The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents voted unanimously (17-0) to fire System President Jay Rothman, effective immediately, on April 7, 2026. The vote followed a roughly 30-minute closed-door session and came after Rothman refused a previous request from the board to resign or retire quietly.
The board has not publicly disclosed a specific reason for the firing, stating only that they "lost confidence" in Rothman’s ability to lead following a performance review and "months of discussions." Rothman has expressed frustration, stating he was "blindsided" and that the board failed to articulate any clear justification for his removal.
The decision has sparked intense political backlash, with Republican lawmakers calling the firing a "partisan hatchet job" and a "retribution" for Rothman’s past willingness to work with the GOP. Notably, Rothman had previously brokered a controversial 2023 deal with Republicans to freeze diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hires in exchange for state funding and campus construction projects.
The bigger context:
Though much of the dialogue around the politicization of higher ed leadership has focused on Republican retaliation against leaders who have refused to back away from DEI mandates, leaders who agree to go the other way – working with Republican leaders to scale back DEI efforts that are coded into state law and institutional values – could see backlash as well from boards that have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure student success on campus.
Though the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents have not elaborated on the reasons for the loss of confidence, one of the responsibilities of the system president, according to its mission statement, is to "[model and lead] organizational learning and transformation through inclusive excellence, equity, and diversity, by engaging with students, faculty, staff, and a wide variety of external stakeholders, whose diverse viewpoints and experiences enrich the university’s impact.”
