I think what's most dispiriting about this Rothman email to the chancellors is the total lack of imagination behind it. This is a guy with no ideas for how to make the UW System thrive. It's all managed decline and doubling down on existing inequalities.
In an email to chancellors of UW campuses, UW System President Jay Rothman privately suggested schools “shift away” from liberal arts programs while making large, one-time budget cuts.
There's also the note about UW-Madison taking the least hits. Didn't UW-Eau Claire get in trouble for hiring a lobbyist last year? Because they were tired of the system not advocating for anyone else?
No one could possibly have predicted this. Sigh.
Sad. Nobody needs people who can think and communicate, I guess.
I can't believe this email ends with "Have a great weekend!"
"Students and faculty criticized Rothman for having no professional experience in higher education when he was announced as UW System president in 2022. Rothman was chairman and CEO of Foley and Lardner, a nationwide law firm with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, for over 10 years."
Zero thinking, zero care for students, zero interest in education.
He doesn't have any experience with higher ed and doesn't know much about it Not a good job to have to learn on the job.