Ousted Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman tells Upfront that he will not fight the Board of Regents’ abrupt decision to fire him.
Ousted Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman said Wednesday he will not challenge the Board of Regents’ decision to fire him after a unanimous vote Tuesday night, despite receiving no explanation for the abrupt move that critics called a partisan power play.
Rothman, who led the system since 2022, told WISN-TVâs “Upfront” Wednesday he was “blindsided” by the regents’ action but harbors no hard feelings and has no plans to sue. He rejected an earlier offer to resign quietly, insisting he could not “live a lie” by stepping down without cause.
“I could not get myself there to basically live a lie,” Rothman told Upfront hosts Matt Smith and Gerron Jordan, adding that he repeatedly asked the Board for the reason he lost its confidence but did not get one. “They may not owe that reason to me, but I suspect they owe it to the state of Wisconsin, to the universities, to the taxpayers and quite frankly all residents of the state.”
The Board cited a loss of confidence in Rothman’s leadership following what it described as an annual performance review, but provided no public details during a roughly 30-minute closed session. Regents President Amy Bogost had previously said the process was not sudden. Rothman earns about $600,943 annually and, under state employment law, can be terminated without stated cause or appeal rights.
Republicans in the Legislature, who have long pushed for reforms to curb what they see as liberal bias and wasteful spending in the UW System, expressed outrage over the lack of transparency. State Sen. Rob Hutton, chairman of the Senate Universities and Technical Colleges Committee, scheduled a hearing Thursday on regents appointed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers whose confirmations remain pending.
Rothman’s tenure included efforts to navigate budget battles and campus controversies, but the sudden ouster without explanation has fueled accusations of backroom politics by the regents.
Rothman said he accepts the board’s authority to act but called on them to be forthcoming with Wisconsin taxpayers who fund the system.
