Michael N. Bleicher was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1935 to David and Rachel Bleicher. After receiving his undergraduate degree from the California Institute of Technology, Bleicher sought to become a mathematician, and continued his graduate education at Tulane University, receiving his M.S. in 1959 and his Ph.D. in 1961. He also had the opportunity to serve as a fellow at the University of Warsaw during 1960-1961, where he received a second Ph.D. In 1962 he came to Madison, Wisconsin to become a member of the Mathematics Department faculty at the University of Wisconsin.
Not long after he began teaching in Madison, Bleicher began to get involved in Wisconsin politics. In 1964 he was elected 10th Ward Chairman of the Dane County Democratic Party, and he became involved on the local party level in other ways as well. Much of his political work in Madison consisted of campaigning for Democratic candidates for local office. Initially his involvement was as a member of advisory committees (such as for Toby Reynolds, a Madison mayoral candidate in 1969). In 1970, he was the campaign manager for Midge Miller, who ran for the Wisconsin Assembly. The next year, he was the campaign manager for Leo Cooper, a candidate for mayor of Madison.
Concurrently, he was a regular delegate to the Wisconsin Democratic Conventions, and in 1971, was elected on the Administrative Committee of the Wisconsin State Democratic Party. He served on this committee until 1977, when he successfully ran for the office of Wisconsin State Democratic Party Chairman. His term as chairman lasted until 1979.
Bleicher's involvement in politics at the national level came in 1968, when he served as Vice-Chairman of the Wisconsin Primary campaign for the Presidential candidacy of Eugene McCarthy. Later that year, Bleicher served on the Credentials Committee of the National Democratic Convention. In 1972 he again held this position, and was Vice-Chair of the Wisconsin Primary for another Presidential candidate, George McGovern. Between the 1972 and 1976 elections, Bleicher served as a member of the Democratic National Committee, and was also a delegate to the 1974 Democratic Mid-Term Convention. In 1976, he became the co-chair of the Wisconsin Primary for Fred Harris, another Democratic Candidate for President, and once again was a delegate to the National Convention.
Much of Bleicher's political activity was based on his attempts to reform the rules and organization of the party to make participation more democratic. As a member of the Credentials Committee in 1968, he oversaw several challenges to state delegations due to the failure of several states to adequately allow the participation of all races. In 1972, he again served on the Credentials Committee, and many of the challenges were based on the failure of some delegations to include a minimum percentage of women and minorities, as was mandated by new rules at the time. Bleicher's membership on the Administrative Committee of the Wisconsin Democratic Party involved complying with organization reforms mandated by the National Committee.
Bleicher continued to serve as a mathematics professor as well. Between 1972 and 1974 he was the chairman of the University of Wisconsin's Mathematics Department. He began writing for mathematical journals after receiving his Ph.D., and in 1968 co-authored Excursion in Mathematics; a new edition was published in 2000. Currently, Bleicher teaches Mathematics at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia, while also holding the position of Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin.
1935 |
Born in Cleveland, Ohio
|
1957 |
Received B.S. degree from California Institute of Technology
|
1959 |
Received M.S. degree from Tulane University
|
1961 |
Received Ph.D. degrees from Tulane University and University of Warsaw
|
1964 |
Joined the faculty at University of Wisconsin at Madison as member of Mathematics Department
|
1964 |
10th Ward Chairman of the Dane County Democratic Party
|
1965-1966 |
Dane County Ward Organization Chairman
|
1968 |
Delegate to National Democratic Convention; Member of the Credentials Committee
|
1968 |
Vice-Chairman of the Wisconsin McCarthy for President Spring Primary (in charge of Western half of state)
|
1968 |
Distribution Chairman, Kastenmeier for Congress Committee, Fall election
|
1969 |
Chairman of the Wisconsin State Democratic Party Resolutions Committee
|
1969-1970 |
Acting Chairman of the Wisconsin New Democratic Coalition
|
1970 |
Campaign Manager of the Midge Miller for Assembly Fall election
|
1970-1977 |
Member of the Wisconsin Democratic Party Delegate Selection Commission
|
1971 |
Campaign Manager of the Leo Cooper for Mayor Spring election
|
1971-1973 |
Elected to the Wisconsin State Democratic Party Administrative Committee as a member-at-large
|
1971-1973 |
Vice Chairman of the Democratic Party of the 2nd Congressional District, Wisconsin
|
1972-1979 |
Member of the Democratic National Committee
|
1972 |
Delegate to National Democratic Convention, Member of the Credentials Committee
|
1972 |
Vice Chairman of the Wisconsin McCarthy for President Spring Primary campaign
|
1972 |
Floor Manager of the McGovern forces on Credentials Committee, National Democratic Convention
|
1972 |
Member of the National Steering Committee of the New Democratic Coalition
|
1972 |
Steering Committee, Leo Cooper for Mayor
|
1972-1973 |
Co-editor of the Wisconsin Progressive Democrat (defunct after three editions)
|
1973 |
Steering Committee, Paul Soglin for Mayor
|
1973 |
Member (ex-officio, voting) of the Wisconsin State Democratic Party Administrative Committee
|
1974 |
Chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party Development Commission
|
1974 |
Delegate to the Democratic National Mid-Term Conference
|
1975 |
Finance Committee Chairman, Paul Soglin for Mayor
|
1975-1976 |
Co-Chairman of the Wisconsin Harris for President primary campaign
|
1976 |
Delegate to National Democratic Convention; Member of the Rules Committee
|
1977-1979 |
Chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party
|
1979-1981 |
Staff, U.S. Department of Energy
|