Robert S. Blank, L’65, Emeritus Trustee at the University of Pennsylvania, died on April 30. He was 75 years old.

Mr. Blank was the son of two Penn graduates, noted Alzheimer’s disease fundraiser Ruth Saler Blank, Ed’37, and Pennsylvania state representative Samuel A. Blank, W’29, L’32. He earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University, then graduated from Penn Law in 1965.

He began his career as an assistant US attorney. He was an associate in mergers & acquisitions with Goldman Sachs and an associate at Blank, Rome, Klaus & McCauley, the prominent law firm founded by his father. In 1971, he joined Whitney Communications Company, where he eventually became co-chairman and co-chief executive officer. He was also a partner of its subsidiary, Whitcom Partners.

Mr. Blank joined Penn’s Board of Trustees in 2000. He served on the Budget & Finance, Development, Student Life and Audit & Compliance Committees, as well as the Proxy Subcommittee, which he chaired from 2005 to 2009. He also served on the Penn Medicine Board, where he sat on the Executive Committee and chaired the Audit Committee. He was an emeritus member of the Board of Overseers of Penn’s Law School, where he was a member from 2002 to 2011, and a former Overseer of the Wharton School, where he also served on the Undergraduate Executive Board. The Law School presented him with its Distinguished Service Award in 2009.

He made several gifts to Penn in honor of his parents, including the Samuel A. Blank Endowed Professorship in Legal Studies at the Wharton School, the Samuel A. Blank Endowed Professorship at the Law School and the Samuel and Ruth Blank Classroom in Jon M. Huntsman Hall, a gift he and his wife, Nancy, made with their children.

Mr. Blank gave generously to Penn Law, Wharton and Penn Medicine, providing support for faculty, undergraduate and graduate financial aid and athletics. In 2013, he gave to Penn in support of a lecture program, a laboratory and a conference room in memory of Kenneth L. Kershbaum, a cardiologist at Pennsylvania Hospital.

He was also a member of the Penn Alumni Board of Directors, the Penn Alumni Council and the Parent Leadership Committee. Most recently, he served on the Steering Committee of the Making History campaign, which raised $4.3 billion.

Mr. Blank is survived by his wife, Nancy; their children, Wendy, C’98, Samuel, C’01 and Matt, C’03, L’07, WG’08; and seven grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to either Memorial Sloan Kettering (http://giving.mskcc.org/) or New York Presbyterian Hospital (http://www.nyp.org/giving).