Columbia University alumni

Henri François Simonet (10 May 1931 – 15 February 1996) was a Belgian politician.Born in Brussels, Henri Simonet studied law and economics at the ULB and then went to Columbia University as CRB Graduate Fellow. Simonet began his political life as a member of the Socialist Party (PS). He served as mayor of Anderlecht between 1966 and 1984, succeeding the long-serving Joseph Bracops. Like Bracops, Simonet dominated the local political scene to such an extent that the ambitious Philippe Moureaux moved to neighbouring Molenbeek-Saint-Jean to pursue a career there. In 1985 Simonet left the Socialists to join the Liberal Reformist Party (PRL) where he espoused increasingly atlanticist positions.
As mayor of Anderlecht, Simonet presided over considerable changes to what had been a largely industrial and working class community, attracting new development in the form of the Erasmus Hospital, a teaching hospital tied to the ULB on whose administrative council Simonet served.
Christian D'Hoogh succeeded Simonet as mayor of Anderlecht.
Simonet served as vice-chairman of the European Commission from 1973 to 1977 and as Minister for Regional Economic Development in 1978 and 1979.
On the national plan, Simonet served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and before as Minister of Economics Affairs.
His son Jacques Simonet, who made his political career in the liberal Liberal Reformist Party, served twice as Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region (1999-2000; 2004) and as mayor of Anderlecht from 2000 until his death in 2007.
They are buried together in the cemetery of Anderlecht

X. J. Kennedy (born Joseph Charles Kennedy on August 21, 1929, in Dover, New Jersey) is an American poet, translator, anthologist, editor, and author of children's literature and textbooks on English literature and poetry. He was long known as Joe Kennedy; but, wishing to distinguish himself from Joseph P. Kennedy, he added an "X" as his first initial.

Ulysses Simpson Kay (January 7, 1917 in Tucson, Arizona – May 20, 1995 in Englewood, New Jersey) was an American composer. His music is mostly neoclassical in style.

Claudia Miriam Gonson (born April 5, 1968) is an American musician best known for her work with The Magnetic Fields. She often provides the band lead vocals as well as performing the piano or drums. She is also the band's manager.
Gonson met Stephin Merritt in high school in the early 1980s, and the pair have worked together ever since.
While in high school at Concord Academy, Gonson performed in her first band, the Zinnias, in which Merritt wrote or co-wrote most of the band's material with John Gage. The band broke up when Gonson left to attend Columbia University. Gonson later returned to the Boston area to attend Harvard University, and joined the group Lazy Susan, which also included Therese Bellino and Shirley Simms.She has since performed on many of Merritt's albums, including the critically acclaimed 1999 album 69 Love Songs, and frequently appears with him live as part of the usual quartet that constitutes The Magnetic Fields.
Gonson has been Merritt's longtime manager. She appears extensively in Strange Powers, the 2009 documentary by Kerthy Fix and Gail O'Hara about Merritt and The Magnetic Fields.
As well as her work with Merritt, Gonson also plays drums in the band Tender Trap. She has written and performed her own music with Shirley Simms, Michael Hearst, Tanya Donelly and Rick Moody. She has also played drums in Providence, Rhode Island-based band Honeybunch and performs as the lead vocalist in Merritt's Future Bible Heroes project. She sang on Neil Gaiman's song "Bloody Sunrise".In an interview with The Advocate, Gonson remarked:
"When we started Magnetic Fields we purposely had one lesbian, one gay guy, one straight woman, and one straight man. The audience could identify with whomever they wanted."In that interview, Gonson noted that she feels that Merritt's songs are predominantly about "Loneliness, isolation, and the need to be recognized by another person." She believes that if homophobia were not so prevalent, these experiences "would be less rampant instead of being so associated with the gay personality." Gonson believes that many LGBT youth have listened to The Magnetic Fields for "words of wisdom".
In 2010, Gonson gave birth to her daughter Eve.

Beatrice Joan Caulfield (June 1, 1922 – June 18, 1991) was an American actress and model. After being discovered by Broadway producers, she began a stage career in 1943 that eventually led to signing as an actress with Paramount Pictures. In the opinion of Ephraim Katz in The Film Encyclopedia, published in 1979, "For several years she was among Paramount's top stars, radiating delicate femininity and demure beauty."