University of Wisconsin system regents set to meet behind closed doors to consider firing president

MADISON, Wis. — The Universities of Wisconsin system president could lose his job during a closed-door regents meeting Tuesday evening.

The Board of Regents announced it had scheduled the meeting for 6 p.m. EDT to consider firing Jay Rothman, the leader of the state's four-year colleges. The regents have not given a clear reason why they're considering terminating Rothman, who has served a little more than four years in the top leadership post.

The vote is scheduled just five days after The Associated Press first reported that the regents asked Rothman to either resign or be fired. Rothman said in two letters to the regents that he would not leave voluntarily without knowing what he did wrong.

Regent President Amy Bogost said in a statement Monday that the board has shared results of a performance review with Rothman, with “direct conversations and clear feedback regarding leadership expectations.” She said the system needs “a clear vision” but did not elaborate on the review's findings.

Rothman countered Tuesday with his own statement insisting regents repeatedly declined to cite a specific reason for finding no confidence in his leadership. No one ever indicated to him that an evaluation could lead to termination, he said, adding that Bogost called his review “overwhelmingly positive.”

“It is disappointing that the first I heard any sort of defense of their position was when they communicated with the media,” Rothman said. “I am left to conclude that, at best, this reflects an after-the-fact rationalization of a decision that was previously made.”

The secrecy has drawn the ire of Republicans who control the Legislature and the system's purse strings.

“This lack of transparency is unacceptable,” said GOP state Rep. David Murphy, chair of the Assembly's colleges and universities committee. “President Rothman deserves to know exactly why the Board has lost confidence in his leadership.”

Rothman has served as president of the 165,000-student, multicampus system since January 2022. The former chair and CEO of the Milwaukee-based Foley & Lardner law firm, Rothman had no prior experience administering higher education.

He has spent his tenure lobbying Republican legislators to increase state aid for the system in the face of federal cuts, navigating free speech issues surrounding pro-Palestinian protests, and grappling with declining enrollment that has forced eight branch campuses to close. Overall enrollment across the system has remained steady under his leadership.

He has to tread carefully dealing with a Republican-controlled Legislature and a Board of Regents with a majority of members appointed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

Rothman brokered a deal with Assembly Republican Speaker Robin Vos in 2023 that called for freezing diversity hires and creating a position at UW-Madison focused on conservative thought in exchange for Vos releasing money for UW employee raises and tens of millions of dollars for construction projects across the system.

The regents initially rejected the deal only to approve it in a second vote held just days later. Evers said at the time the deal left him disappointed and frustrated.

Asked Monday about the move to oust Rothman, Evers didn't take a side. “It's their call,” he said of the board.

The fight over Rothman's future comes as the flagship Madison campus is losing its chancellor. Jennifer Mnookin is leaving in May at the end of the current academic year to take the job as president of Columbia University.

Rothman makes $600,943 annually as UW president. He can be fired for no stated reason and he has no appeal rights, said Wisconsin employment law attorney Tamara Packard, who reviewed Rothman’s contract at the AP’s request.

Under the contract, Rothman would have to be given six-months’ notice of his termination. In practice, what usually happens is the person is told to focus on transitioning their duties and not actually work in the office any longer, Packard said.

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