Three KU graduates are among the world’s 100 most powerful women, according to the most recent issue of Forbes magazine.

Sheila Bair, chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, is No. 2 on the list. Bair is a native of Independence and earned a bachelor’s in philosophy in 1975 and a law degree in 1978, both from KU. She was sworn in as chair of the FDIC in June 2006, having previously served on the organization’s Advisory Committee on Banking Policy.

“As banks continue to fail, Bair must continue to show the fortitude that has helped her lead an institution that is suddenly an actor in this global drama,” the Forbes article says.

Ranked fifth is Cynthia Carroll, chief executive of Anglo American, one of the world’s largest independent mining companies. She was recently appointed to the board of BP. Carroll earned a master’s degree in geology at KU in 1982 before earning a master’s of business administration at Harvard University. Last year, she ranked seventh on the Forbes list.

Linda Zarda Cook, a Shawnee native who earned a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from KU in 1980, ranks 43rd. Now the executive director of gas and power for Royal Dutch Shell, Cook is in the running to become CEO of the company in 2009, which would make her the first woman to lead an international oil company. She ranked 44th on the Forbes list last year.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel tops the list, which is available at the Forbes Web site.