Notable Alumni of SUNY Buffalo State

Brian Higgins 1959–

Former US Representative from New York

Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts · Class of 1985

Also attended: Harvard University

Byron Brown 1958–

Former mayor of Buffalo, New York

Keith Rothfus 1962–

Former US Representative from Pennsylvania

Also attended: University of Notre Dame, University at Buffalo

Beverly Eckert 1951–2009

Activist who advocated for creating the 9/11 Commission

Evelyn S. Lieberman 1944–2015

First woman White House Deputy Chief of Staff

Gene Cretz 1950–

Career diplomat and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana

Also attended: University of Rochester, Stony Brook University

Crystal Peoples 1951–

Majority leader of the New York State Assembly

Khadra Ahmed Dualeh

Somali diplomat and former commerce minister

Bachelor of Science

Also attended: New York University, Carnegie Mellon University

Rodneyse Bichotte 1972–

New York State Assembly member

Also attended: Illinois Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, University at Buffalo

Raven Baxter 2000–

Science communicator and STEM educator

Also attended: University at Buffalo

Cindy Sherman 1954–

Artist known for photographic self-portraits

Ani DiFranco 1970–

Singer-songwriter

Also attended: The New School

Robert Longo 1953–

Artist known for the Men in the Cities series

Also attended: University of North Texas

Diane English 1948–

Screenwriter and producer, creator of Murphy Brown

Susan Gibney 1961–

Actress

Also attended: Yale University

Tom Fontana 1951–

Screenwriter and producer who created HBO's Oz

David Stout 1942–2020

Journalist and mystery novelist

Also attended: University of Notre Dame

David E. Aldrich 1963–

Producer, director, cinematographer and IT professional

Les Krims 1942–

Conceptualist photographer based in Buffalo

Julia Ditto Young 1857–1915

Novelist and poet

Randy Smith 1948–2009

NBA player who set consecutive games played record

Daniel Garcia 1998–

Professional wrestler signed to AEW

Abdi Salim 2001–

Somali professional footballer

Also attended: Syracuse University

Luke Pavone 1995–

Professional soccer midfielder

Also attended: University of Massachusetts-Amherst