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

University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman prepares his materials before a UW Board of Regents meeting on Sept. 18, 2025, at Gordon Commons at UW-Madison in Madison, Wis. (Owen Ziliak/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, File) 2026-04-02T17:18:10Z MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The president of the 25-campus Universities of Wisconsin 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 from the 165,000-student system.

Jay Rothman , president of the 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.

Read More - AP 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 t

原文链接: AP News