16 Notable alumni of Hollins University
Updated: June 12, 2026 EliteDegrees
Hollins University is ranked #3,508 in the world and #920 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 16 notable alumni from Hollins University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Hollins University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Pamela J. H. Slutz
1949-. (aged 77)
diplomat
Pamela Jo Howell Slutz was a career member of the United States Foreign Service who served as U.S. Ambassador to Burundi, and as U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia. Over the course of her career, she has also served in various diplomatic posts in Kenya, Taiwan, Indonesia, and China. She was the recipient of two U.S. Department of State Superior Honor Awards...
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2. Helen Pickett
choreographer
workshop leader
Helen Pickett is an American choreographer for stage and film, and has been described as “one of the few prominent women in ballet today”. She earned her Masters of Fine Arts in Dance from Hollins University in 2011.
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3. Cathryn Hankla
1958-. (aged 68)
novelist
poet
writer
Cathryn Hankla (born March 20, 1958) is an American poet, novelist, essayist and author of short stories. She is professor emerita of English and Creative Writing at Hollins University in Hollins, Virginia, and served as inaugural director of Hollins' Jackson Center for Creative Writing Archived 2022-01-05 at the Wayback Machine from 2008 to 2012.
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4. Katy Pyle
performing artist
Katy Pyle is an American ballet dancer and choreographer. They are the founder and artistic director of Ballez.
5. Garrett Epps
1950-. (aged 76)
writer
novelist
journalist
university teacher
Garrett Epps is an American legal scholar, novelist, and journalist. He was a professor of law at the University of Baltimore until his retirement in June 2020; previously he was the Orlando J. and Marian H. Hollis Professor of Law at the University of Oregon where he returned after his retirement from the University of Baltimore.
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6. Richard McCann
1949-2021 (aged 72)
university teacher
poet
writer
Richard John McCann was an American writer of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. He lived in Washington, D.C., where he was a longtime professor in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at American University.
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7. Heather Fitzenhagen
1960-. (aged 66)
politician
Heather Dawes Fitzenhagen is a Republican politician from Florida. She represented the 78th District, encompassing Fort Myers, in the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 to 2020.
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8. Jennifer Boysko
1966-. (aged 60)
politician
Jennifer Barton Boysko is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia. She represents the 38th district in the Virginia Senate. Previously, she represented the 86th district in the Virginia House of Delegates, which is located in Fairfax and Loudoun counties. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
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9. Dorothy Dix
1861-1951 (aged 90)
newspaperperson
writer
journalist
Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer, widely known by the pen name Dorothy Dix, was an American journalist and columnist. As the forerunner of today's popular advice columnists, Dix was America's highest paid and most widely read female journalist at the time of her death. Her advice on marriage was syndicated in newspapers around the world. With an estimated audience of 60 million...
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10. Ann Compton
1947-. (aged 79)
journalist
reporter
Ann Compton is an American retired news reporter and White House correspondent for ABC News Radio.
11. Lyda Hill
1942-. (aged 84)
philanthropist
nurse
Lyda Hill is an American investor and philanthropist. She is a member of the Hunt family.
12. Annie Dillard
1945-. (aged 81)
essayist
university teacher
novelist
writer
poet
Annie Dillard is an American author, best known for her narrative prose in both fiction and nonfiction. She has published works of poetry, essays, prose, and literary criticism, as well as two novels and one memoir. Her 1974 book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek won the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. From 1980, Dillard taught for 21 years in the...
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13. Natasha Trethewey
1966-. (aged 60)
poet
writer
Natasha Trethewey is an American poet who served as United States Poet Laureate from 2012 to 2014. She won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for her 2006 collection Native Guard, and is a former Poet Laureate of Mississippi.
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14. Lottie Moon
1840-1912 (aged 72)
missionary
Charlotte Digges "Lottie" Moon was an American Southern Baptist missionary to China with the Foreign Mission Board who spent nearly 40 years (1873–1912) living and working in China. As a teacher and evangelist she laid a foundation for traditionally solid support for missions among Southern Baptists, especially through its Woman's Missionary Union.
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15. Donna Richardson
1957-. (aged 69)
writer
Donna Richardson Joyner is an American fitness and aerobics instructor, author and ESPN television sports commentator. Widely known for her series of fitness videos, she was appointed in 2006 by President George W. Bush to serve on the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. She also produces and hosts Donna Richardson: Mind, Body, & Spirit, which airs on TV...
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16. Mary K. Gaillard
1939-2025 (aged 86)
physicist
university teacher
Mary Katharine Gaillard was an American theoretical physicist, known for her work in particle physics. She was a professor of the graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley, a member of the Berkeley Center for Theoretical Physics, and visiting scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She was Berkeley's first tenured female physicist.
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