Dorothy Height

Dorothy Height Distinguished Alumni Award

NYU Steinhardt alum Dorothy Height (BA ’33, MA ’35, HON ’75) was a leader of the African-American and women’s rights movements. She worked alongside prominent civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., and helped organize the historic march on Washington.

In 1929, Height took the subway to Washington Square, transcript in hand, and was admitted to NYU’s School of Education that same afternoon. “From that day forward, I have loved every brick of that university,” Height wrote in her memoir, Open Wide the Freedom Gates.

Remembering Alum Dorothy Height

Dorothy Height Distinguished Alumni Awardees

 

Today, NYU Steinhardt has more than 100,000 active alumni worldwide doing remarkable things in their chosen professions. Each year at commencement, the school honors an alum who has achieved distinction in their field with the Dorothy Height Distinguished Alumni Award.

Aysha Schomburg headshot

Aysha E. Schomburg

2026

  • Aysha E. Schomburg (MA ’99, Sociology of Education), President and CEO, Healing New York

2025

  • Alycia Guichard (BS ’01, Media, Culture, and Communication), Emerging Technology Counsel, Verizon Global Services 
Ms. Rachel smiles and waves; she wears a pink shirt and blue overalls.

Rachel Griffin-Accurso

2024

  • Rachel Griffin-Accurso (MA ’16, Teaching Music, All Grades), educator and media personality
  • Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz (PhD ’05, English Education, BA ’90, English Literature), poet, writer, educator, Professor of English Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
  • Philemona Williamson (MA ’79, Studio Art), narrative painter, and educator
A professional photograph of Carmen Fariña.

Carmen Fariña

2023

  • Haley Mellin (PhD ’12, Visual Culture and Education), artist and founder, Art into Acres
  • Tania León (BS ’71, Music Education; MM ’75, Music Composition), composer, conductor, educator, and advisor to arts organizations
  • Carmen Fariña (BS ’65, Childhood Education), educator and former New York City Schools Deputy Chancellor
Professional headshot of Arthur J. Antin

Arthur J. Antin

2022

  • Deborah Jewell-Sherman (BS ’76, Elementary Education), Gregory R. Anrig Professor of Practice in Education Leadership, Harvard Graduate School of Education
  • Nadema Agard (BS ’70, Art Education), visual artist, illustrator, curator, educator, lecturer, storyteller, writer, poet, published author, museum professional, Indigenous rights advocate and consultant in Repatriation and Multicultural/Native American arts and cultures
  • Arthur J. Antin (MA ’73, Community Health Education), educator and co-founder, CA Animal Hospitals
Dr. Tarika Barrett

2021

  • Tarika Barrett (PhD ’10, Teaching and Learning), CEO, Girls Who Code
Portrait of Susan Unterberg

Susan Unterberg

2019

  • Rubén Blades, 2019 NYU Steinhardt Scholar in Residence, actor, activist, lawyer, and politician
  • Di-Ann L. Eisnor (BS ’94, Art), former Director of Waze, Google
  • Susan A. Unterberg (MA ’86, Art Education), artist and philanthropist
Desmond Child in front of a band

Desmond Child, Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Photo by Steven Pisano, Desmond Child at Lincoln Center's "American Songbook". Authored by Peter Matthews. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license via Wikimedia Commons.

2018

  • Mildred García (MA ’77, Business Education), chancellor, The California State University
  • Desmond Child (BS ’76, Music Education), songwriter and record producer
  • Anitta Fox (BA ’42, MA ’47, Occupational Therapy), occupational therapist
Photo of Chad King and Ian Axel sitting in a room decorated with a TV, run, and wall full of framed photos

Chad King (left) and Ian Axel (right)

2017

  • Ian Axel (BM '07, Music Business), singer, songwriter, and member of Great Big World

  • Chad King (BM '07, Music Business), singer, songwriter, and member of Great Big World

  • Julie A. Scelfo (MA '98, Media Ecology), journalist and founder and Executive Director, Mothers Against Media Addiction (MAMA)