Northwestern University’s President-elect Rebecca M. Blank announced Monday she has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, and will no longer be able to fulfil her role as the 17th president and first woman to lead the university.
Blank, the former chancellor of the University of Wisconsin 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.
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“I do not have the words to express to you how disappointed and sad I am to be telling you this. I was excited to be joining you at Northwestern, a world-class institution that is near and dear to my heart,” Blank wrote in a message to the Northwestern community.
“As heartbreaking as this is for me, I take solace in knowing Northwestern is in great hands. Although I have not been on campus full-time, I have had the opportunity to talk with many campus leaders over the past eight months. It is clear that NU has tremendous leadership, outstanding faculty and staff, and a wonderful group of students,” Blank said.
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After spending eight years as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Blank was hired in October 2021 to succeed Northwestern President Morton Schapiro “following an extensive search process led by Northwestern’s Board of Trustees,” officials said.
A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for nearly two decades, Blank’s research and policy portfolio was recognized with a lifetime achievement award as a 2021 Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association, officials said.
Blank also has served in three presidential administrations, most recently as acting secretary of commerce and deputy secretary of commerce under President Barack Obama, officials said.
Officials said Blank “has long been involved with issues of inequality and equity through her research,” and “made improving diversity and access a priority during her tenure at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.”
But Blank’s hiring last fall prompted criticism from some student groups who said they had been hoping for a president who would make Northwestern a leader in social and environmental justice.
“I was hoping for someone who would uphold Indigenous sovereignty, and help enact futures for Indigenous peoples and our lands and waters that support Indigenous thriving,” Nikki McDaid, a Northwestern doctoral student and Indigenous rights activist, told the Tribune in October 2021.
Peter Barris, who led the initial search committee and will become chair of the Northwestern Board of Trustees Sept. 1, will continue to lead the search for the university’s next president, official said.
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In a letter to the NU community, J. Landis Martin, Board of Trustees chair, said the Board has asked Schapiro to remain in his role as president until a successor is named.
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“Morty has led Northwestern through an unprecedented period of growth over the past 13 years, and now has delayed his return to Southern California and new ventures in order to continue to serve the University community that he loves so dearly,” Martin said.
Prior to her hiring, Blank had forged ties to Northwestern, where she was on the faculty of the Economics Department from 1989 to 1999, and served as director of the Joint Center for Poverty Research and co-director of the Northwestern/University of Chicago Interdisciplinary Training Program in Poverty, Race and Underclass Issues, officials said.
Blank’s daughter, Emily, is a Northwestern graduate, officials said.
“I ask that all of us at Northwestern keep Becky in our thoughts,” Schapiro said.
UW-Madison Provost and Interim Chancellor John Karl Scholz said in a message to the UW-Madison community, “I can speak for all of us in the leadership of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in saying that we’re absolutely devastated by the news that Chancellor Emeritus Becky Blank has been diagnosed with cancer and will not be assuming the presidency of Northwestern University.”
kcullotta@chicagotribune.com
