Exclusive: Universities of Wisconsin leaders looking to oust system president who refuses to quit

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The president of the University of Wisconsin system said in letters obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday that he’s been told to either resign or be fired, but has been given no reason and won’t step aside.

Jay Rothman, president of the multi-campus 165,000-student university system since 2022, said in a letter addressed to the head of the Board of Regents dated March 26 that he's been given no reason why regents want him to leave.

Rothman said he's been told that his options are to resign or retire, and that if he doesn't then the board “was prepared to terminate my employment despite all that has been accomplished.”

The Board of Regents held a closed emergency meeting on Wednesday night to discuss personnel matters.

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

Rothman declined to comment when reached via email on Thursday.

“I believe my letter speaks for itself,” he said.

In the letter addressed to Bogost, Rothman said he had not been “provided any substantive reason or reasons for the Board’s finding of no confidence in my leadership.”

Because of that, Rothman said, “I am not prepared, as a matter of principle, to submit my resignation.”

Rothman also refused to resign in a second letter sent to two other regents on Wednesday after he said they urged him to step down during a Tuesday meeting. Rothman said the regents told him if he didn’t resign, the board was prepared to meet this weekend to fire him.

Rothman said those regents also could not give a reason for them wanting him to resign or be fired.

“I find this process to be nearly (if not completely) indefensible,” Rothman wrote.

Rothman said he asked for an opportunity to discuss the situation with the board and was told that would not happen.

Rothman's tenure has been marked by his efforts to increase state funding amid federal cuts, debates over free speech on campus amid pro-Palestinian protests, and declining enrollment leading to eight branch campus closures.

Rothman raised the possibility of resigning in 2023 when the Board of Regents rejected a deal reached with the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature over diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The board later reversed its vote and approved the deal.

Rothman noted in the March letter that “among so many other things,” the university will need to replace the chancellor of the flagship Madison campus this year. Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin is leaving to take the job as president of Columbia University.

“I do not believe my resignation at this time is in the best interests of either the Universities of Wisconsin or the state of Wisconsin,” Rothman said.

Rothman said in the letter that he has devoted his “heart and soul to the mission of the Universities of Wisconsin” and that he was surprised when told “an unidentified majority of the Board of Regents had lost confidence" in his leadership.

“When I asked you to articulate reasons for the Board’s conclusion and apparent lack of confidence in me, you merely noted that each Regent has his or her own perspective on the matter,” Rothman wrote. “You did not provide any tangible reasons for the Board’s determination.”

Rothman, the former chair and CEO of the Milwaukee-based Foley & Lardner law firm, was chosen as UW president in 2022. He had no prior experience administering higher education.

The Universities of Wisconsin consists of 13 universities and several other branch campuses.