The University of Wisconsin system’s top boss is in a stalemate with the board overseeing him.
Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman said in a recent letter to the board president that he had been told to resign or be fired. He said he not been given “any substantive reason or reasons for the board’s finding of no confidence in my leadership” and refused to step down.
UW Board of Regents President Amy Bogost has said little about the matter, both publicly or to Rothman.
News of the dramatic clash between broke this week after the Associated Press published the letter.
Here’s what to know:
Why is the board unhappy with UW system President Jay Rothman?
It’s unclear. Rothman said he was not told why the board wants him out. In his letter, he said Bogost told him each board member had their own perspective.
Bogost did not respond to a call and text message from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. In a statement provided by a UW system spokesperson, she said she wouldn’t comment on personnel matters.
“The Board is responsible for the leadership of the Universities of Wisconsin and is having discussions about its future,” the statement said.
How did the skirmish between the UW president and UW Board of Regents start?
In the letter to Bogost, Rothman recounted a meeting he said he had recently had with Bogost and board Vice President Kyle Weatherly. He said he had been surprised to be told that an unidentified majority of regents had lost confidence in him.
Rothman said the board’s “preferred path” was for him to announce his exit effective at the end of 2026. But he said Bogost told him if he didn’t resign, the board would fire him.
Rothman met March 31 with two other board members, Regents Ashok Rai and Jack Salzwedel. In an April 1 letter to the men, he said any board conclusion that it would not back him would be “at best, an after-the-fact rationalization of a decision that clearly has already been made.”
The board met behind closed doors April 1 to discuss ongoing personnel matters. The next day, the AP published Rothman’s letters.
What happens next?
The board could meet as soon as Easter weekend to fire him, according to Rothman’s April 1 letter.
Rothman said the regents “made it clear” he would not be allowed to address the board.
Can the UW regents fire Rothman?
Rothman has a “limited appointment.” Under state code, these appointees serve at the pleasure of the board and can be fired at any time.
Faculty members with tenure, for example, have more rights. The board must go through a more extended process to fire professors.
State code said “wherever possible” three months’ notice of termination should be given if the appointee doesn’t simultaneously another university appointment, which is true in Rothman’s case. Often, this means a leader no longer works in the office and transitions to other duties.
Rothman has said he found the processs being used to terminate him “nearly (if not completely) indefensible.”
Were there previous public hints of a rift?
Rothman previously floated his resignation in 2023 when the board narrowly struck down a deal he had negotiated with the state Legislature over campus diversity efforts. Bogost, then the vice president, and the board president at the time voted against his plan.
Rothman wrote in a text to a different board member he was “pretty sure” about what he needed to do next. “Not happy about that,” he continued, “but I just lost my credibility to lead.”
The board later reversed its vote.
When did the board last meet privately to discuss Rothman?
Under state law, the board can meet privately to discuss the president’s employment, though any vote to fire him would need to happen during an open public meeting.
Before the April 1 meeting, a review of meeting minutes show the board last met in executive session to discuss Rothman’s job performance last September and October.
What have politicians said about this?
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers appointed most of the board members, though he said he wouldn’t be getting involved in the personnel matter.
“It’s not that I’m not concerned about it,” he told reporters in La Crosse April 3. “You hate to have it happen this way, but at the end of the day, that’s something the Board of Regents will take care of.”
Both lawmakers overseeing the Senate and Assembly committees on universities were disappointed in the board’s handling of the matter.
Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, said in a statement it was “the latest example of how politics within the Board of Regents is counterproductive to the UW System’s best interests.” He suggested the board focus on reducing bureaucracy, consolidating more two-year campuses and making college more affordable.
Rep. Dave Murphy, R-Hortonville, said he spoke with Rothman after the news broke April 2. He said Rothman told him he was disappointed the board wouldn’t give him a straight answer.
Murphy, too, said the lack of transparency was “appalling.”
“I think they’re just stonewalling,” Murphy told the Journal Sentinel.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, didn’t return requests for comment.
Who is Jay Rothman?
The board hired Rothman as president in 2022, putting the UW system for the first time under the direction of someone who is almost entirely an outsider to the world of public higher education.
A Wausau native, he had been chairman and CEO of Milwaukee-based Foley & Lardner since 2011. He joined the firm in 1986. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Marquette University and a law degree from Harvard. He has a background in business law, practicing in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and corporate governance.
The board was controlled by Democratic appointees at the time of Rothman’s hire. Wisconsin Democracy Campaign records show Rothman, at the time of his hire, had given more than $77,000 in campaign donations to candidates for state office, primarily to Republicans.
Rothman currently earns $600,943 annually.
Why does this matter?
The UW system president isn’t as public-facing as a chancellor but holds significant sway over the direction of the state’s public universities. Chancellors report to the president. The president reports to the board.
The board often follows the president’s recommendations. Serving on the board is an unpaid, volunteer position, whereas the president is a (more than) full-time job.
UW-Madison is searching for its next chancellor. Jennifer Mnookin leaves in mid-May to become Columbia University’s next president.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
Kelly Meyerhofer has covered higher education in Wisconsin since 2018. Contact her at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about unusual standoff between UW President Jay Rothman and board
Reporting by Kelly Meyerhofer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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