2023 Senate Joint Resolution 18
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: honoring the life and public service of Dr. Rebecca M. Blank.
Whereas, Dr. Rebecca Blank dedicated her career and life to public service, specializing in the
study of poverty, low−income labor markets, macroeconomics, and government policy; and
Whereas, Dr. Rebecca Blank achieved impressive heights in her own education, graduating
from the University of Minnesota with a BS in Economics and earning her PhD in Economics at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and
Whereas, Dr. Rebecca Blank served in government roles as a senior staff member on the
Council of Economic Advisers during the George H. W. Bush presidential administration, as a
member of the council during the Bill Clinton presidential administration, and as deputy and acting
secretary in the U.S. Department of Commerce in the administration of President Barack Obama
from 2009 to 2013; and
Whereas, Dr. Rebecca Blank accomplished a distinguished career in academia, holding
faculty positions at Princeton University and Northwestern University, serving as dean of the School
of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, and leading the University of Wisconsin−Madison
as Chancellor from 2013 to 2022; and
Whereas, during her tenure at UW, Dr. Rebecca Blank built a lasting legacy as a champion for
equitable access to education, removing structural barriers to academic success by ensuring that
first−generation college students have an equal opportunity for the attainment of higher education
through Bucky’s Tuition Promise; and
Whereas, Dr. Rebecca Blank strongly supported UW’s Institute for Research on Poverty and
forged a path toward Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at UW−Madison; and 2023 Senate Joint Resolution 18
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Whereas, in response to rising racial injustice, Dr. Rebecca Blank commissioned a report on
UW’s legacy of exclusion, which highlighted the contributions of marginalized change−makers and
led to the Public History Project of 2019 that culminated in the fall 2022 exhibition at the Chazen
Museum of Art and a permanent online archive; and
Whereas, UW−Madison named its Public History Project center in Dr. Rebecca Blank’s honor
and endowed a professorship in her name; and
Whereas, decorated economist and educator Dr. Rebecca Blank passed away on February
17th, 2023, at the age of 67, survived by her husband and daughter, Hanns and Emily Kuttner, after
leading a life of excellent leadership, scholarship, and service; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the Wisconsin Legislature does
hereby honor the life and public service of Dr. Rebecca M. Blank.
Representative Robin J. Vos
Speaker of the Assembly
Senator Chris Kapenga
President of the Senate
Date
Michael J. Queensland
Senate Chief Clerk