From The Editors

One ring of people to rule the world; one issue to find them, one school to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. 

Sure, Duke dropped to No. 10 in the ever-fickle U.S. News & World Report’s college rankings, and yes, it seems like almost anyone associated with power has seen it depreciate in the last year. But our view is that there’s truth in power, and ranging from the fine arts to the corporate world, Dukies certainly have it—and it’s more valuable than ever.

Among our esteemed alumni is Aaron Patzer—Pratt ’05 and creator of Mint.com, which Intuit just bought for $170 million—who checks in with associate editor Caroline McGeough. There’s a group of Duke men who once played puppeteers to Wall Street and presided over Duke’s pursestrings as Trustees, and there are representatives from Washington, D.C., a town swelling with newly minted graduates with public policy degrees, looking to make a difference in the world—and a certain former Duke Basketball player who now serves as President Barack Obama’s right-hand man.

Then we have Trustee Dr. Paul Farmer, Trinity ’82, founder of Partners In Health and inspiration for the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World.” Speaking of print, take Elizabeth Spiers—Trinity ’99, the founding editor of Gawker.com and Dead Horse Media’s Dealbreaker.com—who’s plugging away on a novel herself.

That’s not to forget the bigwigs on campus: those who preside over the Allen Building, those students who dominate the hardwood, others bound for concert circuits or Congress. Duke’s First Lady even takes us inside the mind of the woman who calls Hart House home.

With that, we present Towerview’s inaugural Power Issue. It’s by no means comprehensive, but we pinpoint some of the men and women who, however you feel about their politics or their jumpshot, are important. In these pages, Towerview takes stock of 50 notable alumni, students and administrators, highlighting achievement in their fields. 

And who knows? Maybe you’ll be on there one day, too.