Hours before the Universities of Wisconsin president was poised to lose his job, he released a statement saying he had been blindsided after receiving an overwhelmingly positive performance evaluation.
The UW Board of Regents is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. April 7 to consider firing UW system president Jay Rothman, who said he has been told to resign or be fired. He also said he had been provided no specific reasons why the board had lost confidence in his leadership, and therefore was refusing to step down.
“It is disappointing that the first I heard any sort of defense of their position was when they communicated with the media,” Rothman said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I am left to conclude that, at best, this reflects an after-the-fact rationalization of a decision that was previously made.”
Regents President Amy Bogost said Rothman is an at-will employee of the board and the board had engaged in good-faith discussions over the past several months.
Opposition to Rothman’s potential ouster is mounting among Republican lawmakers. The Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state’s largest business group, also said it stood behind Rothman, urging the board to reject what it said was a “capricious, unfair, and possibly partisan attempt” to remove the president.
Rep. Dave Murphy, R-Hortonville, who chairs the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities, said he would hold a hearing in the coming days to demand that regents explain why they had lost confidence in Rothman.
“The Board owes Wisconsin taxpayers, students, and families a full explanation,” Murphy said in a statement. “They should provide specific reasons or stand down from this effort. This hearing will ensure accountability and transparency in our University of Wisconsin System.”
His Senate counterpart, Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, has called a April 9 hearing to consider regents’ appointments. Ten of the 18 board members have not been confirmed by the Senate, which can vote to fire.
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: With UW president poised to lose job, Republicans call for regents to testify
Reporting by Kelly Meyerhofer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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