College of Staten Island

1. Walter L. Willig, 1955–1968,[2] was the inaugural President of College of Staten Island predecessor institution Staten Island Community College (SICC). His academic area of expertise was civil engineering.
2. Herbert Schueler, 1966–1973,[2] was the first President of College of Staten Island predecessor institution Richmond College. His academic specialties were German literature and philosophy.
3. William M. Birenbaum, 1968–1976,[2] served as President of College of Staten Island predecessor institution Staten Island Community College (SICC) until the merger of SICC and Richmond College in 1976, which resulted in the formation of the College of Staten Island. His academic focus was access to higher education for all.
4. Edmond Volpe, 1976–1994,[2] an American literature scholar, retired in 1994, after having successfully handled the merger of the two colleges and the unification of the two campuses.
5. Marlene Springer, 1994–2007,[2] an English and American literature scholar, under whose leadership the College improved academic standards, introduced several master's programs, raised the level of the faculty, added research institutes, and introduced an Honors College, The Verrazano School, and the CSI High School for International Studies, retired in August 2007
6. Tomás D. Morales, 2007–2012;[2] arranged for a free shuttle from the Staten Island Ferry to the Willowbrook campus; announced in May 2012 that he would be leaving to become president of California State University at San Bernardino some months after the faculty senate passed a motion of no confidence[3][4][5]
7. William J. Fritz, geologist, appointed interim president on August 15, 2012 and as President on May 6, 2014[6][7]

CSI has more than 80 science labs which includes the Center for Developmental Neuroscience and The CUNY Interdisciplinary High-Performance Computing Center (HPCC).[8] HPPC is made to advance the University's educational and research mission by providing advanced high-performance computing technology resources and corresponding technical assistance to faculty and students.[9] It is one of the most powerful supercomputers in the region.[8]

As of the 2016 school year, U.S. News & World Report has ranked The College of Staten Island between 146th and 187th in their Best Regional Universities in the North category, and tied for 118th in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs that do not offer a doctorate, yet the college is unranked nationally.[12] For 2018, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings has placed The College of Staten Island between 601st and 800th in their US University Rankings category,[13] while Forbes ranks the college 451st nationally, 152nd in their Public Colleges category, and 164th in the Northeast.[14] Furthermore, Forbes ranks the college 111th in their America's Best Value Colleges. The college is also very research oriented and the High Impact Universities Research Performance Index (RPI) grades CSI with a B for its research performance.[15] Furthermore, the College is ranked 37th nationally in the 2017 SMI Ranking which measures the upward economic mobility.[16]

• Nancy Bogen, professor of English, producer of mixed media combining photography, poetry and music
• Patricia J. Brooks, professor of psychology, director of the Language Learning Laboratory
• Jean Halley, professor of sociology, focusing on issues of social power
• Tyehimba Jess, professor of English, recipient of 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry[19]
• Sarah Schulman, CUNY distinguished professor of the Humanities, novelist, playwright, nonfiction writer, screenwriter and AIDS historian[20]
• Patricia Smith, professor of English, winner of the 2018 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work -- Poetry[21]
• Charles Liu, professor of Astrophysics, former director of the Verrazano School and of the William E. Macaulay Honors College at CSI[22]
• Cate Marvin, professor of English, writer of poetry and recipient of 2015 Guggenheim Fellowship

• Farooque Ahmed, imprisoned for planning to bomb Washington Metro stations
• Joanne Bland, civil rights activist in Alabama
• Justin Brannan, New York City Council since 2018, representing Brooklyn; former musician[23][24]
• Sara M. Gonzalez, New York City Council 2002–2014, representing Brooklyn
• Vinny Guadagnino, American reality television personality, best known for MTV's Jersey Shore
• Muriel A. Howard, president of Buffalo State College 1996–2009
• Raj Amit Kumar, filmmaker and writer, best known for Unfreedom which is banned in India
• Jeremy Luke, film and television actor
• Bahman Maghsoudlou, filmmaker and film historian, CSI Alumni Hall of Fame
• Michael Mulgrew, fifth President of the United Federation of Teachers[25]
• Joe Rigby, jazz saxophonist, NYC music teacher of the year 1996
• Gene Simmons, co-lead singer and bassist from the band Kiss[26]
• Kevin Sussman, actor in The Big Bang Theory.[26]