Rebecca Blank, an economist who served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has died, less than a year after announcing that she had an aggressive form of cancer. She was 67.
Author: gbump
Those soapy bubbles on trees are caused by stem flow mixing
Or, as the webpage of the University of Wisconsin’s extension division explains: “The immature bugs feed face down on the stem, and as excess sap is excreted out the anus, it is mixed with a substance secreted by epidermal glands that enhances surface viscosity and stabilizes the foam to make it last longer.”
In Wisconsin’s supreme court race, a super-rich beer family calls the shots
“It’s escalating rapidly,” said Barry Burden, a political science professor at University of Wisconsin – Madison. “If $15m, $20m, $25m is spent on this race it’s more than you see in governor’s races in some states.”
DeSantis pokes at Pritzker in Illinois
— Rebecca Blank dies at 67; renowned economist led the University of Wisconsin: “Blank was president-elect of Northwestern University last year when a cancer diagnosis led her to step down,” via The Associated Press.
Love is in the algorithm: Datamatch hosts array of events, prom for students
Datamatch, the self-proclaimed “Bucky’s go-to” matchmaking service, returned for its fifth year on campus with new events and fun survey questions for students looking for love or friendship. The organization hosted a prom for the first time as a way to end off the week-long festivities.
University play ‘The Wolves’ inspires, empowers women
Attracting the attention of hundreds of Madison residents and university students, the Hemsley Theater was packed on Friday night. After filing down the stairs to the underground hall, the audience settled into seats on each side of the astroturf stage, positioned like sports fans in bleachers, looking down at the players.
UW System free speech survey results show reluctance to express opinions by conservative students
The University of Wisconsin System released the results of the “UW System Student Views on Freedom of Speech” Feb. 1, which was sent out at the end of 2022 to more than 83,000 UW System students, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison news.
At halfway point, how is Madison’s guaranteed income program doing?
UW-Madison’s Institute for Research on Poverty is partnering with the Center for Guaranteed Income Research at the University of Pennsylvania to gather survey data throughout the program.
Wisconsin Supreme Court race could be the most consequential, expensive judicial race ever
“If the Supreme Court election went to a liberal candidate, it’s quite likely that the [1849 abortion ban] would get contested in the state Supreme Court,” UW-Madison professor of journalism and mass communications Mike Wagner said. “And we might then predict that that law would be overturned, kind of re-establishing abortion rights in Wisconsin.”
Former UW Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank dies
Former UW Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank has died. Blank, who led the university for nearly a decade, died Friday. She served as the school’s chancellor from 2013 to 2022, before leaving to become president of Northwestern University.
Patients now ‘self-room’ at UW Health primary care clinics
Now when patients arrive at clinics, UW Health says they’re given a card with a room number by the front desk and then guided by signs in the clinic. The front desk alerts a medical assistant that the patient has arrived. Once in the room, the visit goes on as usual.
‘She really cared’: UW-Madison alum remembers Rebecca Blank, reflects on her legacy
Barni Shiferaw crossed paths with Rebecca Blank several times during his senior year at UW-Madison. As the vice president for the Class of 2022, he met with Blank to talk about changes the student body wanted to see.
“It was an honor for me,” he said. “There’s not a lot of people at this campus who have the combination of the intelligence that she does, but then also the personability to make these things happen.”
Wisconsin Supreme Court race holds high stakes for abortion, redistricting and 2024
“This seat is crucial to the balance of the court, and the court is crucial to the balance of the state,” said Barry Burden, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of its Elections Research Center.
Daniel Richard Grim
Daniel worked for 26 years doing research at the Physical Sciences Laboratory as an Electronics Technician for the University of Wisconsin.
UW-Madison creates endowed professorship named for former Chancellor Rebecca Blank
UW-Madison botany professor Katherine McCulloh sees former Chancellor Rebecca Blank as one of her heroes.
Rusty crayfish disappearing from some northern Wisconsin lakes — and that’s a good thing
Danny Szydlowski, who is now working on a Ph.D. in freshwater and marine science at UW-Madison’s Center for Limnology, said that the declines could be caused by a fungal disease and by crayfish destroying their own habitat. The result has allowed native plants, snails and bluegill to recover, helping restore the ecosystems in several lakes.
Photos: Former UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank through the years
The former chancellor had a profound impact on Wisconsin, including Badgers’ athletics. Here is a look at her career at UW in photos.
Rebecca Blank remembered for support of Wisconsin athletics, Badgers players
“Obviously, her love for the university stood out,” McIntosh said in an exclusive interview with BadgerExtra on Saturday. “Her support of our program. But even closer to home, her support of our student-athletes. She understood the impact of athletics here and what it can do for the people that come through our program. She was there every step of the way to help support us.”
GOP, Tony Evers look to lower-cost housing as potential middle ground
“The idea is that the cost to build a new apartment is the same whether its intended for market rate occupancy or affordable occupancy,” said Kurt Paulsen, UW-Madison professor of urban planning. “If you want developers to build affordable units, you need to provide a capital subsidy.”
The Millennial Scientist Overseeing America’s Nuclear Power Revival
I became a nuclear engineering PhD student at the University of Wisconsin. And the rest is history. I became a postdoc at Berkeley, a professor at the University of Illinois. I had no aspirations for a career in government, but someone put my name in the hat, and here I am in this administration, as a political appointee.
UW-Madison professor Laura Schwendinger wins national opera prize
A longtime UW-Madison music professor and composer has received one of the nation’s premier music awards for her opera about a 17th-century female painter.
Fred M. Newmann
During his three-decade career at UW-Madison, Fred’s research focused on school curriculum and reforms that foster critical thinking, civic engagement and more equitable student achievement. He directed the National Center on Effective Secondary Schools and the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools, authoring dozens of research papers, articles and books.
How to let go of a grudge
Grudges exist on a spectrum, says Robert Enright, a professor in the department of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin Madison and a founding board member of the International Forgiveness Institute. Some grievances don’t impact your daily life, but you remember them nonetheless. These surface-level grudges are easier to relinquish, Enright says. Others take root in the soul and can grow into hatred.
Mother Nature Has the Best Climate-Fixing Technology
Gregory Nemet, a co-author of the “State of Carbon Dioxide Removal” report and a public policy professor at University of Wisconsin at Madison, told me that pretty much all successful CO2 removal to date has come from natural climate solutions like protecting forests, planting trees and better managing soils. So I asked him, “Why not invest heavily in that?” To my mind, supporting and expanding the extraordinary potential of natural ecosystems to perform carbon removal is what investors and policymakers should be focusing on — not fantastical machines.
Jerrold Schecter, Who Procured Khrushchev’s Memoirs, Dies at 90
After graduating from James Monroe High School in the Bronx, he earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1953. He served in the Navy in Japan during the Korean War and was discharged as a lieutenant.
Evers budget proposes $305M for UW System, expanding financial aid
Evers’ state budget, announced Wednesday night, would increase the University of Wisconsin System’s budget by $305.9 million over the biennium. But even as the state finds itself in an unprecedented financial position, with a projected $7.1 billion surplus, the number is nearly $130 million less than the UW System’s request of $435.6 million, according to figures from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
Paul Berg, Nobel biochemist who first spliced DNA, dies at 96
“It was a reflection of the Vietnam era and earlier history,” Waclaw Szybalski, then a professor and geneticist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, told Science News in 1985. “Physicists were guilty of the atomic bomb, and chemists were guilty of napalm. Biologists were trying very hard to be guilty of something.”
Black History conference celebrates unity, pushes for change
The 5th Annual Black History Education Conference took place virtually, hosted by the Professional Learning and Community Education (PLACE) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Will new UW center set the record straight on Fredric March?
A Jan. 26 Cap Times article (“UW-Madison launches new center to confront its history of exclusion”) spotlighted the UW-Madison’s announcement that a planned new Rebecca M. Blank Center for Campus History intends to expand on sifting, winnowing and reckoning by confronting the university’s “long culture of exclusion, racism and religious bigotry.”
Rebecca Blank, university chancellor who led Obama commerce team, dies at 67
Rebecca Blank, an economist who served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison and was acting commerce secretary under President Barack Obama, died Feb. 17. She was 67.
Rebecca Blank, ‘transformational’ former UW-Madison chancellor, dies
In her near-decade of tenure at UW-Madison, she accelerated the university’s research programs, achieved record-high graduation rates and developed scholarship programs catering to low-income students within the state. Her work also expanded the number of faculty and students, as well as put the campus’ finances back on track after the pandemic brought losses in revenue.
Rebecca Blank, 1955–2023
Rebecca Blank, who was chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison for nine years, died of cancer Friday. She was 67.
Like her mom, UW professor battled breast cancer. Now she’s the first to complete vaccine trial.
Dr. Eva Vivian was a teenager when her mother, not yet 40, learned she had a breast tumor.Vivian’s memories aren’t pleasant.
“The only option was a mastectomy. They were mean to women back then. It was a male-dominated profession,” said Vivian, a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Pharmacy. “There wasn’t a lot of empathy toward women who developed breast cancer.”
Republicans unlikely to fund UW tuition promise program for low-income students
The long-term prospect of a tuition promise program for low-income University of Wisconsin System students is in jeopardy after a top lawmaker said the Republican-controlled Legislature is unlikely to fund it.
UW-Madison alumni remember former Chancellor Rebecca Blank
Video: The University of Wisconsin announced on Saturday that former Chancellor Rebecca Blank died at 67. Her legacy and life leave a profound impact.
Federal and Local Leaders Pay Tribute to Rebecca Blank
Video: federal and state leaders pay tribute via social media.
UW-Madison Mental Health Services sees an increase in students accessing services, finds ways to ensure all are supported
Video: The first step in addressing mental health seems simple: to talk about it. But for some, that’s easier said than done.
Q&A: UW professor explains why you should care about shared revenue
Though you may not have heard of it, shared revenue is a financial lifeline for local governments in Wisconsin — and it’s entered the spotlight as communities scramble to fund essential services.
MadHousing helps make dorm selection easier for incoming students
The four founders — Kevin Phouisangiem, Aayush Bharadwaj, Pranav Poddutoori, Adilur Istekov — said they came up with the idea to create a dorm review website in the university’s Software Development Club, where they had to come up with a project and wanted to create a platform beneficial for students.
Former UW Chancellor Rebecca Blank dies of cancer
After a seven month-long battle with an aggressive form of cancer, Blank passed away peacefully with her family by her side, according to Mnookin’s message. Blank was 67 years old.
Parking problems on campus amplified during winter months despite public transportation
The University of Wisconsin’s size, urban campus and lakeside position make parking cars difficult for students, Assistant Vice Chancellor of UW Transportation Services Patrick Kass said in an email statement to The Badger Herald.
Gov. Evers proposes $305M boost for UW System in state budget proposal
Wisconsin’s state universities would see a significant funding boost under Gov. Tony Evers’ state budget proposal, with a portion of the money helping pay for a tuition waiver program aimed at students from lower income households. But if past budget battles with the Republican-controlled state Legislature are any guide, the final number for the system is unlikely to match the governor’s wishes.
Evers’ 2023 budget proposal includes about $130M less for UW System than Board of Regents requested
Gov. Tony Evers’ budget leaves the University of Wisconsin System about $130 million short of what regents say they need to run their campuses over the next two years, raising questions about whether they may raise tuition to make up the shortfall.
UW-Madison, UWPD aware of defaced transgender pride stickers
UW-Madison and the UW-Madison Police Department said they are aware of defaced transgender pride stickers found on campus, according to a statement shared with 27 News.
UW-Madison dorm evacuated after battery pack catches fire
Residents were evacuated from a University of Wisconsin-Madison dorm early Friday morning after a battery pack caught fire in a student’s backpack, according to the Madison Fire Department.
Rebecca Blank, former UW–Madison chancellor, dies of cancer
Rebecca M. Blank, an economist and educator who served in high-level U.S. government and academic positions and, for nine years, as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, died of cancer on Feb. 17 near Madison, Wisconsin. She was 67.
Former UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank dies after battle with cancer
UW-Madison announced Blank’s passing on Saturday. She served as the school’s chancellor from 2013 to 2022, before leaving to become president of Northwestern University. She announced last year that she would not be taking the position after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.
Former UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank dies at 67
Former UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank, who helped put a university education in reach for low-income students through the Bucky’s Tuition Promise, steered the university through the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and brought billions in gifts and donations to expand research enterprise, died Friday of cancer. She was 67.
Former UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank dies of cancer at age 67
One of the longest-serving chancellors in recent UW-Madison history, Blank is credited with gaining the ability to enroll more out-of-state students, launching a full-tuition scholarship program for low-income Wisconsin students, and leading a $4 billion fundraising campaign. She’s remembered for smaller gestures, too, like bringing commencement back to Camp Randall Stadium.
Former Chancellor Rebecca Blank dies at 67 after cancer battle
Blank passed away Friday evening after a seven month battle with cancer, according to an email sent by current Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin to the campus community.
Former UW-Madison chancellor dies of cancer
A former University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor died of cancer on Feb. 17, the UW System said on Saturday.
Former UW-Madison chancellor dies of cancer
Blank served as chancellor in Madison from 2013 up until last year when she announced plans to move to Northwestern University. Blank withdrew from that role after her cancer diagnosis.
Evers presents Miss America with certificate of recognition
Evers presented 20-year-old Grace Stanke with a certificate of recognition Saturday for her time as Miss Wisconsin, as a Nuclear Engineering student at UW-Madison and her accomplishment of winning Miss America.
UW-Madison students react to Becky Blank’s passing
Students on the UW campus said most of their peers knew of the former chancellor’s cancer diagnosis announced in July, but her death shocked many.
Rebecca Blank’s unique blend of intellect, grace and empathy
Last May, Rebecca Blank was discussing what she regarded as the major unresolved issues she would leave behind at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Former NU president-elect dies of cancer
She was preparing to join Northwestern after that, but in July 2022, she announced that she had been diagnosed with cancer and would step down from her role as president-elect in order to focus on her health and her family.
Rebecca Blank dies at 67; renowned economist led the University of Wisconsin
Rebecca Blank, an economist who served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has died, less than a year after announcing that she had an aggressive form of cancer. She was 67.
‘There’s so much to love about Becky’: Rebecca Blank’s husband weighs in on her life and legacy
Tributes to former UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank have been pouring in from around the world since news of her tragic death came out Saturday. Now, the person who knows her best is also sharing a tribute.
UW-Madison officials acknowledge stickers with ‘language designed to provoke’
Officials at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the UW Police Department say they are aware of transgender pride stickers that recently appeared to have been defaced.
UW-Madison dormitory evacuated after battery pack ignited
Crews were called to Smith Hall just before 1:30 a.m. for reports of smoke coming from a fifth floor room. The building was being evacuated when they arrived.