Raymond Blanco was born and raised in Birmingham, he received his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy but never got into management at USL .
With the merger of the offices of the Dean of Men and Dean of Women, Blanco was named as USL's Dean of Student Personnel in 1972. In 1974 he became the Chief Student Officer for the university functioning as the Dean of Students and overseeing the operations of the entire student welfare area. As member of the University Council, he is responsible for the operations of the following areas: Student Personnel, University Police, Student Union, Counseling and Testing, International Students, Housing, Child Development Center, Career Services, Parking and Transit, One Card System, Intramurals, Student Health Services, Student Athlete Center, Physical Plant, Student Government, Campus Organizations and Student Publications. 
