In a webinar held on May 8, 2020 by the Wisconsin Tech Council Innovation Network, Chancellor Rebecca Blank emphasized the important role of major research universities such as UW–Madison in addressing a crisis such as COVID-19. Chancellor Blank provided a variety of examples of how UW–Madison is helping fight the coronavirus pandemic, including conducting medical research into potential vaccines and treatments, innovating new ways of providing face masks and other protective equipment, and graduating a trained and skilled workforce that can contribute to solving problems in a wide variety of disciplines. (Watch the webinar below.)
Amy Achter, managing director of the Office of Business Engagement (OBE), made a brief opening statement, noting, “We are thinking about all of you, your families, your team members, and hoping that you are all safe and healthy. As we are all starting to figure out what our new normal is going to look like, and as you think about what your next engagement at the University is going to be like, we are there to help you navigate that, to make connections and to talk about both strategies and tactics.”
Chancellor Blank also recently co-wrote an opinion piece that ran in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She and Peter McPherson, president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), made it clear that UW-Madison and other public universities are on the front lines of the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the article.