The following is a list of individuals associated with Hollins University through attending as a student, or serving as a member of the faculty or staff.
Notable alumni
Activism
- Ellen Malcolm, Founder of EMILY's List, 1969 [1]
Arts
- Nancy Bryan Faircloth, philanthropist and arts patron, chairwoman of the North Carolina Symphony Guild
- Haruki Fujimoto, dancer, choreographer, Broadway performer, and teacher at Hollins for 20 years.
- Gaspard Louis, dancer, choreographer
- Sally Mann, photographer and writer, shortlisted for 2015 National Book Award, 1974, M.A. 1975 [1]
- Katy Pyle, dancer and choreographer, artistic director of Ballez, B.A. 2002
Authors [2]
- Madison Smartt Bell, author of Ten Indians, M.A. 1981
- Jenny Boully, author of five books, professor of creative writing and literature at Bennington College, 1998, M.A. 1999
- Margaret Wise Brown, author of Goodnight Moon, 1932
- Amanda Cockrell, children's book author, 1969, M.A. 1988
- Kiran Desai, author and recipient of the Man Booker Prize in 2006, M.A. 1994 [1]
- Tony D'Souza, author of Whiteman, M.A. 1998
- Cathryn Hankla, American poet, 1980, M.A. 1982
- Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, author of A Woman Of Independent Means, 1960
- Tama Janowitz, American author, M.A. 1979, commonly grouped with 1980s Brat Pack (literary)
- Jill McCorkle, author, 1981
- Candice F. Ransom, author of children's books
- Ethel Morgan Smith, author of From Whence Cometh My Help: The African American Community at Hollins College, 1999
- Lee Smith, author and winner of many awards including the Southern Book Critics Circle Award and two O. Henry Awards, 1967 [1]
- Edna Henry Lee Turpin, American author of children's books, ALND 1887
- Beth Macy, author, whose book Factory Man was a New York Times best seller and optioned by Playtone for an HBO mini series, M.A. 1998
Government and Public Service
- Jennifer Boysko, member of the Virginia House of Delegates, 1989
- Betsy B. Carr, member of the Virginia House of Delegates, 1968 [1]
- Pamela Jo Howell Slutz, career diplomat and former U.S. Ambassador to Burundi and Mongolia, 1970
Higher Education
- Linda Koch Lorimer, president, Randolph-Macon Woman’s College; vice president for global and strategic initiatives, Yale University, 1974
Journalism
- Ann Compton, ABC News White House correspondent, 1969
- Mary Garber, first woman sportswriter in the Atlantic Coast Conference, 1938
- Ruth Hale, journalist, feminist, and founder of the Lucy Stone League
Law
- Callie V. Granade, district judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, 1972
Media and entertainment
- Jennifer Berman, sexual health expert, urologist, and female sexual medicine specialist
- George Butler, documentary filmmaker and writer, M.A. 1968
- Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, owner and CEO of the Gotham Group, dubbed one of Hollywood's Most Powerful Women, 1984
- Donna Richardson, fitness and aerobics instructor, author and television sports commentator, ALND 1984
- Eleanor D. Wilson, actress and Tony Award nominee, 1930
Pulitzer Prize Winners
- Mary Wells Ashworth, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian, 1924
- Annie Dillard, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer, 1967, M.A. 1968 [1]
- Henry S. Taylor, Pulitzer Prize–winning poet, M.A. 1966
- Natasha Trethewey, American poet, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 2007, United States Poet Laureate, M.A. 1991 [1]
Science and Medicine
- Jennifer Berman, pioneer in the field of female urology and female sexual medicine, 1986
- Mary E. Hatten, Frederick P. Rose Professor and head of Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology, Rockefeller University, 1971
Sports
- Carol Semple Thompson, amateur golf champion, elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame, 1970 [1]
- Charlotte Fox, first woman to have climbed three of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks, 1979