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Acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank was officially confirmed as the University of Wisconsin’s next chancellor in a UW System vote Friday. 

The Board of Regents unanimously approved Blank as UW’s new chancellor, agreeing with a special committee’s recommendation released last month. She will begin her role in mid-July.

In a UW video released shortly after her approval, Blank said she was excited to join “one of the world’s great universities.”

“During my visits on campus, I was struck by the energy and excitement I felt from students, faculty, staff and the UW alumni,” Blank said. “People who have been part of this university are passionate about it.”

UW System spokesperson David Giroux said in an email to The Badger Herald Blank will earn $495,000 per year, $100,000 of which will come from private sources.

Last year, the regents approved increasing the chancellor’s salary range to $427,000 and $522,5000 to bring it in line with peer universities. Until last year, the chancellor’s salary had not been changed since 2008.

Before joining the commerce department in 2009, Blank had been a fellow at the Brookings Institution and held a number of roles in academia.

For about 10 years, she was the dean of the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and was previously at Northwestern University, according to a UW System statement. From 1997 to 1999, she was part of President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisors.

“Dr. Blank is uniquely prepared to lead UW-Madison, coming to us with broad national and international experience in roles where big science and big research intersect with job creation and commercialization,” UW System President Kevin Reilly said in a statement last month.

President Barack Obama and Gov. Scott Walker had both praised Blank’s nomination last month, noting her experience as an economist and abilities as a leader.

In a statement last month, Walker said her economic background and experience would help the state’s economy grow.

However, not all lawmakers approved of her nomination, including Rep. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater, who chairs the Assembly’s Colleges and Universities Committee. In addition, Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, released a statement Thursday asking the regents to “reject” Blank’s “radical policies” of raising tuition.

Blank will begin her term as chancellor July 15, taking over for Interim Chancellor David Ward, who has led UW for nearly two years since former Chancellor Biddy Martin departed for a post at Amherst College.

Student Regent Katherine Pointer said Blank’s approval was expected ahead of the vote, given the unanimous support she had in the search committee and the consensus that she was the most qualified candidate.

“I think her breadth of experience, her background in academia as well as her experience in being Secretary of Commerce, managing the 2010 census [gave her] a wonderful wealth of experience she’ll be able to bring to UW-Madison,” Pointer said. “It was very clear through the interview, and through her time on campus, we got the most positive feedback from faculty, students and staff.”