Wisconsin President Under Pressure to Resign

Jay Rothman, president of the 25-campus Universities of Wisconsin system, is resisting an ultimatum from the Board of Regents to resign or be fired for unexplained reasons. The news was first reported by the Associated Press.

Rothman wrote in two letters shared with Inside Higher Ed that he had been told to step down or face termination, though he said he wasn’t given a rationale for the demand and won’t resign.

“Since to date you have not provided any substantive reason or reasons for the Board’s finding of no confidence in my leadership, I am not prepared, as a matter of principle, to submit my resignation,” Rothman wrote in a March 26 letter shared with Inside Higher Ed and the AP.

Rothman raised similar concerns in letter sent Wednesday, writing that he found “this process to be nearly (if not completely) indefensible from a Board governance perspective.” He added that he’s requested an opportunity to appear before the board to discuss the situation and was denied. (Read the letters below.)

The board held a closed-session emergency meeting Wednesday night to address a personnel matter, but did not make a public announcement related to any actions taken to remove Rothman or accept his resignation.

“The Board is responsible for the leadership of the Universities of Wisconsin and is having discussions about its future,” Amy Bogost, UW board president, said in a statement to the AP. “We don’t comment on personnel matters.”

Rothman did not respond to a request for comment from Inside Higher Ed.

Rothman has led the system since 2022. He joined UW after a lengthy stretch in the legal field, which included a stint as chairman and CEO of the law firm Foley & Lardner LLP. Rothman had no experience in higher education administration before he took the job.

As president, Rothman has navigated a series of controversies across the system, including crackdowns on pro-Palestinian protests at the flagship university, a First Amendment fight with a campus chancellor fired for making pornography, and ongoing enrollment challenges.