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.
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.
A former University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor died of cancer on Feb. 17, the UW System said on Saturday.
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.
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.
Last May, Rebecca Blank was discussing what she regarded as the major unresolved issues she would leave behind at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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, 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.
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.
The Bucky’s Pell Pathway program, introduced on Thursday, will meet full financial needs for four years for new first-year Wisconsin residents students who quality for Pell Grants. Transfer students can also take advantage of the program and receive funding for two years if they meet the same criteria.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is expanding its tuition promise program to cover not only tuition for some low-income students, but nearly all other college costs that can derail progress toward a degree, such as room and board.
The program, which Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin introduced Thursday to the Board of Regents, will meet the full financial need for those who qualify for Pell grants. Those federal dollars are limited to undergraduates with exceptional financial need but often don’t cover the full cost of school, causing many recipients to take out extra loans.
The goal of the program, called Bucky’s Pell Pathway, is to help alleviate the disadvantages students from low-income families frequently face. The assistance is only available to in-state students, and no state funds are used for either the Pell Pathway or the Tuition Promise program.
The UW Board of Regents on Friday handed out 2% raises to nearly all University of Wisconsin System chancellors, which is in line with 2% salary increases taking effect for all UW employees at the start of 2023.
Additionally, Rebecca Blank stepped down from the top executive post at the University of Wisconsin at Madison to replace the outgoing Morton Schapiro at Northwestern University—only to back out of the position after she was diagnosed with cancer shortly before she was due to start.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is launching a search for a new provost, an administrative position ranking just second to the chancellor in terms of importance.
The current provost, John Karl Scholz, will serve until the end of the school year and then return to the economics department, where he has taught since 1988. A new provost is expected to start sometime next summer, UW-Madison announced Tuesday.
In one of her first public appearances since being diagnosed with cancer this summer, former University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank received recognition from another Big Ten school with a room named in her honor.
University of Wisconsin-Madison administrators are working to educate members of Students for Justice in Palestine on the harm caused by their antisemitic messages, after the messages were chalked around campus overnight before the first day of the fall 2022 semester, according to officials.
Some were with Republicans who reacted coolly in May to her selection as the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s 30th chancellor. The former UCLA law school dean drew the kind of initial GOP skepticism that met predecessor Rebecca Blank when she arrived as a former President Barack Obama cabinet member in 2013.
Vice Chancellor Lori Reesor and Deputy Vice Chancellor LaVar Charleston, the university’s chief diversity officer, said while such statements aren’t against the law or campus policy, they do “violate our norms and actively work against the culture of belonging for which we are striving.”
This year, UW-Madison is ushering in around 8,600 freshmen — the largest freshman class in the university’s history — and about 1,100 new transfer students. The freshman class was selected from a pool of over 60,000 applicants, which Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said was “one of our most competitive years ever.”
UW-Madison’s new chancellor visited Milwaukee Wednesday, Aug. 10 to meet with dozens of new and returning students at 3rd Street Market Hall.
UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin has been on the job six days as of Wednesday. She says with more applications than ever before, they’re looking forward to the school year.
Enrollment officials say they have more applicants this year than ever before, signaling that hesitation over COVID-19 precautions isn’t as bad as it once was.
“Our enrollment stayed pretty strong. But we are able now to have the full immersive experience that really is how we think our students learn best,” said Mnookin
Dr. Jennifer Mnookin, the incoming chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, discusses her intentions to address challenges facing the institution, including the cost of attendance, student diversity and relationship with state government.
The incoming chancellor of the state’s flagship university officially started working on August 4 and already had a long “to-do” list for the campus – from ensuring tuition affordability, to working to attract and retain more students of color, to planning for any spike in COVID-19 infections among incoming students and staff. Perhaps the most vexing of issues before Mnookin, the former UCLA School of Law Dean, is the university’s relationship with the majority Republican Wisconsin Legislature, whose Assembly Speaker criticized her appointment because of what he called “her whole-hearted support of Critical Race Theory” and support for vaccine mandates. Mnookin said she has not yet met with Rep. Robin Vos R-Rochester, but looks forward to doing so.
“I will be listening very carefully to public health professionals just as Becky Blank did to try and find the balance in keeping our community safe while also protecting the education and the strength of the experience of being here as best as we can,” said Mnookin.
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Over 80 UW Madison staff members and community members have signed an open letter calling for increased COVID protections on the UW-Madison campus.
On her first day as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Jennifer Mnookin said she is working to build a “bold vision” for the state’s flagship campus by connecting with stakeholders, including state lawmakers who opposed her chancellorship.
Photo gallery of the ice cream social on Bascom Hill.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison welcomed its new leader Thursday on historic Bascom Hill with ice cream made from the campus dairy shop and the Badger Band playing “On, Wisconsin!”
With the fall semester starting soon, a group of students, faculty and staff at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are urging new Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin to consider strengthening the campus’ COVID-19 policies.
In honor of her first day on campus, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin invited the UW community to an ice cream social. Students, faculty, and staff gathered on Bascom Hill to mingle with their new leader while enjoying a sweet treat.
Jennifer Mnookin spent her first day on campus meeting with students, faculty and campus leaders as she takes on the role as UW-Madison’s 30th chancellor.
Mnookin, who comes to Madison from her previous role as dean of the UCLA School of Law, said her primary goal is to have conversations with UW-Madison students and staff and community and state leaders to discuss ways to keep UW-Madison affordable, while also addressing challenges like accessibility, funding and diversity.
A photo gallery from Chancellor Mnookin’s first day.
New University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin met with students and staff members Thursday during an ice cream social to mark her first day on campus.
Blank, who spent eight years as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, had been named as the school’s 17th president and the first woman to lead Northwestern. Current president Morton Schapiro has been asked to stay on while the search for his successor resumes.
Former University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank is stepping down as president-elect of Northwestern University after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.
Former UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank announced Monday she is stepping down from her new job as Northwestern University’s next president and instead will receive treatment in Madison for an aggressive form of cancer.
Blank, an economist, previously was chancellor of the University of Wisconsin. Morton Schapiro will remain in the job until a successor is appointed.
Blank recently concluded an eight-year tenure as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May, and had been set to succeed to succeed President Morton Schapiro as the president of Northwestern University. She was selected by the board of trustees in October.
Blank, a former chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, said in a Monday statement she plans to return to the Madison area for cancer treatment and will spend the coming weeks and months focusing on her health and family.
Before being named president of Northwestern, she spent eight years as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She and her family will return to Madison for her treatment.
In a news release, the school said that Blank, who concluded her eight-year tenure as chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May, will return to the Madison area for cancer treatment.
John Karl Scholz issued a statement following the Big Ten’s announcement Thursday night.
“The University of Wisconsin–Madison is pleased to support the planned expansion of the Big Ten Conference with the inclusion of the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA). “This expansion helps solidify the Big Ten Conference as the one, true national powerhouse conference, with member universities, teams and fans stretching from coast to coast.
Noted: Jennifer L. Mnookin, dean of the School of Law and Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Professor of Law at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been appointed chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
In the spring of 2013, just before she was confirmed as the next UW-Madison chancellor by the Board of Regents, Rebecca Blank was criticized by some Republican state legislators for her “radical policies.”
Jennifer L. Mnookin, dean of the School of Law and Ralph and Shirley Shapiro Professor of Law at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been appointed chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
In an interview before her departure to become president of Northwestern University this fall, Blank took aim at state regulations that prevent the UW System’s flagship campus from issuing its own bonds for new buildings and which add time and expense to routine maintenance.
Jay Rothman started the tight-rope-walking job of leading the University of Wisconsin System this week by defending the incoming UW-Madison chancellor while also not calling out Republicans for criticizing her.
Letter to the editor: Why would Vos make negative comments without even meeting and having a discussion with Mnookin? I heard her respond with grace and politeness — that she is excited about coming to Madison and “looks forward” to meeting all of the state legislators.
The consequential issues that will land on incoming UW-Madison chancellor Jennifer Mnookin’s desk when she takes over in August involve more than academics … Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren and members of his senior leadership team help facilitate the introduction of new university leaders to the group, the conference said in a statement in response to questions.
Welcome to Wisconsin: Legislative leaders immediately slammed the newly named chancellor for the university’s flagship campus for being too liberal.
Diana Hess, dean of the UW-Madison School of Education, will become interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs on June 1, when Provost John Karl Scholz takes over as the interim chancellor, UW said on Tuesday.
It was one in a series of heartfelt goodbyes. Rebecca Blank stood at the entrance in a roped-off lobby area of the Discovery Building on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus at what was billed as a “community leadership reception” earlier this month. The chancellor, in the final days of her nine years in Madison, greeted each of the few dozen arriving attendees to wish her, per the invitation, a “fond farewell” as she leaves to become president of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
Editorial: The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, a diverse body made up appointees from current Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and defeated former Republican Gov. Scott Walker, united across lines of partisanship and ideology to unanimously select Dr. Jennifer L. Mnookin to serve as the 30th chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Letter to the editor: It’s kind of ironic that the Republicans decrying Jennifer Mnookin being named chancellor of UW-Madison are all claiming to want a chancellor who believes in free speech, given that it is Mnookin’s speech, and her free expression of her beliefs, that are the stated basis for their opposition.
Welcome to Wisconsin, Jennifer Mnookin. There was a time when we actually gave someone hired to take an important job like leading the campus of our world-class university a chance to prove herself. But the state with the historic motto “Forward” hasn’t been like that for the past decade or so.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor-designate Jennifer Mnookin said Tuesday that helping students of all races and ethnicities feel like they belong on campus will be one of her top priorities.
Jennifer Mnookin, the dean of the University of California, Los Angeles law school, will become the next chancellor of Wisconsin’s flagship university this summer.
The UW System Board of Regents unanimously voted Monday for Mnookin, 54, to take the top post at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
