Wisconsin Regents Defend Firing President

In a public hearing on Thursday, Universities of Wisconsin regents stood by their decision to fire system President Jay Rothman, the Associated Press and other news outlets reported.

Regents Timothy Nixon and Amy Bogost also offered details on why he was fired, telling lawmakers that multiple factors led to Tuesday’s vote to fire Rothman. Nixon alleged that he failed to address issues such as artificial intelligence with any urgency, sought to restrict public board discussions and open records, tried to limit member interactions with lawmakers, and gave himself credit for accomplishments that were driven by team effort.

Bogost, the board president, accused Rothman of trying to use the offer of confidentiality over personnel decisions to create a one-sided narrative, and said she would be able to offer more details if he would waive confidentiality. She compared the process to “moving on to a new quarterback.”

(Sources previously told Inside Higher Ed that Rothman also threatened to quit multiple times and had lost the support of the campus chancellors who reported to him as system head.)

Rothman, for his part, has said that he was “blindsided” by the effort to push him out when regents gave him an ultimatum to step down or be fired. The first-time university administrator defended his record and refused to resign, prompting a unanimous vote to remove him.

The firing has divided Wisconsin lawmakers in recent weeks; multiple GOP legislators have voiced support for Rothman, who was hired in 2022 by a board majority appointed by former governor Scott Walker, a Republican. The current Board of Regents is almost entirely comprised of members appointed by Tony Evers, the current two-term Democratic governor.

While Evers has made limited remarks on the firing, he released a statement Thursday accusing the GOP lawmakers who control the state Senate’s Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges, which held the hearing, of attempting to politicize Rothman’s firing and signaling his trust in the board.