U Wisconsin system may stop requiring searches for top roles

The Universities of Wisconsin, a 13-institution system, may eliminate the requirement that its president form search committees to help find and select other top system leaders.

Current system policy says the president, currently Jay O. Rothman, must appoint a “search and screen committee” when a vacancy occurs in a “system administration senior leadership position.” Those systemwide roles are currently the general counsel, the chief audit executive, vice presidents and senior vice presidents.

But the system’s Board of Regents is set to vote Tuesday on policy changes that would delete that requirement. The new language would simply say, “The system president shall consult with the regent president to determine the process to use to select the new senior leaders.”

Officials wrote in meeting documents that these positions “are core members of the leadership team for any president’s administration.” The change would “reduce unnecessary administrative processes, providing flexibility for the system president to appoint key executive positions,” per the documents.

Board members will also vote Tuesday on another change: removing the three-year cap on how long system senior leaders can serve in an interim capacity. The Wisconsin State Journal, which previously reported on the proposed policy changes, wrote that this proposal “comes just a few months before” Johannes Britz, the interim senior vice president for academic and student affairs, reaches the limit.

Amy B. Bogost, the board president, didn’t respond to Inside Higher Ed’s requests for comment Monday, and a system spokesperson referred to the meeting materials and didn’t comment further.