Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Two KU alumnae have topped the list of Forbes Magazine’s 100 Most Powerful Women in the World, finding themselves among an international hodgepodge of chief executives, presidents and queens.
Sheila Bair, chair of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, placed second on the list, which was released in August. Bair grew up in Independence, Kan., and graduated from the University with a degree in philosophy in 1978 and a J.D. from the School of Law in 1982. She has served as chair of the FDIC since June 2006.
Contributed photo. Sheila Bair is the chair of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. She placed second on the list of Forbes Magazine's 100 Most Powerful Women in the World.
Photo courtsey of VisMedia. Cynthia Carroll is the Chief Executive Officer of Anglo American, based in London. She placed fourth on the list of Forbes Magazine's 100 Most Powerful Women in the World.
Cynthia Carroll, who placed fourth on the list, earned her Masters of Science in geology in 1982 and is the Chief Executive Officer of Anglo American, based in London. The company is one of the largest independent mining corporations in the world.
Forbes, a biweekly business magazine, is famous for its lists, which have included “400 Richest Americans,” “Celebrity 100” and “America’s Best Colleges.” According to the Forbes Web site, the list is determined by two scoring components: a woman’s press visibility and the size of the country or company she runs.
Other women on the list include German chancellor Angela Merkel, 1st, Hillary Clinton, 36th, Michelle Obama, 40th, Oprah Winfrey, 41st and Kathleen Sebelius, who is also a KU graduate, 57th.
Shannon Fisher, Lawrence first-year law student, was inspired by finding herself at the school Bair graduated from 31 years ago.
“It’s really enabling to know that someone who’s gone through the same programs that I’ve been going through right now has been able to reach such a high level,” she said.
Rhonda LeValdo, KU graduate from the School of Journalism, was nominated for the KU Women of Distinction Calendar in 2009 for a Pulitzer Center video she produced of her grandmother, who lives in Acoma Pueblo, N.M., one of the oldest continuously-occupied settlements in the United States. LeValdo said she recognized the potential influence a powerful woman could have on others.
“I think it’s important to show female students what is possible when you put your mind to work,” LeValdo said. “Also, I think it gives students an idea of what they can achieve if they are doubting themselves.”
Fisher said that Forbes’ list was a good example of the improving status of women, but that inequality between men and women was still a problem.
“It’s not shattered yet, I don’t think,” she said about the notion of the glass ceiling. “I’m sure these KU alumni that have reached high heights have had to sacrifice a lot that maybe their male counterparts haven’t had to.”
KUJH interviewed Carroll after she placed fifth on the 2008 Forbes list. She had two pieces of advice for KU students: The first was to learn another language and the second was to study and focus while in school.
“Really follow your heart — what you want to do, what really turns you on,” she said in the interview.
— — Edited by Jacob Muselmann
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