It was announced yesterday (January 5) that Hillary Clinton will be joining Columbia University as a professor. However, she’s not the first well-known name to have a stab at teaching. Here are some other celebrities who have taught at universities whilst being famous.
Hillary Clinton will be joining Columbia University as a global affairs professor. It’s undeniable that the ex-secretary of state has plenty of experience in the area, having served for Barack Obama from 2009-2013 before her own bid to become President. But Clinton isn’t the first famous face to take a teaching position at a university.
Hillary Clinton Joins Columbia University As A Professor
Clinton will join the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University on February 1. On the appointment, Lee Bollinger, President of the university said it was “a great delight.”
“Secretary Clinton will be bringing her capacities, experience, and wisdom to this institution. I expect us all to benefit immeasurably from working with her in the months and years ahead.”
More specifically, Clinton will help the university deliver its aim to “educate a new generation of principled policy leaders and generate innovative ideas grounded in research.”
The former First Lady will be able to engage with and teach students from the beginning of the 2023-2024 calendar.
Celebrities Who Have Taught At Universities
Hillary Clinton isn’t the first celebrity professor and it’s guaranteed that she won’t be the last either.
Matthew McConaughey Went Make To His Alma Mater
The first of our celebrity professors is Matthew McConaughey. The Academy Award-winning actor has been a professor at the University of Texas since 2015. He started as a visiting professor, before going full-time in 2019. The university is his alma mater and he teaches Advanced Producing: Script-to-Screen.
Tyra Banks Was The Next Top Celebrity Professor
The model, actress and America’s Next Top Model star has taken her expertise to Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.
Tyra co-taught the course ‘Project You: Building and Extending your Personal Brand,’ in 2018. Tyra is still down as a co-lecturer for the course, though Stanford says that it was last offered in 2020.
Angelina Jolie Become A Professor In Practice At LSE
Next on our list of celebrity professors who taught at universities is Angelina Jolie. Whilst the actress didn’t take on an entire course, she was a visiting professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2018. Angelina gave a seminar to students who studied Women, Peace, and Security, her first being in 2017.
Her last known visit to LSE was in 2019 where she was a Professor in Practice.
Oprah Winfrey Was A Celebrity Professor Of Business
That’s right, Oprah Winfrey is just one of our celebrities who has taught at a university. In the 90s, Oprah taught a class at Kellogg Graduate School of Management. The class, Dynamics of Leadership, was incredibly popular with 110 students in attendance.
However, Oprah and long-time boyfriend Steadman Graham gave up the course in 2001. It is reported that Oprah terminated her teaching post due to the pressures of her talk show and magazine.