Jay O. Rothman, president of the University of Wisconsin System, claims the board has given no reason for losing confidence in him
Credit: John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP
NEED TO KNOW
- Jay O. Rothman, president of the University of Wisconsin System, said he has been asked by the Board of Regents to resign from his position or face being fired
- Rothman refuses to step aside, claiming the board has given no reason for losing confidence in him
- Because of that, he said, “I am not prepared, as a matter of principle, to submit my resignation”
The board of the University of Wisconsin System has asked its president to resign — but he refuses to step aside.
Jay O. Rothman has been serving as the ninth president of the 165,000-student UW System, which includes 13 universities and several branch campuses, since June 2022. In his role, he reports to the 18-member Board of Regents, helmed by Amy Bogost.
In a letter addressed to Bogost, dated March 26, Rothman referenced a March 21 meeting he had with Bogost and two other regents.
Rothman claimed in the letter, which was obtained by PEOPLE, that at the meeting, Bogost told him to resign or the board was prepared to terminate his employment "despite all that has been accomplished." When Rothman asked why the board had "lost confidence" in him, according to the letter, Bogost told him that each regent “has his or her own perspective on the matter.”
Rothman wrote that he had not been “provided any substantive reason or reasons for the Board’s finding of no confidence in my leadership.” Because of that, he said, “I am not prepared, as a matter of principle, to submit my resignation.”
In the letter, he also outlined the "significant milestones" he and his team achieved during his presidency, including securing "the largest operating budget increase for the Universities of Wisconsin in over two decades in the last state budget."
Credit: John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP
Rothman reiterated his intention not to resign in a second letter addressed to the other two board members present at the March 21 meeting, Ashok Rai and Jack Salzwedel. In the April 1 letter, obtained by PEOPLE, he said he also asked Rai and Salzwedel why they had lost confidence in him but was given no reason.
“Unfortunately, I am left to conclude that any basis for a board finding of no confidence in my leadership will be, at best, an after-the-fact rationalization of a decision that clearly has already been made,” Rothman wrote in the second letter, per The Chronicle of Higher Education. “I find this process to be nearly (if not completely) indefensible from a board-governance perspective.”
The Board of Regents held a closed emergency meeting on April 1 to discuss personnel matters, per the Associated Press.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Bogost said, "The Board is responsible for the leadership of the Universities of Wisconsin and is having discussions about its future. We don’t comment on personnel matters.”
Credit: getty
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Rothman also wrote in his letter to Rai and Salzwedel that the board was prepared to meet over Easter weekend to discuss his termination if he did not resign.
Rothman, who spent most of his career working as an attorney before being hired as UW's president, said in his March 26 letter to Bogost that he had dedicated his “heart and soul to the mission of the Universities of Wisconsin" and that he does "not believe my resignation at this time is in the best interests of either the Universities of Wisconsin or the state of Wisconsin."
PEOPLE reached out to Rothman for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
Rothman's nearly four-year tenure as president of the UW System has been marked by his push to boost state funding amid federal cuts, declining enrollment leading to the closure of eight UW branch campuses, and debates over free speech on campus amid pro-Palestinian protests, per AP.
He was also at the center of a budget deal with Republican lawmakers in which he agreed to have the UW campuses eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in order to receive certain state appropriations, per The Chronicle of Higher Education. The board initially rejected the deal, prompting Rothman to raise the possibility of resigning. However, days later, the board reversed course and approved the budget plan.
Read the full article here
