Uw System Names 2 Finalists In Presidential Search

UW System Names 2 Finalists In Presidential Search

The next president of the University of Wisconsin System will be chosen by the UW Board of Regents, who will pick between a Milwaukee law firm head and one of its own chancellors.

The candidates for the position of managing the state's public university system, with its more than 160,000 students, 39,000 workers, 26 campuses, and $6.6 billion budget, were revealed Friday as Jay Rothman, chair and CEO of Foley & Lardner, and UW-Eau Claire Chancellor Jim Schmidt.

The backgrounds of Rothman and Schmidt are very different. One has worked nearly solely in higher education administration, while the other has spent his career in the private sector.
Legislators, teachers and staff, students, community people, and Regents will all exert pressure on the next System president. State financing for higher education is decreasing, the COVID-19 epidemic is spreading, and an increasing number of people are questioning the value and cost of a college education. Many colleges and universities are seeing enrollment declines, and the Republican-controlled legislature isn't hesitant about making demands about how they should be administered.