Rebecca M. “Becky” Blank (Chancellor: 2013-2022)

On April 5, 2013, the Board of Regents confirmed Rebecca M. Blank as Chancellor of the UW-Madison campus. Blank took office as Chancellor on July 22, 2013.

Blank was born in 1955 in Missouri. She earned a BS in economics from the University of Minnesota in 1976 and a PhD in economics from MIT in 1983. Blank taught at at MIT, Princeton University, Northwestern University and the University of Michigan. At Michigan, she also served as dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy from 1999-2007.

She was a fellow at the Brookings Institution, then joined the U.S. Commerce Department in 2009 as the secretary’s principal economic advisor. She went on to serve four years in the Commerce Department during the administration of President Barack Obama, holding a variety of positions that included Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Acting Secretary of Commerce.

Rebecca M. Blank died of cancer on February 17, 2023 near Madison, WI. She was 67. Visit the Remembering Rebecca Blank webpage for additional information. (Photo courtesy of University Communications)