The Universities of Wisconsin’s next president will again come from outside the system with three finalists named today now working at institutions in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.
All three, though, have an academic background, unlike former President Jay Rothman, who was fired by the Board of Regents in April. He had been chairman and CEO of the Foley & Lardner law firm in Milwaukee for more than a decade before he was hired in 2022.
The UW today announced a search committee has identified finalists:
- Dr. Steven Gareth Holley, executive vice chancellor and chief operating officer, University of Mississippi
- Dr. Tonjanita L. Johnson, senior vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, University of Alabama System
- Dr. Bernard J. Savarese, vice president for academic affairs, research, and student success, University of Tennessee System
They will next appear at a public forum Monday at UW-Parkside and Tuesday at the Madison campus. Following the forums and additional rounds of interviews, the search committee will forward a recommendation to the full Board of Regents, which will make the hire.
The next hire will be UW’s 10th president since the system was created in 1971.
Since former President Ray Cross retired in 2020, Jim Johnsen, then president of the University of Alaska, withdrew from consideration amid concerns about his record and backlash over the selection process. Former Gov. Tommy Thompson then stepped in as interim president before Rothman was hired.
