Board of Regents fires UW President Jay Rothman

Officials at the Universities of Wisconsin voted unanimously Tuesday to fire the system’s president, who had refused their offer to let him quietly resign and said they never gave a clear reason why he should. Jay Rothman has led the system that oversees the state’s four-year universities for nearly four years. The vote by the Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents came just five days after The Associated Press first reported that the regents asked Rothman to either resign or be fired. Rothman said in two letters to the regents that he would not leave voluntarily without knowing what he did wrong. Regent President Amy Bogost said in a statement Monday that the board has shared results of a performance review with Rothman, with “direct conversations and clear feedback regarding leadership expectations.” She said the system needs “a clear vision” but did not elaborate on the review’s findings. She repeated the statement Tuesday following a roughly 30-minute closed session regents meeting. No other regents spoke before the vote to fire Rothman, effective immediately.