Longtime UW-Madison chancellor Rebecca Blank will be leaving the university next year to take over as the president of Northwestern in Illinois.
The transition should happen sometime next year, and Blank says she’s happy to have helped UW-Madison through some tough times, including the pandemic.
“With the actions that we took last year between furloughs and budget cuts and then some money from the federal government, and the state gave back part of its lapse there at the end, we are entering this year without any financial hangover from last year.”
Blank says she’s happy to have helped both the university and the city grow and evolve during her time in office.
“It’s economically more diverse and stronger now than it was 9 years ago when I came and I think that’s going to continue a lot of that is due to the presence of the university in this community.”
Under the Walker administration, Blank had to contend with major cuts to the UW-System, as well as a change in how the state treats tenure. She says she’s most proud of the creation of the Bucky’s Promise program which has helped over 4 thousand low-income students get a full education.