Rebecca Blank
Rebecca Margaret Blank[1] (September 19, 1955 – February 17, 2023) was an American economist and academic administrator. She was chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 2013 to 2022. She served in several senior roles in the United States Department of Commerce during the presidency of Barack Obama, including more than a year as acting United States Secretary of Commerce.
Rebecca Blank | |
|---|---|
Blank in 2009 | |
| Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison | |
| In office July 22, 2013 – June 1, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | David Ward |
| Succeeded by | John Scholz (acting) Jennifer Mnookin |
| United States Secretary of Commerce | |
Acting | |
| In office June 11, 2012 – June 1, 2013 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | John Bryson |
| Succeeded by | Cameron Kerry (acting) |
| In office August 1, 2011 – October 21, 2011 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Gary Locke |
| Succeeded by | John Bryson |
| United States Deputy Secretary of Commerce | |
| In office November 18, 2010 – June 1, 2013 Acting: November 18, 2010 – March 29, 2012 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Dennis Hightower |
| Succeeded by | Bruce H. Andrews |
| Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs | |
| In office June 9, 2009 – March 29, 2012 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Cynthia Glassman |
| Succeeded by | Mark Doms |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rebecca Margaret Blank September 19, 1955 Columbia, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | February 17, 2023 (aged 67) near Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Hanns Kuttner |
| Education | University of Minnesota (BA) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA, PhD) |
Early life and education
Blank was born on September 19, 1955.[2] A native of Missouri, Blank graduated summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota with a degree in economics and earned a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[3]
Career
Blank was the Robert S. Kerr Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and Dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. From 1997 to 1999, Blank was a member of Council of Economic Advisers in the 1990s during the Clinton Administration, participating in White House decision-making on economic, social and regulatory policy issues.[4]
Blank was a professor of economics at Northwestern University and director of the University of Chicago–Northwestern University Joint Center for Poverty Research. She also taught at Princeton University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[3]
Department of Commerce
During the Obama Administration, Blank joined the Commerce Department in June 2009 as Secretary Gary Locke's principal economic advisor in her role as Under Secretary for Economic Affairs and head of the Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA). ESA oversees the two premier statistical agencies in the United States, the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. She also served as Locke's appointed Board Representative to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation.[4]
During her service at ESA, Blank played an important role overseeing a decennial Census operation which was both timely and under budget – netting $1.6 billion in 2010 savings. Within ESA, she supervised a staff of economists and policy analysts who produce a wide variety of reports and forecasts that help develop and assess domestic and international policy.[4]
On November 18, 2010, United States Department of Commerce announced that Rebecca Blank would become its Acting Deputy Secretary. In that role, she focused on matters of management and policy for the department's 12 bureaus, functioning as Commerce's chief operating officer.[5] Her management roles were overseeing nearly 45,000 employees and also a $10 billion budget.[6]
In late 2011, President Obama nominated Blank to be Deputy Secretary of Commerce. The United States Senate confirmed her to the post on March 29, 2012, by unanimous consent.[7]
Blank became the Acting Secretary of Commerce for the first time on August 1, 2011, after Gary Locke became U.S. Ambassador to China.[8] President Obama nominated John Bryson and on October 21, 2011, he became the 37th Secretary of Commerce. At the same time, Blank was designated the Acting Deputy Secretary of Commerce.[9]
Blank was designated Acting Secretary of Commerce a second time on June 11, 2012. Incumbent Secretary John Bryson took a medical leave of absence following his citation on felony hit-and-run charges. He transferred his powers to Blank for an undetermined length of time.[10] A Department of Commerce spokesperson said he had suffered a seizure.[11]
On March 18, 2013, Blank announced that she was leaving the Obama administration to become chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Following her resignation, Cameron Kerry was designated as Acting Secretary of Commerce, pending the Senate confirmation of Penny Pritzker.[12]
University of Wisconsin – Madison
It was announced on February 21, 2013, that Blank was one of four finalists for the position of Chancellor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[13] A special committee of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents recommended her for the position on March 18, and she announced that she would accept the position the same day. The full Board of Regents unanimously confirmed Blank as chancellor on April 5, and she began as chancellor on July 22.[14][15] Blank was previously a finalist for the position in 2008, when Carolyn "Biddy" Martin was selected as Chancellor.[16]
Throughout her time as Chancellor, Blank had to contend with an in-state undergraduate tuition freeze, in addition to hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to state funding.[17] She additionally worked to minimize faculty departures following the removal of statutory tenure protections by the Republican-controlled state legislature[17] as well as legislation shifting away power from a long established faculty/student shared governance arrangement to the politically-appointed Board of Regents.[17] Blank was able to implement full-tuition scholarship programs for Wisconsin students whose families earn less than $60,000 annually, and presided over substantial increases in both the size of the Freshman class and the 4-6 year graduation rates for undergraduate students.[17]
Blank engaged in a number of efforts to highlight the history of marginalized populations at the university, including the establishment of a Public History Project and efforts to acknowledge the Ho-Chunk Nation, on whose ancestral land the UW-Madison campus sits,[18] as well as the presence of Divine Nine fraternities and sororities on campus.[19] Despite record increases in student body and faculty diversity, Blank came under criticism from student activists for the perceived efficacy of these changes on campus climate, as well as her responsiveness to calls for the removal of a statute of Abraham Lincoln because of his role in the genocide of indigenous populations.[20] She also faced criticism for the removal of a campus landmark that had been historically referred to by a racial epithet,[21] as well as the renaming of the university's Frederic March Play Circle because of its namesake's brief membership in the Ku Klux Klan as an undergraduate, an association he had disavowed as an adult.[22] Blank defended both moves in a New York Times opinion letter, written in response to conservative linguist John McWhorter, arguing that "Universities are not static places; they live and breathe, grow and change and reinvent themselves with new energy and approaches every fall, as new students arrive . . . if we do not acknowledge both the good and the bad parts of our history, we cannot construct a better present for current students, or future for the next generation."[23]
She completed a $4 billion fundraising campaign called "All Ways Forward", the largest in school history,[17] and set in motion long delayed campus building projects that have included a new academic home for the College of Letters & Science,[24] a new School of Music performance center,[25] and a home for the newly established School of Computer, Data, and Information Sciences.[26] However, Blank was unable to secure borrowing ability for UW-Madison, something its peer institutions are able to do.[17] She was also unable to secure a pledge of $100 million by Foxconn to provide funding for a new research building at the College of Engineering.[27] Foxconn had previously agreed to such a pledge as part of its proposed $10 billion investment in manufacturing in Wisconsin, which they have since reduced significantly, and without an agreed upon schedule of payments to UW-Madison.[27]
In January 2023, it was announced that the Public History Project, a limited initiative which had been championed by Blank to investigate the university’s history of bigotry and exclusion, would be made permanent and renamed the Rebecca M. Blank Center for Campus History.[28]
Northwestern University
It was announced on October 11, 2021, that Blank would become the next president of Northwestern University.[29] Blank was to succeed Morton Schapiro in the summer of 2022. Jennifer Mnookin, dean of the UCLA School of Law, was selected to replace Blank as UW chancellor.[30]
However, on July 11, 2022, Blank announced in a message to the Northwestern community that she had "an aggressive form of cancer"[31] and would be unable to serve in her new role as planned.[32] Former UCLA and University of Chicago Law dean Michael H. Schill, then serving as president of the University of Oregon, ultimately became Northwestern's next president.[33]
Death
After a seven-month battle with cancer, Blank died on February 17, 2023, near Madison.[34][35]
Publications
Blank wrote extensively on the interaction between the macro economy, the labor market, government social policy programs, and the behavior and well-being of low-income families. In addition to publishing numerous books, including It Takes A Nation: A New Agenda for Fighting Poverty (Princeton University Press, 1997), which won the Richard A. Lester Award for the Outstanding Book in Labor Economics and Industrial Relations,[36] she authored almost 100 scholarly articles.[34] Her other notable works include Changing Inequality (University of California Press, 2011), Insufficient Funds: Savings, Assets, Credit, and Banking Among Low-Income Families (jointly written with Michael Barr, Russell Sage Press, 2009), and Is the Market Moral? (co-authored with William McGurn, Brookings Press, 2004).[37]
References
- ^ "S.Hrg. 111-429 — NOMINATIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, AND THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE". www.congress.gov. from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
- ^ . Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
- ^ a b "Rebecca Blank's Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on September 5, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
- ^ a b c Commerce. "Rebecca M. Blank". Department of Commerce Official Biography. from the original on July 1, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
- ^ Commerce. "Commerce Department Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Rebecca Blank Named Acting Deputy Secretary". Department of Commerce Press Releases. from the original on September 10, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
- ^ "Rebecca M. Blank | The Hamilton Project". www.hamiltonproject.org. from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- ^ "Becky Blank confirmed as Under Secretary for Economic Affairs". The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. May 26, 2009. from the original on June 18, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- ^ Department of Commerce. "Secretary Locke Resigns, Becomes Next Ambassador to China; Acting Deputy Secretary Blank Assumes Role of Acting Secretary". Department of Commerce blog. from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
- ^ "Press Release, John Bryson Sworn In as 37th Secretary of Commerce" (Press release). October 21, 2011. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017.
- ^ "White House: Bryson to take medical leave". USA Today. June 11, 2012. from the original on June 12, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- ^ "Commerce agency: Secretary John Bryson had seizure linked to crashes". The Los Angeles Times. June 11, 2012. from the original on June 11, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- ^ "John Kerry's brother, Cameron, to be acting Commerce secretary". Los Angeles Times. May 14, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
- ^ "Regents panel recommends Rebecca Blank as next UW-Madison chancellor". University of Wisconsin-Madison. from the original on March 21, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
- ^ "Regents confirm Rebecca Blank as next UW-Madison chancellor" February 18, 2023, at the Wayback Machine The Daily Cardinal. April 5, 2013.
- ^ "Blank reaches out on first day as chancellor" July 26, 2013, at the Wayback Machine University of Wisconsin. July 26, 2013.
- ^ "Scott Walker says Rebecca Blank is a great pick for UW-Madison chancellor". The Capital Times. March 18, 2013. from the original on February 22, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "UW-Madison chancellor headed to Northwestern in 2022". Wisconsin State Journal. from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
- ^ "UW–Madison heritage marker honors Ho-Chunk, recognizes land as ancestral home".
- ^ "Divine Nine plaza dedicated".
- ^ "BIPOC Student Colation expresses disappointment in Chancellor Blank's dismissal od demands". The Badger Herald. from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
- ^ "Five things to know about NU President-elect Rebecca Blank". The Daily Northwestern. from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
- ^ "Eminent Historians Fault UWO on name change, say Fredric March was no racist but a civil rights superstar". Oshkosh Examiner. from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
- ^ "The University of Wisconsin, Race and History".
- ^ "UW-Madison unveils new L&S Building as Levy Hall". The Daily Cardinal. from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
- ^ "Mead Witter School of Music's Hamel Music Center opening this fall". University of Wisconsin-Madison. from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
- ^ "University of Wisconsin Madison is constructing a computer science building". American School & University. from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
- ^ a b "Philanthropy News Digest". from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
- ^ Erickson, Doug (January 26, 2023). "New center will build on work of university's Public History Project". University of Wisconsin-Madison. from the original on January 26, 2023.
- ^ "Northwestern University names new president". Crain's Chicago Business. from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ "Jennifer Mnookin named chancellor". University of Wisconsin–Madison. May 16, 2022. from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- ^ "Rebecca M. Blank shares cancer diagnosis, choice to step down as president-elect of Northwestern". news.northwestern.edu. from the original on July 11, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ Knox, Liam (July 12, 2022). "Northwestern president-elect resigns after cancer diagnosis". Inside Higher Ed. from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
- ^ Northwestern Now Staff (August 11, 2022). "Michael H. Schill named next president of Northwestern: President of the University of Oregon will become Northwestern president this fall". Northwestern Now. Northwestern University. from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- ^ a b Wethal, Kimberly. "Former UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank dies at 67". Wisconsin State Journal. from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ "Remembering Rebecca Blank, Former UW–Madison Chancellor". Remembering Rebecca Blank. University of Wisconsin-Madison. from the original on February 18, 2023.
- ^ The Deepwater drilling moratorium : a review of the Obama administration's economic impact analysis on U.S. small businesses : hearing before the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, United States Senate, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, second session, September 16, 2010. p. 27. OCLC 882482939.
- ^ McGurn, William; Blank, Rebecca M. (2003). Is the Market Moral?: A Dialogue on Religion, Economics and Justice. Washington: Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 978-0-8157-9628-2.
This article incorporates public domain material from Rebecca M. Blank, Acting Secretary of Commerce and Under Secretary for Economic Affairs. United States Government.
External links
- Office of the Chancellor-University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Appearances on C-SPAN