Messages Show Depth of Rift Between Rothman and UW Regents

A trove of recently released records reveals the extent of the rift between the Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents and system president Jay Rothman leading up to his dismissal in April, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Rothman came under mounting pressure in the spring to resign or face termination, according to letters he shared with Inside Higher Ed after they were leaked to the Associated Press. He refused, arguing the regents had given him no clear reason for their loss of confidence, ultimately forcing their hand.

The newly released text messages and emails show the depth of the regents’ frustrations with Rothman. They swapped complaints about everything from his amateurish presentations to his slowness in crafting a systemwide artificial intelligence plan.

One text exchange between regent Jack Salzwedel and student regent Noah Fritz mocked Rothman for using AI to put together a presentation analyzing UW’s AI implementation.

“Jay … asking ai to rank the UWs and then presenting it to us is comical,” Fritz wrote.

“Pulling teeth to get him to get proactive with strategy and this is what we get,” Salzwedel said. “Now we get dog and pony presentations from all schools on how great it’s going.”

“The craziest part is he’s had 6 months to do this and that [is] what he gave us,” Fritz responded. “If i were to do that in my classes I would be disciplined for cheating and jay is doing it to present to the board of regents.”

In other messages, regents complained that they had to “pull teeth in the presentations” to get Rothman to include detailed financial information, and that he viewed the board as just a body useful for “rubber-stamping” decisions. They also noted concerns about his top-down style of leadership.

The materials include a number of messages expressing support for Rothman, including from donors John and Tashia Morgridge, who wrote to the regents that it is “totally irresponsible to terminate an individual without cause.”

They also wrote directly to Rothman, saying, “We know this is getting nastier by the moment. You are such a good man. We want you to know we are available to help in any way possible.”