The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents will hold a special meeting Tuesday night to discuss and potentially vote on the termination of UW System president Jay Rothman.
Rothman refused to resign as a matter of principle after he said in letters to the Regents that they had requested he resign or retire without cause.
“Since to date you have not provided any substantive reason or reasons for the Board’s finding of no confidence in my leadership,” Rothman wrote on March 26, “I am not prepared, as a matter of principle, to submit my resignation.”
Rothman penned two letters, one to Board President Amy Bogost with his initial refusal to resign, and another to Regents Ashok Rai and Jack Salzwedel after a Tuesday meeting the three had, with Rai and Salzwedel once again urging him to step down in order to ‘preserve his legacy.’
Bogost released a statement Monday afternoon in advance of the Tuesday meeting casting doubt on Rothman’s claim that the decision had come without notice and without reason. She cited an annual performance review where she met with Regents, chancellors and other members of the UW communities.
“This process consisted of multiple meetings with the full Board of Regents, including direct conversations and clear feedback regarding leadership expectations,” she wrote. “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.”
Bogost’s statement did not indicate whether the Regents would terminate Rothman during the meeting. However, Rothman claimed in letters to the Regents that they had privately indicated that a majority of the Regents were prepared to fire him if he refused to resign.
“At a time of profound change in higher education, this decision is about the future,” Bogost wrote in her Monday statement. “The Universities of Wisconsin must be led with a clear vision that both protects and strengthens our flagship, supports our comprehensive universities, and ensures we are meeting the evolving needs of our students, workforce, and communities across all 72 counties.”
Lawmakers weigh in
In the days since Rothman’s letters, several prominent Republican lawmakers have come to Rothman’s defense.
Rep. David Murphy, R-Hortonville, who serves as the chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Colleges and Universities wrote in a Friday statement that he was “troubled” by reports that Regents had provided little reasoning for this decision, adding that he worried the decision might be political in nature.
“I am concerned that the push to oust him may actually stem from his strong support for free speech and open inquiry on our campuses—core principles that must be defended in higher education,” Murphy wrote in the statement.
Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, the vice-chair of the committee echoed Murphy’s sentiment in a statement to The Daily Cardinal.
“It’s clear that the Board of Regents, made up entirely of Evers appointees, is attempting to push President Rothman out so they can install someone more closely aligned with their progressive agenda—particularly as they look toward selecting the next chancellor of their flagship campus,” Nedweski said. “While I haven’t always agreed with President Rothman on every issue facing the UW System, I have always appreciated his professionalism and his willingness to engage with Republican lawmakers--to listen to our concerns and find areas of compromise. Unfortunately, it appears that this willingness to work with Republicans may have made him incompatible with the Regents’ agenda.”
Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, who chairs the Senate Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges decried the situation as “the latest example of backroom politics dictating how the Board of Regents is overseeing the UW System.” Committee vice-chair Rachael Cabral-Guevara,R-Fox Crossing, agreed, lamenting the lack of transparency by the Regents during the process.
The special Board of Regents meeting will be held via video conference Tuesday at 5 p.m. The Regents’ discussion will occur in closed session but they may move into open session to vote on Rothman’s termination.
This is a developing story.
Annika Bereny is the campus news editor for The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as the special pages editor. As a staff writer, she's written in-depth on campus news specializing in protest policy, free speech and historical analysis. She has also written for state and city news. She is a History and Journalism major. Follow her on Twitter at @annikabereny.
