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Hometown: Fergus Falls, Minnesota 
NDSU Degrees: BS ’80, MS ’82 Agricultural Economics 

From Fergus Falls to Fannie Mae, Doug Duncan ’80, ’82 represents the bright future that an NDSU education helps make attainable — and the importance of staying connected to your roots. 

After growing up on a dairy farm near Fergus Falls, Minnesota, earning an associate degree in Fergus Falls, and spending four years in the US Navy, Doug decided to make the move to NDSU for his next degrees. 

Working two part-time jobs to put himself and his wife through college while raising two boys fostered in him a sense of focus and helped him build the confidence that would take him through the next chapters of his education and career. 

Doug’s experience at NDSU taught him he could accomplish more than he expected of himself, and he is quick to acknowledge the support he received from his mentors. 

“To this day, the things I learned from people like Don Scott, Larry Mack, Bill Gerdes, Thor Hertsgaard, Bill Wilson, and other faculty have had the most impact on my future success,” Doug said. 

After roles at the United State Department of Agriculture and Mortgage Bankers Association, Doug went to work in 2008 as the senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae, where he was responsible for forecasts and analyses of the economy and the housing and mortgage markets. In December 2024, he retired from his most recent role at Fannie Mae: executive advisor and senior vice president. 

Under Doug’s leadership, Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research (ESR) Group earned the 2022 Lawrence R. Klein Award for Blue Chip Forecast Accuracy, recognizing their industry-leading work over a four-year period.  

In both 2015 and 2016, Doug and the ESR Group won the NABE Outlook Award, presented annually for the most accurate GDP and Treasury note yield forecasts, becoming the first recipient in the award’s history to capture the honor two years in a row. He was also involved in research that led to a restructuring of the Home Affordable Refinancing Program during the Great Financial Crisis which saved the homes of hundreds of thousands of families.  

Among other honors, Doug has been named one of Bloomberg/BusinessWeek’s 50 Most Powerful People in Real Estate as well as Inman News’ 100 Most Influential People in Real Estate. His experience also includes work on the Financial Institutions Project at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and service as a LEGIS Fellow and staff member with the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs for Congressman Bill McCollum in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

Throughout his career, Doug’s connection to his North Dakota alma mater remains strong. He has guided and mentored students as an executive-in-residence for the NDSU Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics, given seminars to faculty, and assisted with industry networking. 

“He continues to be a great asset to our students, the University, and the nation,” William Nganje, chair and professor in the NDSU Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics and one of Doug’s nominators, shared. 

In 2018, Doug was the NDSU College of Agriculture Alumni of the Year. He has served as an NDSU Foundation Trustee since 2022 on the Finance and Investment Committees. 

“I am greatly honored and surprised to be honored in this way,” Doug said of receiving the NDSU Foundation Alumni Achievement Award. “There are so many NDSU grads who have accomplished so much that I am just happy to be considered as among them.”