Northwestern University announced Monday that Rebecca M. Blank will be the next president of the Evanston-based school.

       Blank is a well-known economic researcher on poverty and low-income labor markets, according to a news release announcing the move. She most recently was the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Blank will begin her role with Northwestern next summer.

       With the appointment, Blank will be the first female president of Northwestern University.

       “I am honored and delighted to accept the job as Northwestern’s next president,” Blank said in the news release. “Northwestern is a school that I have known and admired for years. Its reputation as a top-rated educational and research institution has grown each decade. It will be my mission to make sure the institutions reputation and quality continues to accelerate.

       Current president Morton Schapiro announced in March that he would end his tenure in August of 2022. He took office in September 2009 as the 16th president and is credited with leading Northwestern through a period that saw undergraduate applications nearly double and fundraising immensely increased.

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       Blank previously served on the faculty of the economics department at Northwestern University from 1989 to 1999, the first woman to be tenured in the department. While on the faculty, she served as the director for the Joint Center for Poverty Research and the co-director of the Northwestern/University of Chicago Interdisciplinary Training Program in Poverty, Race and Underclass Issues.

       Her research focused on the interactions between labor markets, government policy and macroeconomics and she has published several papers on poverty and inequality.

       In addition to her academic research, Blank served as an economic adviser in three presidential administrations, including President Barack Obama, President Bill Clinton and President George H.W. Bush. In the Obama administration, she served as the acting secretary of commerce and deputy secretary of commerce.

       Blank is known for implementing Bucky’s Tuition Promise at UW-Madison, an initiative that guarantees free tuition for Wisconsin students with a gross income of $60,000 or less. She is also credited for improving educational outcomes and launching the School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences during her tenure, according to the news release.

       “She is a distinguished scholar and visionary leader, who shares the ambitions of the Board of Trustees and university community for advancing Northwestern as an iconic institution,” said Board of Trustees chairman J. Landis Martin, in a news release. “Her bold vision for the university’s role in the world and her proven ability to lead a collaborative academic research enterprise will guide our institution. toward greater eminence and impact.”

       Emily Little is a freelance reporter.

       Northwestern University names Rebecca M. Blank as next president; noted economist will be first woman to hold role

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