Recognizing her accomplishments in both policy and academics, University of Wisconsin Chancellor Rebecca Blank was awarded The Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize earlier this week.
The Moynihan Prize by the American Academy of Political and Social Science honors individuals who utilize their social science research to inform public policy and contribute to public conversation on society’s most pressing issues.
AAPSS selects a candidate that is involved in the policy world and academic circles, Tom Kecskemethy, AAPSS executive director, said.
“[Blank] is known both in scholarly circles as an economist for the work she has done and she is known in political circles as somebody who has influenced and made policy in the commerce department,” he said. “Sometimes those two worlds do not really speak to each other. That is exactly what this prize is about, cross pollination between policy and academic research.”
Nominations for the Moynihan Prize come from those who know the academy well, board members, former board members, former prize winners and policymakers that know the policy world well, Kecskemethy said.
Blank said the Moynihan Prize recognizes her research in social sciences, as an economist and her government work. The scholarly world and the policy world do not always “click” very well and the Moynihan Prize recognizes them together, she said.
“This award is incredibly gratifying when your peers recognize what you have been doing,” Blank said.
While working in Washington, D.C. as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers, Blank said she was invited to discuss social policy issues with Moynihan and a small group of people.
Moynihan’s own analysis and research inspired the qualities the AAPSS now looks for in recipients.
“He was a very smart man, he had a very sharp wit, but he showed an enormous grasp of the issues, the nuances, as well as being very shrewd about politics,” Blank said. “That combination is a really wonderful combination when you are an elected official.”
Particular accomplishments for Blank’s collection of work include her time at the Department of Commerce where she promoted economic development, sitting on the Council of Economic Advisers and holding faculty positions at University of Michigan, Northwestern University and Princeton University, as listed by the AAPSS’s website.
AAPSS has previously recognized Blank as an Eleanor Roosevelt Fellow.
“That was primarily for my research, relating to social policy issues,” Blank said. “I have done a lot of work on labor markets, low income labor markets and income distribution.”
The Moynihan prize recognizes individual’s accomplishments that are not representative of one particular contribution but rather of somebody who has made considerable impact over the course of their career, Kecskemethy said.
“Those people are interestingly hard to find and can be rare,” Kecskemethy said. “Rebecca Blank is definitely one of them as she [has] demonstrated over the course of her career.”
