No public interviews for UW finalists
Professors surprised, disappointed by decision in heavily scrutinized process to find next president
The University of Wisconsin’s Board of Regents is facing some pushback after the UW System announced Friday that there would be no public interviews of the two finalists named for the role of system president.
Finalists Jay Rothman, CEO and chairman of the Milwaukee-based law firm Foley and Lardner LLC, and Jim Schmidt, chancellor of UW-Eau Claire, participated in a series of interviews Tuesday that included regents, chancellors, faculty and staff governance representatives, and UW System executive staff.
On Friday, before being publicly named, the two candidates also participated in an interview with several news organizations, including the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel.
However, as announced by Regent Vice President Karen Walsh, who chairs the search and screen committee, the two would not participate in public interviews, as finalists have in the past.
On Tuesday, the Wisconsin chapter of the American Association of University Professors issued a statement opposing the decision, suggesting that not having the candidates answer questions in a public forum was a “unforced error.”
“We call on the Board to schedule public sessions with each of the finalists. We have no doubt that the two candidates would be up to the task,” the statement reads. “And if not, that would be important for everyone to learn before the Regents make a hiring decision.”
Nick Fleisher, president of the AAUP Wisconsin and an associate professor of linguistics at UW-Milwaukee, said fielding questions from the public is a key part of the UW System president’s job.
“This is a job where you’re going out in public, talking to the general public every day, and so (a public interview is) something that’s very in line with the job description,” Fleisher said.
The scrutiny around the search has been high, as it is the board’s second attempt to hire a new system leader.
In June 2020, the first search to hire a successor to former System President Ray Cross ended in shambles hours before a committee of regents was set to discuss making an offer to the sole finalist for the job. The finalist, former University of Alaska System President Jim Johnsen, withdrew citing “process issues” around the search, which had also been heavily criticized by faculty, students, staff and some lawmakers for lacking transparency and a diverse, representative search committee.
Prior to withdrawing his candidacy, Johnsen participated in a virtual public interview, in which participants and attendees said his performance was underwhelming and his ideas lackluster. He also received backlash in Alaska for some of the comments he made about the state.
Eric Sandgren is chair of the UWMadison Faculty Senate’s University Committee, an associate professor of pathobiological sciences and a member of AAUP Wisconsin. He said he believed Johnsen’s public interview was actually “the point at which the last search was most successful.”
“Yes, it imploded, but it did exactly what it was supposed to do,” Sandgren said. “It showed us that a candidate was not up to the task. Now we don’t have that chance.”
Walsh did not directly respond to a list of criticisms presented to her by the Journal Sentinel based on the AAUP statement and interviews with other UW faulty and staff leaders. Instead she provided the Journal Sentinel with an email statement Wednesday.
She said the search committee had worked from day one to expand opportunities for meaningful access to the search process and the candidates. The search and screen committee was 21members, including representatives from each university and from diverse perspectives. The committee also held in-person and virtual listening sessions before the finalists were named, to help frame the profile of who would be a successful system president.
“When finalists were named each candidate answered questions from leading Wisconsin higher education reporters to ensure that the public would have a full understanding of each of the candidates,” Walsh said.
“Also, shared governance chose a slate of representatives to interview the finalists. Those interviews happened yesterday, followed by a debrief with the Special Regent Committee. The fact of the matter is that we have added at least three new, meaningful ways to introduce the candidates to the public while affording the university community more seats at the table to help shape the decision,” she said.
Jill Markgraf, director of university libraries at UW-Eau Claire and a member of the university senate and its executive committee, said she participated in the listening session on her campus. She said after spending some time talking about the attributes needed in the next system president, the conversation shifted to other employee concerns, because it was one of the few chances many of those employees had to talk to a regent in general.
She said the decision not to hold a public interview came as a bit of a shock, as there was an assumption that she and her colleagues would have a chance to see how the finalists handle fielding their questions once they were publicly named.
“Now in retrospect, I look at that listening session and think, ‘Oh. Was that just a way to say that they included us?’ It feels a little disingenuous,” she said.
She noted she had to participate in a public interview when applying for her current job, in which anyone on campus could come and ask her questions.
Rothman did not respond Thursday to an inquiry from the Journal Sentinel as to whether or not he was willing to participate in public interviews for the job if given the opportunity. Schmidt did not answer the question, instead directing all questions to the board office.
“The regents are responsible for designing the search process,” he said in an email. “I’ve participated in each phase of the search as requested.”