, California. Life and work Born as Florence Ina Faerstein in the Bronx, New York, s ...
(class of 1957) – poet, translator *
Jeremy Blachman Jeremy Blachman (born 1979), a 2005 graduate of Harvard Law School, is a journalist and the author of ''Anonymous Lawyer: A Novel''. Biography Blachman graduated from Hunter College High School in 1996. He received his undergraduate degree from P ...
(class of 1996) – author, journalist, lawyer *
Angela Bofill Angela Tomasa Bofill (born May 2, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter of Cuban- Puerto Rican origins. A New York native, Bofill began her professional career in the mid-1970s. Bofill is most known for singles such as, "This Time I'll Be Sweet ...
(class of 1972) – jazz singer *
Anise Boyer Anise Margaret Boyer (1914–2008) was an American dancer and actress known for her work during the Harlem Renaissance. She joined the Cotton Club chorus line when she was a teenager and starred in the 1932 film '' Harlem is Heaven.'' She also da ...
(unknown) - actress and dancer known for her work during the Harlem Renaissance * Suse Broyde – Professor of Structural Biology at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
* Michael A. Burstein (class of 1987) – science fiction writer *
Hortense Calisher Hortense Calisher (December 20, 1911 – January 13, 2009) was an American writer of fiction and the second female president of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Biography Personal life Born in New York City, and a graduate of Hunter C ...
(class of 1928) – novelist, second female President,
American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...
*
Sewell Chan Sewell Chan is an American journalist who is the editor-in-chief of ''The Texas Tribune''. Prior to that he was the editorial page editor at the ''Los Angeles Times'', where he oversaw the editorial board and the Op-Ed and Sunday Opinion pages of ...
(class of 1994) – editor, ''The New York Times'' * Peggy Charren (class of 1949) - activist and founder of
Action for Children's Television Action for Children's Television (ACT) was founded by Peggy Charren, Lillian Ambrosino, Evelyn Kaye Sarson and Judy Chalfen in Newton, Massachusetts, USA, in 1968 as a grassroots, nonprofit child advocacy group dedicated to improving the quali ...
, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient *
Perry Chen Perry Chen is an American artist and entrepreneur known for being the creator and principal founder of Kickstarter, PBC, the online funding platform for creative projects. He came up with the idea for Kickstarter in 2001 and launched it in 2009 a ...
(class of 1994) – co-founder,
Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
* Dorothy Chin-Brandt – First Asian-American elected official in New York State. * Louise Cochrane (circa class of 1936) – one of the first female TV producers * Adam Cohen (class of 1997) – chemist and physicist, Harvard University *
Noam Cohen Noam Cohen is an American journalist. He was a technology columnist and author of the "Link by Link" column for ''The New York Times'' from 2007 to 2013. He is the author of the 2017 nonfiction book ''The Know-It-Alls: The Rise of Silicon Valley ...
(class of 1985) – technology journalist * Christopher Collet (class of 1986) – actor *
Olivia Cole Olivia Carlena Cole (November 26, 1942 – January 19, 2018) was an American actress, best known for her Emmy Award-winning role in the 1977 miniseries ''Roots''. Early life and education Cole was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of Ar ...
(class of 1960) – actress, first African-American Emmy winner *
Nicholas Confessore Nicholas Confessore is a Pulitzer Prize-winning political correspondent on the National Desk of ''The New York Times''. Early life Confessore grew up in New York City and attended Hunter College High School. He was a politics major at Princet ...
(class of 1994) – Pulitzer Prize-winning political correspondent, ''The New York Times'' *
Constance E. Cook Constance E. Cook (August 17, 1919 – January 20, 2009) was an American Republican Party politician who served in the New York State Assembly, where she co-authored a bill signed into law that legalized abortion in New York three years be ...
(circa class of 1937) – New York State Assembly Member * Gloria M. Coruzzi (class of 1972) - Plant Molecular Biologist, Professor and Past-Chair of Biology,
NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
, Member of the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
. *
Marie Maynard Daly Marie Maynard Daly (April 16, 1921October 28, 2003) was an American biochemist. She was the first African-American to receive a Ph.D. from Columbia University and the first African-American woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry. ...
– first African-American to receive a Ph.D. from Columbia University; first black woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry. *
Jon Daniels Jon Daniels (born August 24, 1977) is an American baseball executive senior advisor for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He recently served as the President of Baseball Operations for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (M ...
(class of 1995) – Texas Rangers General Manager; youngest-ever MLB GM *
Amy Davidson Sorkin Amy Davidson Sorkin (formerly Amy Davidson; born 1969 or 1970) is an American author, journalist and magazine editor. Biography Amy Davidson was born in 1969 or 1970 and grew up in New York City. She graduated from Hunter College High School, a ...
(class of 1988) – executive editor of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' *
Lucy Dawidowicz Lucy Dawidowicz ( Schildkret; June 16, 1915 – December 5, 1990) was an American historian and writer. She wrote books about modern Jewish history, in particular, she wrote books about the Holocaust. Life Dawidowicz was born in New York City a ...
(class of 1932) – Holocaust historian *
Manohla Dargis Manohla June Dargis () is an American film critic. She is one of the chief film critics for ''The New York Times''. She is a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Career Before being a film critic for ''The New York Times'', ...
(class of 1979) – chief film critic, ''The New York Times'' * Ruby Dee (class of 1939) – National Medal of Arts, Grammy, Emmy, Obie, Drama Desk, SAG and SAG Lifetime Achievement Award-winning actress; nominee for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress; African American rights activist, poet, playwright, screenwriter and journalist *
Desmond Devlin Desmond Devlin is an American comedy writer. His work has appeared in '' Mad'' since 1984, and with more than 450 bylined articles, he ranks as one of the magazine's three most frequent non-illustrating writers. Devlin's recurring features have i ...
(class of 1982) – writer, ''
MAD Magazine Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to: Geography * Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia * Mád, a village in Hungary * Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code * Mad River (disambiguation), several ...
'' *
Ophelia Devore Ophelia DeVore (August 12, 1922 – February 28, 2014) was an American businesswoman, publisher, and model.Margalit Fox(obituary), ''New York Times'', March 13, 2014. She was the first model of African-American descent in the United States. In 1 ...
(class of 1936) – first mixed-race model, founder-Grace Del Marco agency. *
Diane di Prima Diane di Prima (August 6, 1934October 25, 2020) was an American poet, known for her association with the Beat movement. She was also an artist, prose writer, and teacher. Her magnum opus is widely considered to be ''Loba'', a collection of poems ...
(class of 1951) – poet *
Mildred S. Dresselhaus Mildred Dresselhaus''Mildred Dresselhaus'' was elected in 1974
(class of 1947) – Presidential Medal of Freedom winner; first female Institute Professor,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
; first and only female winner of the National Medal of Science in engineering; past President,
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...
* Jane Dubin (class of 1974) – Tony winning Broadway producer *
Sandi Simcha DuBowski Sandi Simcha DuBowski is an American director and producer, best known for his work on the intersection of LGBT people and their religion, DuBowski directed the 2001 documentary ''Trembling Before G-d'' and is the producer of Parvez Sharma's d ...
(class of 1988) – filmmaker * Dujeous (class of 1995) – (original members), hip-hop group *
Helen Epstein Helen Epstein is an American writer of memoir, journalism and biography who lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, United States. Biography Early life and education Helen Epstein is the daughter of Kurt Epstein and Franci Rabinek, both survivors o ...
(class of 1965) – first female tenured journalism professor, New York University, author * Jewlia Eisenberg (class of 1988) – composer and musician * Yvette Fay Francis-McBarnette (class of circa 1941) – pioneering hematologist *
Sandra Fong Sandra Fong (born April 15, 1990, in New York, New York) is an American Olympic sport shooter. She is a multiple-time American junior record holder, and a three-time medalist (one gold and two silver) for the small-bore rifle prone and rifle t ...
(class of 2008) – Olympic athlete (shooting) * Richard (DiMasi) Fontana (class of 1986) – free software and open source lawyer * Michael C. Frank (class of 1999) – developmental psychologist,
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
* Linda P. Fried (class of 1966) – first female Dean, Columbia University School of Public Health *
Susan Fuhrman Susan Harriet Fuhrman (born April 1944) is an American education policy scholar and the first female president of Teachers College, Columbia University. Fuhrman earned her doctorate in Political Science and Education from Columbia University. She ...
(class of 1961) – first female President,
Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), is the graduate school of education, health, and psychology of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, it has served as one of the official faculties and ...
; President, National Academy of Education; former Dean,
University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, commonly known as Penn GSE, is an Ivy League top-ranked educational research school in the United States. Formally established as a school at the University of Pennsylvania in 1914, Penn ...
*
Hortense Gabel Hortense Wittstein Gabel (December 16, 1912 – December 6, 1990) was an American lawyer who served on the New York Supreme Court. Her judicial career came to an end after she was charged with lowering alimony payments for Carl Andrew Capass ...
(circa class of 1930) – New York State Supreme Court Justice *
Leila Gerstein Leila Gerstein is an American television producer and screenwriter. Gerstein has written for television shows, including ''Gossip Girl'', ''The O.C.'' and '' Life As We Know It'', and written and produced episodes of ''Eli Stone''. She created th ...
(class of 1990) – Emmy-winning TV producer and writer * Eleanor Glueck (class of 1916) – criminologist,
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
*
Jamal Greene Jamal K. Greene is an American legal scholar whose scholarship focuses on constitutional law. He is the Theodore William Dwight, Dwight Professors_in_the_United_States#Named/endowed_chair, Professor of Law at Columbia Law School. Greene is one o ...
(class of 1995) – professor of law,
Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...
* Martha Greenhouse (class of 1939) – actress and union leader *
Judd Greenstein Judd Greenstein (born 1979) is an American composer of contemporary classical music, and an avid promoter of new music in New York City. He is also a co-director of New Amsterdam Records. Life and career Judd Greenstein was born and raised in Manh ...
(class of 1997) – Composer, co-founder of
New Amsterdam Records New Amsterdam Records is a record label in New York City that was formed in 2008 by Judd Greenstein, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and William Brittelle to promote classically trained musicians who fall between traditional genre boundaries. Often abbrev ...
* Irene Greif (class of 1965) – computer scientist *
Brett Haber Brett Haber is an American sportscaster. He is a host for the Tennis Channel and several other national and regional sports outlets. Sportscasting career In the mid-1990s Haber was an anchor on ESPN's flagship news program '' SportsCenter''. ...
(class of 1987) – Emmy-winning former ESPN SportsCenter anchor, current Tennis Channel & NBC Olympics host * E. Adelaide Hahn (circa class of 1911) – first female president, Linguistic Society of America *
Avril Haines Avril Danica Haines (born August 27, 1969) is an American lawyer and senior government official who serves as the director of national intelligence in the Biden administration. She is the first woman to serve in this role. Haines previously se ...
(class of 1987) – first female Director of National Intelligence,
Deputy National Security Advisor The United States Deputy National Security Advisor is a member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and the United States National Security Council, serving under the President's National Security Advisor. Among other res ...
and
Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency The Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (DD/CIA) is a statutory office () and the second-highest official of the Central Intelligence Agency. The DD/CIA assists the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) and is author ...
* Evelyn Handler (class of 1950) – first female President of both the
University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...
and
Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...
* Christopher Hayes (class of 1997) – Two-time Emmy winning host, "
All In with Chris Hayes ''All In with Chris Hayes'' is an American news television program that airs weekdays at 8:00 p.m. ET on MSNBC. It is hosted by Chris Hayes, who previously hosted ''Up with Chris Hayes'' on MSNBC weekends. The show premiered on April 1, 2013. ...
", MSNBC, editor-at-large, "
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
" *
Bernadine Healy Bernadine Patricia Healy (August 4, 1944 – August 6, 2011) was an American cardiologist and the first female director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). During her career, Healy held leadership positions at the Johns Hopkins Univers ...
(class of 1962) – first female
NIH The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
director and
Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
president *
Carrie Kei Heim Carrie Kei Heim (born December 7, 1973) is an American lawyer, writer, and former child actress. She is best known for her roles as Cornelia in '' Santa Claus: The Movie'' (1985) and Nikki Ferris in ''The Parent Trap II'' (1986). After completi ...
(class of 1991) – actress, lawyer *
Jonathan Hoefler Jonathan Hoefler (; born August 22, 1970) is an American typeface designer. Hoefler founded the Hoefler Type Foundry in 1989, a type foundry in New York. Early life Jonathan Hoefler was born on August 22, 1970, in New York City to Doreen Ben ...
(class of 1988) – typeface designer * Steve Hofstetter (class of 1997) – comedian/radio personality *
Adam Horowitz Adam Horowitz (born December 4, 1971) is an American screenwriter and producer. He is known for co-creating the ABC fairy tale drama series '' Once Upon a Time'' with his writing partner Edward Kitsis. Days after the show ended its seven-year ...
(class of 1990) – TV writer and producer, screenwriter *
Florence Howe Florence Rosenfeld Howe (March 17, 1929 – September 12, 2020) was an American author, publisher, literary scholar, and historian who is considered to have been a leader of the contemporary feminist movement. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New ...
(class of 1946) – feminist activist *
Immortal Technique Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics, from a radical left-wing perspective. Immortal Techn ...
(class of 1996) – rapper/political activist * Chris Jackson (class of 1989) – publisher * Julia Jarcho – experimental playwright *
Elena Kagan Elena Kagan ( ; born April 28, 1960) is an American lawyer who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 10, 2010, and has served since August 7, 2010. Kagan ...
(class of 1977) –
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
Justice, first female
United States Solicitor General The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021. The United States solicitor general represent ...
and first female Dean of
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...
*
Jeremy Kahn Jeremy Adam Kahn (born October 26, 1969) is an American mathematician. He works on hyperbolic geometry, Riemann surfaces and complex dynamics. Education Kahn grew up in New York City and attended Hunter College High School. He was a child prod ...
(class of 1987) - Mathematician *
Eric Kaplan Eric Kaplan is an American television writer and producer. His work has included shows such as ''Late Show with David Letterman'', ''Andy Richter Controls the Universe'', ''Malcolm in the Middle'', ''Futurama'', ''The Simpsons'' and ''Rick and M ...
(class of 1985) – TV writer and producer * Elizabeth (Sister Mary Cordia) Karl (class of 1916) - mathematician *
Max Kellerman Max Kellerman (born August 6, 1973) is an American sports television personality and boxing commentator. He is the host of ''This Just In with Max Kellerman'' and the co-host of ''Keyshawn, JWill and Max'' on ESPN Radio. He previously was a co-h ...
(class of 1991) – host, HBO Boxing, ESPN SportsNation *
Dave Kerpen Dave Kerpen is an American author and entrepreneur. Kerpen first received media attention in the Boston sports market in the late 1990s for his sales strategies at professional sporting events. He went on to appear as a contestant on the 2003 Fo ...
(class of 1994) - NY Times Best-Selling author, entrepreneur, speaker *
Alice Kober Alice Elizabeth Kober (December 23, 1906 – May 16, 1950) was an American classicist best known for her work on the decipherment of Linear B. Educated at Hunter College and Columbia University, Kober taught classics at Brooklyn College fro ...
(class of 1924) – classicist, the major contributor to the deciphering of
Linear B Linear B was a syllabic script used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries. The oldest Mycenaean writing dates to about 1400 BC. It is descended from ...
form of Ancient Greek * Karen Kornbluh (class of 1981) – U.S. Ambassador to
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
, primary drafter of 2008 Democratic Party platform *
Jean Kwok Jean Kwok is the award-winning, ''New York Times'' and international bestselling Chinese American author of the novels ''Girl in Translation'', ''Mambo in Chinatown,'' and ''Searching for Sylvie Lee'', which was chosen as ''The Today Show'' Read ...
(class of 1986) – novelist *
Diane Lane Diane Colleen Lane (born January 22, 1965) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at age 14 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film ''A Little Romance''. The two films that could have catapulted her to star ...
(dropped out) – Academy Award nominee for best actress *
Evelyn Lauder Evelyn Lauder (née Hausner; August 12, 1936 – November 12, 2011) was an Austrian American businesswoman, socialite and philanthropist who has been credited as one of the creators and popularizers of the pink ribbon as a symbol for awareness of ...
(class of 1954) – philanthropist * Jennifer 8. Lee (class of 1994) – ''The New York Times'' journalist and author *
Adam Leon Adam Leon is an American film director and writer working in New York City. His first feature film, ''Gimme the Loot (film), Gimme the Loot'', won the Grand Jury Prize at South by Southwest and premiered internationally at the Cannes Film Festival ( ...
(class of 1999) – film director and writer * Marilyn Levy (class of 1938) – photographic chemist at
Fort Monmouth Fort Monmouth is a former installation of the Department of the Army in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The post is surrounded by the communities of Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Oceanport, New Jersey, and is located about from the Atlantic Ocean. T ...
* Judy Lewent (class of 1966) – director of Dell, GlaxoSmithKline, Motorola and MIT and former Exec. VP and CFO of
Merck Merck refers primarily to the German Merck family and three companies founded by the family, including: * the Merck Group, a German chemical, pharmaceutical and life sciences company founded in 1668 ** Merck Serono (known as EMD Serono in the Unite ...
*
Robert Lopez Robert Lopez (born February 23, 1975) is an American songwriter for musicals, best known for co-creating ''The Book of Mormon'' and ''Avenue Q'', and for co-writing the songs featured in the Disney computer-animated films '' Frozen'', its seque ...
(class of 1993) – '' Avenue Q'', ''
Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude d ...
'', '' Frozen'', and '' Coco'' composer-lyricist, youngest EGOT (Emmy (3), Grammy (3), Oscar (2) and Tony(3)) winner *
Audre Lorde Audre Lorde (; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, womanist, radical feminist, professor, and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," wh ...
(class of 1951) – poet, professor *
Mynette Louie Mynette Louie is an American film producer of Chinese descent. She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy and Critics Choice Award in 2018 for HBO's ''The Tale'', won the 2015 Independent Spirit Awards John Cassavetes Award for ''Land Ho!'', and won ...
(class of 1993) – film & TV producer; professor * Nava Lubelski (class of 1986) – artist and author *
Nnenna Lynch Nnenna Lynch (born July 3, 1971, in New York City, New York) is a retired middle distance and long distance runner from the United States. She won the gold medal at the 1997 Summer Universiade in Catania, Italy in the women's 5,000 metres event, ...
(class of 1989) – track and cross country runner * Shola Lynch (class of 1987) – film maker * Mike Maronna (class of 1995) – actor (''
The Adventures of Pete & Pete ''The Adventures of Pete & Pete'' is an American comedy television series created by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi for Nickelodeon. It centers around two brothers, both named Pete Wrigley, and their humorous and surreal adventures in suburbia ...
'') * Judith Matloff (class of 1976) – author and journalism professor *
Annette Michelson Annette Michelson (November 7, 1922 – September 17, 2018) was an American art and film critic and writer. Her work contributed to the fields of cinema studies and the avant-garde in visual culture. Biography Born in 1922, Michelson graduated from ...
- film critic and writer * Donna Minkowitz (class of 1981) – writer and journalist *
Lin-Manuel Miranda Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, playwright and filmmaker. He is known for creating the Broadway musicals ''Hamilton'' (2015) and ''In the Heights'' (2005), and the soundtracks for the Disney animate ...
(class of 1998) – winner of a Pulitzer Prize, three Grammys, two Emmys, a MacArthur "Genius" Award and three Tony awards; creator and lead, ''
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
'' and ''
In The Heights ''In the Heights'' is a musical theatre, musical with concept, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a Book (musical theatre), book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is set over the course of three days, involving characters in the larg ...
'' *
Samantha Massell Samantha Massell (born January 15, 1990) is a New York-based American actress and singer notable for playing Hodel in the 2015 Broadway revival of '' Fiddler on the Roof''. She has received positive reviews of her singing and acting performance. ...
(class of 2008) – Actress * Maria Muldaur (circa class of 1961) – folk singer * Elizabeth Neufeld (circa class of 1944) – geneticist; second female winner of the Wolf Prize in Medicine; winner of the National Medal of Science and the Lasker Award * Thisbe Nissen (class of 1990) – novelist *
Cynthia Nixon Cynthia Ellen Nixon (born April 9, 1966) is an American actress, activist, and theater director. For her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), she won the 2004 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supp ...
(class of 1984) – Tony, Grammy and (2) Emmy award-winning actress * Mollie Orshansky (class of 1931) – statistician *
Cynthia Ozick Cynthia Ozick (born April 17, 1928) is an American short story writer, novelist, and essayist. Biography Cynthia Ozick was born in New York City, the second of two children. She moved to the Bronx with her Belarusian-Jewish parents from Hlusk, ...
(class of 1946) – novelist *
Ellen Ash Peters Ellen Ash Peters (born March 21, 1930 in Berlin) is an American lawyer and judge. She was appointed to the Connecticut Supreme Court in 1978. She was the first woman appointed to that court. Early life and education Ellen Ash was born in Berlin ...
(class of 1947) – first female Justice and first female Chief Justice,
Connecticut Supreme Court The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit in Hartford, ac ...
, first female President, Conference of Supreme Court Chief Justices *
Marina Picciotto Marina Rachel Picciotto (born June 22, 1963) is an American neuroscientist known for her work on the role of nicotine in addiction, memory, and reward behaviors. She is the Charles B. G. Murphy Professor of Psychiatry and professor in the Child St ...
(class of 1981) – neuroscientist *
Pearl Primus Pearl Eileen Primus (November 29, 1919 – October 29, 1994) was an American dancer, choreographer and anthropologist. Primus played an important role in the presentation of African dance to American audiences. Early in her career she saw the n ...
(class of 1936) – choreographer/dancer *
Jennifer Raab Jennifer J. Raab is the 13th and current president of Hunter College of the City University of New York holding this position since June 2001. She is responsible for overseeing the functions of CUNY's college and its affiliates such as the Hu ...
(class of 1973) – President,
Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...
* Margaret Raymond (class of 1976) – Dean and law professor,
University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the school was founded in 1868. The University of Wisconsin Law School is guided by a "law in ...
*
Mina Rees Mina Spiegel Rees (August 2, 1902 – October 25, 1997) was an American mathematician. She was the first female President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1971) and head of the mathematics department of the Office of N ...
(class of 1919) – Mathematician, King's Medal for Service in the Cause of Freedom (UK) winner; National Academies of Science Public Welfare Medal winner; first female President and first President Emerita, Graduate School and University Center at CUNY; first female President of
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...
*
Eunice Reddick Eunice Sharon Reddick (born 1951) is an American diplomat and is a former ambassador to Niger. She previously served as the U.S. ambassador to Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe. Biography Reddick graduated from Hunter College High School in New ...
(class of 1969) – US Ambassador to Niger, Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe *
Vivian Reiss Vivian Reiss (born 1952 in New York) is an artist. She has been living and working in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, since 1975. She still spends time in New York City, New York, U.S. Reiss is a painter, creator of multimedia performance events and i ...
(class of 1970) – artist * Gloria Rojas (class of 1955) – journalist * Stefan Savage (class of 1987) - computer scientist, 2017 MacArthur Foundation Fellow *
Bruce Schneier Bruce Schneier (; born January 15, 1963) is an American cryptographer, computer security professional, privacy specialist, and writer. Schneier is a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and a Fellow at the Berkman Klein Cente ...
(class of 1981) – security expert *
Sarah Schulman Sarah Miriam Schulman (born July 28, 1958) is an American novelist, playwright, nonfiction writer, screenwriter, gay activist, and AIDS historian. She is a Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at College of Staten Island (CSI) and a Fellow a ...
(class of 1975) – artist, writer, journalist, English Professor * Lois G. Schwoerer (class of 1945) – historian * Susan Sheehan (class of 1954) – journalist,
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
winning author *
Martin Shkreli Martin Shkreli (; born March 17, 1983) is an American former hedge fund manager. Shkreli is the co-founder of the hedge funds Elea Capital, MSMB Capital Management, and MSMB Healthcare; the co-founder and former chief executive officer (CEO) of ...
(did not graduate) - pharmaceutical CEO, felon *
Larissa Shmailo Larissa Shmailo (born 1956 in Brooklyn, New York, United States) is an American poet, translator, novelist, editor, and critic. She is known for her literary translations from Russian to English, particularly her translation of '' Victory over the ...
(class of 1974) – poet, translator, novelist, editor, and critic *
Amy Sohn Amy Sohn is a Brooklyn-based author, columnist and screenwriter. Her first two novels were ''Run Catch Kiss'' (1999) and ''My Old Man'' (2004), both published by Simon & Schuster, and a companion guide to television's ''Sex and the City'', ''Se ...
(class of 1991) – novelist * Christina Sormani (class of 1987) - mathematician, AMS Fellow * Olivia P. Stokes - Baptist minister *
Jeannie Suk Jeannie Suk Gersen (born 1973) is a professor of law at Harvard Law School. Biography Suk attended Hunter College High School, graduating in 1991. In 1995, Suk received her B.A. in Literature from Yale University, and a D.Phil at St Hugh's Colle ...
(class of 1991) – first female Asian-American tenured professor,
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...
*
Deborah Tannen Deborah Frances Tannen (born June 7, 1945) is an American author and professor of linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Best known as the author of ''You Just Don't Understand'', she has been a McGraw Distinguished Lecturer at ...
(class of 1962) – professor of linguistics,
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
, author,
You Just Don't Understand ''You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation'' is a 1990 non-fiction book on language and gender by Deborah Tannen, a professor of sociolinguistics at Georgetown University. It draws partly on academic research by Tannen and others, ...
*
Judith Jarvis Thomson Judith Jarvis Thomson (October 4, 1929November 20, 2020) was an American philosopher who studied and worked on ethics and metaphysics. Her work ranges across a variety of fields, but she is most known for her work regarding the thought experimen ...
(class of 1946) – professor emerita of philosophy,
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
* Michal Towber (class of 1998) – singer-songwriter, Emmy winning composer *
Tien Tzuo Tien Tzuo is a Taiwanese-born American tech entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Zuora, and prior to that was chief strategy officer of Salesforce. Early life Tzuo was born in Taiwan, and when he was 3 years old his family move ...
, tech entrepreneur, class of 1986 * Rebecca Wasserman-Hone - American wine expert based in France *
Mollena Williams-Haas Mollena Williams-Haas (born 1969), formerly Mollena Williams, is an American writer, BDSM educator, actress, and former International Ms. Leather (2010). Early life and education She was born Mollena Lee Williams on June 20, 1969, at New York ...
-
BDSM BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...
author and activist *
Alma S. Woolley Alma S. Woolley (October 3, 1931, New York City – December 17, 2005, Baltimore) was an American nurse, nurse educator, nursing historian, and author. She led several schools of nursing, and authored a number of books and articles on nursing edu ...
(class of 1950) – dean and professor emerita of
Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Studies Georgetown University School of Nursing is one of the eleven schools of Georgetown University. Founded in 1903 as the School of Nursing, it added three other health related majors in 1999 and appended its name to become the School of Nursing & Hea ...
, author, historian * Marvin "
Young MC Marvin Young (born May 10, 1967), better known by his stage name Young M.C., is a British-born American rapper, singer and actor. He is best known for his 1989 hit " Bust a Move". His debut album '' Stone Cold Rhymin found international accl ...
" Young (class of 1985) – rapper, music producer and songwriter


See also

*
Education in New York City Education in New York City is provided by a vast number of public and private institutions. New York City has the largest educational system of any city in the world. The city’s educational infrastructure spans primary education, secondary edu ...
*
Hunter College Elementary School Hunter College Elementary School is a New York City elementary school for select students who reside in New York City, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Administered by Hunter College, a senior college of the City University of New York or C ...


References


External links


Hunter College High School

Hunter College High School wiki

Hunter College High School Alumnae/i Association

Hunter College High School PTA

Hunter Athletics

Hunter College High School - College Profile 2012-2013 (excellent overview of the school)

Hunter Quiz Bowl Team
{{Authority control Public high schools in Manhattan Magnet schools in New York (state) Hunter College Educational institutions established in 1869 University-affiliated schools in the United States Gifted education Upper East Side 1869 establishments in New York (state)