Blanche McKenzie Scholarship in Economics

The Blanche McKenzie Scholarship in Economics is an award of distinction. Blanche McKenzie, a successful economist, was one of the first women economists of her time.  Along with her husband, Lionel, a well-known economist in his own right, she developed the economics program at the University of Rochester into a world-renowned program.  Blanche, also known as a humanitarian, inspired and encouraged many students, especially young women, in the pursuit of higher education.

This award was established in 2000 by UC Santa Cruz alumni Randi Novak.  Ms. Novak graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 1976 with a degree in math and economics.  She went on to receive her Ph.D. from the University of Rochester where she took classes from Professor McKenzie.  She is well known among Silicon Valley professionals as a “start-up cowgirl” for being instrumental in the start-ups of companies such as Data Encore (subsidiary of Verbatim), and Nortel Networks, among others.