Angelina Jolie, G-Dragon: The most glamorous celebrity professors of all time

Imagine hearing someone say that they were taught by Hilary Clinton — or better yet, imagine that you were the one saying that.

It’s not impossible — after all, in 2023, Clinton joined Columbia University as a Professor of Practice at the School of International and Public Affairs.

There, she taught a Fall 2023 course with political scientist Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo called “Inside the Situation Room.” This course employed insights from diverse academic fields and the direct experience of high-level principals to understand the key factors that underpin a nation’s most crucial decisions.

But if you were one of the unlucky ones to have gotten a seat in the class where Clinton failed to show up, then you might have some doubts about signing up for another course taught by a “celebrity professor,” so to say.

Still, being the literal US Secretary of State (at that time) who has about a million to-dos on her list, thousands of people to see, and hundreds of speeches to give, can you really blame Clinton for missing a class or two? 

Don’t get us wrong — it’s disappointing, that’s for sure.

One student wrote about having to queue alongside 350 people to enter Clinton’s class, which seemed more like a “production” given the journalism folks and secret service personnel lining the halls. Most students only got a chance to ask one question, if any at all, and the class didn’t always steer towards honest conversations about worldly events.

It just didn’t seem like an actual college class.

Of course, celebrity professors aren’t always out to turn your classroom into a publicity stunt — not that we’re accusing Clinton of such.

But there is such a gravitas that comes with being a celebrity in itself that it really puts them at a distance from their students.

The good and bad of celebrity professors

If you’d like a degree in distraction, then perhaps a celebrity professors’ class will do the trick.

Okay, fine, that’s not always the case.

Oprah Winfrey Penn taught “Dynamics of Leadership” at Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management, and it was said to have a real impact on students. Kal Penn taught “Contemporary American Teen Films” at the University of Pennsylvania, and reviews were generally positive; one stating he was “funny as hell!”

And then, there’s James Franco — the actor, filmmaker, and at one point in Hollywood, everyone’s favourite heartthrob.

He taught film classes at University of California Los Angeles, the California Institute of the Arts, and in 2011, a graduate-level film course at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He was known to be a down-to-earth professor who clearly took his role seriously, even if he was a little sleepy at times, and held office hours just like any other.

But at his own acting school — the now closed Studio 4 — James Franco admitted to sleeping with his students only four years after sexual misconduct allegations. It was an abuse of power, landing his sights on bright-eyed female students.

Evidently, there are good and bad to having celebrity professors. 

Regardless, the main concern is how much the school is actually paying these popular figures for the power their name holds instead of their actual qualifications.

Let’s face it: most celebrities don’t actually hold a master’s or a PhD. The money should be invested in educators who will foster long-term impact on the campus, not just babble away about their life stories.

Case in point: David Petraeus. 

When the former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director David Petraeus gained a teaching position at City University of New York (CUNY), the news was not well received.

Petraeus was going to be paid US$200,000 to conduct a weekly three-hour seminar, when other part-time faculty members didn’t even have sustainable wages in the first place. In the end, Petraeus agreed to do the job for US$1.

Ultimately, taking classes taught by celebrity professors is like fighting with a double-edged sword.

For all the flack that celebrities get, to be a widely-known public figure is such a particular experience that can push you to the limits. It’s only right they have plenty of wisdom to impart along the lines. 

However, there are limitations to their lecturing.

Sometimes, the demand for class is too high. It can feel impossible to get a seat, and if you do, the class is unbearably huge. Celebrity professors, with their need to be a thousand places at once, sometimes have to rely on online teaching or pre-recorded videos.

While some genuinely prepare meticulous teaching plans, others begin long-winded tangents about the gravities of their lives, which are unrelatable to an actual student.

So, what does the shiny side of the sword actually reflect?

More than a display of fame

Good professors show up for their students, learn their needs, and build relationships where their opinions feel heard.

As a professor at NYU, Spike Lee never ceases to show up — rumour has it, he has never actually missed a class. Now, he’s only got one review on Rate My Professors, but it does state him being helpful and someone who’s willing to help his students.

He’s served as a mentor to countless graduate film students, and even invited 15 of them to become interns on his project, the Emmy-winning documentary series “When the Levees Broke.”

Class is not meant to be a “production,” as described by the student in Hillary Clinton’s class. But if production means, getting first-hand experience on a film set as a literal film student — that’s where the green light pops up.

But more on Spike Lee later.

There’s a clear distinction between students who’ve had good and bad experiences in classes taught by celebrity professors. But if there’s one thing to remember; these kids are there to learn and build a skill set that will carry them through the real world.

There’s no glamour to it, just students eager to be successful in their own careers.

And for celebrity professors, their objective in the classroom should stand no different to the rest of the faculty.

6 celebrity professors to make your jaw drop

Spike Lee

Director, producer, and screenwriter Spike Lee has over 30 years of experience in the industry. But even more than that, his films contain this gritty exploration of the African American experience — racial stereotypes, political commentary, urban crime, and violence.

Lucky for the students at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Lee is a tenured professor.

In fact, he’s been a part of the Graduate Film Programme since 1993. And to support students through their thesis film productions, he’s raised over US$1 million for the Spike Lee Production Fund.

Maya Angelou

From being a writer, a civil rights activist, a singer, and a dancer, Maya Angelou has done everything.

She put the conversation of diversity in the forefront of her work, tackling the truth of discrimination in written pieces like her autobiography, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”

But before she was Maya Angelou, a legend of an American writer, she worked as many jobs as any — at one point, as a cocktail waitress, and another as a civil rights activist, one who worked with Martin Luther King Jr.

Angelou was also a teacher up until her death.

After speaking at Wake Forest University in 1973, she returned as the Reynolds Professor of American Studies in 1982. She taught many courses in humanities, such as “Race in the Southern Experience.” In 2002, the Maya Angelou Centre for Health Equity was established to study racial disparities in healthcare.

 

Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey’s breakthrough as an actor began with a legendary moment: when his character chanted “alright, alright, alright” in “Dazed and Confused,” a carefree depiction of high schoolers set in the summer of 1976.

Over 20 years later, he’d mimic that same line at the end of his Oscar-winning speech for Best Actor in 2014 for “Dallas Buyers Club.” Between the years, and those two movies, McConaughey has shown that his range is limitless.

Since graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in 1993, the actor has returned to his alma mater numerous times to impart a piece of his talent and experience. He’s been a visiting professor since 2015, then in 2019 joined the Moody College of Communication faculty in the Department of Radio-Television-Films. 

 

Amal Clooney

The public spotlight really shone on Amal Clooney when she married her Hollywood actor husband George Clooney.

But Amal, without the husband, the high profile, and the lavish gowns, is a fiery torch on her own — a well-established lawyer, a barrister who specialises in international law and human rights. Her work centres the marginalised groups and individuals; including victims of mass atrocities and sexual violence.

And Columbia University’s Law School gets first-hand insight into the brains of one of the most acclaimed international human rights lawyers.

Amal is an adjunct faculty at Columbia Law’s Human Rights Institute, and specialises in areas like International and Comparative Law, Litigation and Dispute Resolution, and Social Justice and Human Rights.

 

 

G-Dragon

Undoubtedly one of the most recognisable names in Korean music, G-Dragon’s worn many hats — literally and figuratively.

He’s the leader of one of K-pop’s most dominant boy groups, Big Bang, and was named the “King of K-pop” through his solo works. Beyond his roles as a rapper, singer-songwriter, and producer, he’s also a fashion designer who dons an eclectic clothing style through the airport.

There’s one that no one saw coming.

In 2024, he was named a visiting professor in the mechanical engineering department at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science of Technology (KAIST) and appointed their global ambassador. His term will last until 2026, and he’s scheduled to give lectures on leadership to undergraduate and graduate students. 

Angelina Jolie

It’d be surprising if people didn’t at least know Angelina Jolie’s face and name, as opposed to if they did.

She’s literally Maleficent.

No, but seriously, with a catalogue that spans decades — works like “Salt,” “Lara Croft,” and “Girl, Interrupted,” all portraying strong female characters — she’s cemented herself as the Hollywood icon. She’s also a film director with stories like “Unbroken,” a biographical movie on World War II, in her creative pocket.

As if that’s not enough, she’s an activist too.

Jolie has dedicated her time and life to causes like women’s rights and refugee support. As such, in 2018, she was a visiting professor in practice at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and gave a seminar in the master’s course, “Women, Peace, and Security.”