Rebecca Blank dies at 67; renowned economist led the University of Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank walks in a procession at the start of the spring commencement ceremony in Madison, on May 16, 2015. Blank held senior posts in the Commerce Department under President Obama. (AP Photos)

MADISON, Wis. — Rebecca Blank, an economist who served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has died, less than a year after announcing that she had an aggressive form of cancer. She was 67.

Blank’s illness forced her to step aside last July from a new job as president of Northwestern University.