(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — When Rebecca Blank announced she was stepping down as president-elect of Northwestern in July to focus on her health, she called it “heartbreaking.”
The former economics professor at NU and Princeton as well as Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison died Friday of cancer at age 67.
Blank served under former presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush as an economic advisor and the acting commerce secretary.
She earned a Ph.D. in economics from MIT and was known for her work on the issues of poverty, low-wage workers and inequality.
“Becky’s legacy will live on in the achievements and influence she has had at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in higher education at large and in poverty research,” said Peter Barris, chair of Northwestern’s Board of Trustees. “The Northwestern community sends our sincere condolences to her husband Hanns, her daughter Emily, and the rest of her family.”
Therese McGuire, a friend of Blank’s from the pair’s time as educators at Princeton, described her as brilliant, brave and accomplished.
“Becky was one of my dearest and closest friends and professional colleagues for more than 35 years,” said McGuire. “I will miss her dearly. Her loss is a huge personal loss and a huge loss for the profession."
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