The University of Wisconsin System announced Monday a special Board of Regents committee’s official recommendation of Dr. Rebecca Blank as University of Wisconsin-Madison’s next chancellor, pending approval from the full Board April 5.
Blank said in a statement she is “ready to come home again” to a university and looks forward to the “exciting opportunity” to use her leadership skills at UW-Madison.
Blank currently serves as the acting secretary of the United States Department of Commerce, where she has worked since 2009. She has also held various positions at Princeton University, Northwestern University and the University of Michigan.
In the statement, Blank highlighted two priorities for the university: educating the next generation of citizens and workers, and staying ahead in national and international research and innovation.
“Wisconsin has a global reputation and presence, but it’s very serious about not just being an academic institution,” Blank said in the statement.
Blank said she looks forward to working at an institution with “a great history, an enormous amount of promise and some real challenges in front of it.”
In a letter from Blank to employees at the Department of Commerce, she said she plans to accept the chancellor position but “expects to welcome” a new secretary before her departure.
Blank was not available for comment Monday, as she is currently traveling in Brazil on government business.
Blank was one of four finalists named by the Chancellor Search and Screen Committee in late February.
The other three chancellor finalists included: Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering Dean Dr. Nicholas Jones, University of Chicago Law School Dean Dr. Michael Schill and Provost and Vice President for Student Affairs at Michigan State University Kim Wilcox.
The final recommendation was decided in a special UW System Board of Regents committee meeting Friday, consisting of regents Charles Pruitt, Regina Millner, Brent Smith, David Walsh and Student Regent Katherine Pointer.
Pointer said the five regents were unanimous in their support for Blank, saying she stood out to them for a number of reasons, including her management of a large organization and large budget at the Department of Commerce, as well as her work in “big research” and workforce development.
“We always say the university is large and it’s complex but I had never seen those complexities concisely delivered and explained in the way that she was able to,” Pointer said.
Pointer also addressed students’ concerns over Blank’s ability to engage with campus, saying that although Blank has a different leadership style than previous Chancellor Carolyn “Biddy” Martin, who was popular among students, she will listen to students and their ideas.
“I'm not worried at all as a student about her engaging with campus,” Pointer said. “She's a great listener, she's excited to take part in discussions with our students.”
She also said some have expressed concern about Blank’s service under the Obama administration and how she will engage with the Republican governor and state Legislature in Wisconsin. But Pointer said Blank leads with a “policy understanding” rather than a “partisan understanding.”
“She'll be very politically savvy at the end of State Street in being able … to advance the university but also the state,” Pointer said.
While Chancellor David Ward has done well in smoothing over a “divisive” time at the university, Pointer said, the campus is ready to “move forward.”
According to Pointer, the regents took campus visits, references, interviews and campus feedback provided through a briefing from Search and Screen Committee members into account when making the decision.
“I have all the faith in the world in the process,” Pointer said. “There was no one left to consult or ask opinions of because we had done everything possible.”
The full Board will vote on Blank’s nomination at its April 5 meeting.
UW System spokesperson David Giroux said Blank’s nomination will come with the endorsement of the five regents on the special committee, as well as UW System President Kevin Reilly.
“I believe that puts her in a good position,” Giroux said, adding the UW System is not planning for the Regents to vote against her nomination.
Blank is currently slated to step into the chancellorship in mid-July, taking over for Ward, who has been in the position since July 2011.
Read more about Blank's visit to campus.
