Rebecca M. Blank is the current chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and former Acting United States Secretary of Commerce. Blank was serving as United States Deputy Secretary of Commerce when she was named to lead the United States Department of Commerce as Acting Secretary on June 11, 2012 upon the request of Secretary of Commerce John Bryson, who took a medical leave of absence, and subsequently resigned as Secretary. She had held the role of Deputy Secretary since October 21, 2011. Blank was previously the Acting Secretary from July 2011 until October 2011, following the appointment of Gary Locke as United States Ambassador to China. A native of Missouri, Blank is a summa cum laude graduate in economics from the University of Minnesota and holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. On March 18, 2013, she was recommended for the position of Chancellor at the University of Wisconsin?Madison. 

September 9th, 1955 in Columbia  /  Died:   Feb 17th, 2023 - aged 67