The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents unanimously approved a compromise policy change Feb. 7 giving UW System President Jay Rothman more power to appoint top leaders while retaining some regent involvement.
Under the compromise, search and screen committees for top spots are removed, but Regent Executive Committee members will be consulted on appointing senior leadership.
In January, Rothman requested permanent power to unilaterally appoint senior positions on his leadership team without committee input.
While proponents argued the appointment system, which required search and screen committees for top spots, was wasteful and inefficient, the regents were initially hesitant to grant Rothman unchecked authority and requested to reinstate formal processes the system president would need to follow.
Rothman’s request comes as a few top leaders in UW System administration — Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Johannes Britz as well as interim officeholders for the vice president of finance and vice president of university relations — are nearing the end of their three-year interim terms. The policy also removes the three-year term limit, though this was already an informal practice.
The president need only consult the Board President Amy Bogost for roles including vice chancellors and vice presidents for student affairs and finance, along with consulting the Regents’ Executive Committee for senior roles.
“I feel much better on this going forward than I did in the January meeting," Regent Karen Walsh said during a meeting Feb. 6, adding Rothman and his team reassured the Regents the executive committee will remain involved.
Nixon and those in favor of the policy change said they trust Rothman, even nicknaming him “the UW System’s CEO,” though Regent Timothy Nixon said unknown future presidents could cause a “transparency issue.” Regents said they want to ensure the policy outlives his tenure.
This new policy won’t affect how regents hire the UW System president and the other 12 system universities’ chancellors, who are chosen through search and screen committees.
Article IV Section 1 of the Audit Committee Meeting Book updated Feb. 6 states the UW System president “shall see to the appropriate staffing of UW System administrative offices, and direct and coordinate the activities of these offices as needed to fulfill his or her responsibilities.” For the Audit Committee, the system president and audit chair have joint responsibility for hiring the chief audit executive as well.
