UW Board of Regents Fires President Jay Rothman
Rothman refused to step down, demanded reasons. Legislator calls it a 'hatchet job.'
Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman speaks during a press conference Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, at Waunakee Community High School in Waunakee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
The Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents voted Tuesday to fire the leader of the state’s public university system.
Jay Rothman has been serving as the UW president since he was hired by regents in 2022. Before that, he worked as CEO of the Milwaukee-based Foley & Lardner law firm.
The unanimous vote to fire Rothman came after the board met in private for just over 20 minutes on Tuesday. The board had also met in private last week to discuss “personnel.”
Chris Patton will serve as acting executive-in-charge until an interim president can be appointed, according to a UW news release. Patton is a vice president for university relations.
Rothman’s forced exit comes as regents search for a chancellor to lead the system’s flagship university, the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin is leaving UW-Madison next month to become Columbia University’s next president. Rothman chose Eric Wilcots, a dean at UW-Madison, to serve as interim chancellor until a permanent leader is appointed.
Rothman’s annual salary is $600,943. His contract says he must be given six months’ notice before being terminated, although it says he can be given “reassignment to other duties” while he continues to be paid his full salary during that six-month period.
The UW system spans 13 universities and enrolls more than 160,000 students annually. Its annual budget is roughly $7 billion.
In letter, Rothman said he would not step down voluntarily
News of the board’s plans to oust Rothman broke on Thursday, when the Associated Press obtained correspondence sent by Rothman to regents.
In a letter dated March 26, Rothman wrote that he has no plans to resign or retire despite being told that an “unidentified majority” on the Board of Regents wanted him out.
“When I asked you to articulate reasons for the Board’s conclusion and apparent lack of confidence in me, you merely noted that each Regent has his or her own perspective on the matter,” Rothman wrote to board President Amy Bogost. “You did not provide any tangible reasons for the Board’s determination.”
Bogost statement points to performance review, but doesn’t share specifics
There was no public discussion during Tuesday’s meeting about the decision to fire Rothman —apart from prepared remarks read by Bogost. It was the same statement that Bogost had already released on Monday.
In that statement, Bogost noted that she shared the results of Rothman’s annual performance review with him.
“This process consisted of multiple meetings with the full Board of Regents, including direct conversations and clear feedback regarding leadership expectations,” the statement said. “President Rothman was not without notice, nor was this process sudden. The Board has engaged with President Rothman in good-faith discussions over the past several months.”
The statement did not say what, if any, problems were specifically flagged in that review as indications that the board has lost confidence in Rothman.
“This does not diminish the President’s many contributions, which we acknowledge and greatly appreciate,” the statement said. “As an at-will employee of the Board of Regents, the System President serves at the pleasure of the Board, which bears the responsibility of determining whether its chosen leader continues to hold its confidence.”
In his own statement Tuesday, Rothman said that board leaders have continued to decline to provide a specific reason for wanting to oust him.
“I am left to conclude that, at best, this reflects an after-the-fact rationalization of a decision that was previously made,” Rothman said. “At no point in the last six months was it ever indicated to me that an evaluation could lead to termination and, in fact, the most recent evaluation delivered to me by Regent President Bogost was noted by her as being ‘overwhelmingly positive.’”
Rothman: Regents’ actions are ‘disappointing’
Rothman called regents’ actions “disappointing” but said he was proud of accomplishments during his time in charge including having “secured the largest revenue increase from the state in two decades, eliminated structural deficits at our universities, maintained affordability, increased student enrollment for three consecutive years, secured funding for student mental health services, focused on the First Amendment rights of our students (and) expanded continuing education programs to meet workforce needs.”
UW’s president is chosen by the Board of Regents and those regents are appointed by Wisconsin’s governor. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers will leave office early next year, after announcing he would not run again in this November’s election.
In an interview with WPR on Friday, state Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, suggested that timing was contributing to the regents’ decision. All of the current regents were appointed by Evers.
Nedweski, who is vice chair of the state Assembly’s Committee on Colleges and Universities, said regents may have been trying to oust Rothman because of his willingness to engage with legislative Republicans.
“I’ve seen on multiple occasions, where President Rothman has tried to work in the middle and find compromise between the Legislature and the regents,” Nedweski said. “I’m expecting that maybe his values don’t align with theirs on who the next chancellor should be for UW-Madison.”
Still, Nedweski said she can’t know for sure what the reasons are, because regents have not been forthcoming with Wisconsinites about why they want Rothman out.
“I have the same questions he has: ‘What’s their reasoning?’” Nedweski said Friday. “As usual, the UW System and its representatives are not being transparent with the public, so I think it’s been handled very poorly.”
There’s been a lengthy history of clashes between the Republicans who control Wisconsin’s Legislature and the state’s public university system. That included demands from Republicans that UW cut programming and positions dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion, fights over funding and legislative hearings in which Republicans accused UW leaders of suppressing the opinions of conservatives.
After Rothman was fired, the state Senate’s Republican-led Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges scheduled a Thursday meeting to consider the appointments of 10 regents chosen by Evers. Those regents have been serving since they were appointed, even though their positions have yet to be approved by the full state Senate.
In a statement issued shortly after the vote, Sen. Patrick Testin, R-Stevens Point, called Rothman’s firing a “hatchet job.”
“Because the Board of Regents decided to remove President Rothman without just cause, I am calling on the Senate to reject every single one of their confirmations,” Testin said. “As they say, actions have consequences.”
Meanwhile the chair of the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities, Rep. Dave Murphy, R-Hortonville, has announced that panel will have a hearing concerning Rothman’s departure.
On Monday, Murphy told WPR’s Wisconsin Today that, while he often disagreed with Rothman, he was troubled by a “dreadful lack of management skills” from the regents in handling Rothman’s ouster.
Faculty union supports regents’ move
In contrast, the union representing Universities of Wisconsin faculty said it supported the regents’ efforts to “hold (Rothman) accountable for his performance.”
“President Rothman’s tenure has been defined by his unwillingness to listen to the stakeholders that truly define our campuses: on everything from our faculty, staff, and students’ commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion to UW System Administration’s disastrous efforts to impose a general education curriculum on our campuses,” AFT-Wisconsin President Jon Shelton said in a statement Thursday.
UW leaders said that curriculum would make it easier for students to transfer credits between campuses while complying with requirements under a new state law. In November, regents unanimously approved a policy for transferring “core general education” requirements between UW campuses.
But many faculty members said the university’s policy was a one-size-fits-all approach that would take away from the ability to tailor curriculum to the needs of individual campuses.
Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents fires President Jay Rothman was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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