Blank recommended as UW-Madison chancellor
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Rebecca Blank is currently acting secretary of commerce at the United States Department of Commerce. Image by Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank has been recommended to be the next chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Her selection was announced Monday by UW System President Kevin Reilly and a special search committee. The Board of Regents must approve the pick on April 5 and she would start in July.
Blank beat out three other finalists for the job leading Wisconsin's largest public university campus.
Her selection won praise from Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who called her a "great pick" with a "keen knowledge of economic issues that can help the UW promote great prosperity in the state."
Blank has been with the Commerce Department since 2009 and previously served nine years as a dean and professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan.
President Obama released a statement Monday about Blank's departure:
I want to thank Dr. Blank for her hard work and exceptional service on behalf of the American people. Over the past four years I have asked Becky to take on several roles at the Department of Commerce, and in each one she has distinguished herself as a steady leader and a vital member of my economic team. A tireless advocate for American businesses, Becky has helped to increase our competitiveness, support our innovators and entrepreneurs, and bring good-paying jobs back to our shores. While I will be sad to see her go this summer, I want to wish her the best of luck in her exciting new role. I know the University of Wisconsin Badgers will have an outstanding chancellor for years to come.
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