Universities of Wisconsin regents cite disputes over AI and other topics in president’s firing

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Leaders on the board that oversees the Universities of Wisconsin rebuffed the fired system president’s claim that he was “blindsided” by their decision to oust him, telling lawmakers Thursday that he was slow to address pressing issues like artificial intelligence and feared upsetting policymakers, faculty and staff.

Members of the board of regents had said little publicly until Thursday about the surprise dismissal Tuesday of Jay Rothman as head of the 165,000-student university system. Regents voted unanimously with no public discussion to fire Rothman after a closed-door meeting.

Rothman told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday that he was kept in the dark about why he was being fired and his dismissal “blindsided” him.

But two regents who testified at a state Senate committee hearing on Thursday said Rothman knew more than he is letting on. They also said there were “substantial” reasons for his being fired, and Rothman was aware of them.

“That decision was not made lightly,” Regent President Amy Bogost said. “It was not political. It was not retaliatory. It was unanimous. … We made a difficult decision for the right reasons, and I firmly stand by it.”

Republican lawmakers upset over Rothman’s surprise firing called the public hearing to question regents about the reasons behind the move.

Rothman lacked urgency to address critical issues like AI, was not fully aligned with the board, tried to limit public board discussions and open records, limited board members’ interactions with lawmakers and took credit for accomplishments that were part of a “massive team effort,” Regent Timothy Nixon said.

Nixon also said he has been pushing for the UW system to justify why it has 579 employees, something he said Rothman did not address.

Rothman “doesn’t want to upset either the Legislature, the governor or the faculty or anybody else,” Nixon testified. “He didn’t want to upset the apple cart and, quite frankly, I think the apple cart needs some upsetting.”

Regents also told lawmakers that Rothman could waive his right to confidentiality over personnel decisions if he chose, but he knows that means board members could share more than they can now. Instead, Rothman is using that confidentiality as a shield to craft a narrative “that is deliberately one-sided” and harming he university, Bogost said.

“That is not a search for truth,” she said. “That is strategy. … To do the media circuit that he’s on denigrates our great universities, and that makes me sad.”

Nixon said the way Rothman’s departure was handled, including the rejected offer that he retire or resign, is similar to what is done for CEOs of large corporations.

“This is no different than moving on to a new quarterback, no matter what you thought of the previous quarterback and what they did,” Nixon said.