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Concerning his memories of Rice, Duncan said, "I remember quite vividly my freshman year at Rice. I had a reasonably good but not spectacular high school preparation, and it was very, very hard."

While at Rice, Duncan joined the Engineering Society and the US Army Air Force. His education was interrupted when he was called into active service during World War II. He finally graduated with a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering in 1947. Duncan found work immediately after graduation as a chemical engineer for Humble Oil and Refining Company (which is now Exxon). But his chemical engineering days ended in 1959 when he became president of Duncan Foods, a company founded by his uncle, Herschel Duncan. In 1964, Duncan Foods merged with Coca-Cola, and Duncan joined Coca-Cola's board of directors. As Duncan's status with the Coca-Cola company continued to rise, he started to dedicate some of his time to Rice.

In 1965, George R. Brown and Malcolm Lovett asked Duncan to join the Rice Board of Governors, and in 1975 he became trustee and vice chair of the Trustees of the Rice Board. Duncan later became president of the Coca-Cola Company in 1977. That same year, President Jimmy Carter asked Duncan to be his Secretary of Defense. Duncan accepted. Carter and Duncan had met in 1970 when Carter was still the Governor of Georgia.

In 1979, Duncan was appointed Secretary of the Department of Energy. In 1979, he was given the gold medal for Distinguished Service by the Association of Rice Alumni, and Duncan continued to serve on the Rice Board of Governors and Trustees of the Board until he retired in 1996.

This item appeared in the Features section of the October 10, 1997 issue.