University of Wisconsin Chancellor Rebecca Blank was elected Wednesday to a national board of higher education trustees for interconnecting technology.

Internet2 plays a crucial role in providing an infrastructure for technology in higher education. Comprised of 17 board members from educational disciplines across the country, Internet2 Board of Trustees consists of university presidents, chief information officers and network and discipline researchers.

Dave Lambert, president and CEO of Internet2, said the company’s Nominations and Governance Committee identifies potential board members, and if nominees accept they are elected by ballot.

Blank’s election to the board is considered an honor, Lambert said, calling her recent appointment a “slam dunk.”

Blank was a keynote speaker at one of Internet2’s recent events. Her mixed background in academia and heavy involvement and understanding in the value of broadband made her an excellent candidate to be a member on the Board of Trustees, Lambert said.

Transcript: The Badger Herald sits down with Chancellor Rebecca Blank, Lori Berquam

Larry Landweber, a John P. Morgridge professor emeritus of computer science at UW and former trustee of Internet2’s board, noted the important role Internet2 plays in connecting universities across the nation together.

Internet2 offers infrastructure and services to universities and researchers, such as the high-speed broadband network U.S. higher education facilities enjoy across the country, Landweber said.

“Internet2 is state of the art, cutting-edge. It provides one of the best connectivities available to academia,” Landweber said.

Internet2 provides a network for its universities, using fast and high-tech fiber optic cables, Landweber said. He also noted how nothing commercially offered could support the information volume produced by U.S. universities.

Many university professors and students don’t realize it, but Internet2 is crucial to supporting everything they do, from their research to their emails, Lambert said. Internet2 provides the network backbone with the ability to transfer impossibly large amounts of data.

The participation of university presidents, or chancellors in Blank’s case, keeps Internet2 tightly aligned with what universities need, Lambert said.

Internet2’s reach extends beyond higher education by linking to K-12 schools to regional networks and connecting U.S. universities with their more remote research locations, such as UW’s IceCube neutrino detection observatory in the Antarctic, through reliable internet connection.

According to Lambert, Internet2’s infrastructure is crucial in keeping the U.S.’s higher education competitive.

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In a statement, Blank emphasized the role Internet2 has played in coordination with UW.

“I look forward to serving on a board that has such a wide impact on the future of higher education,” Blank said in the statement. “As a founding member of Internet2, the University of Wisconsin-Madison has continuously contributed to the ongoing development and expansion of the critical services offered by Internet2. It is essential technology to support science at research universities.”