The finalists are Rashid Bashir, dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; John Coleman, provost at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; and Radenka Maric, president of the University of Connecticut. They are scheduled to visit campus next week and speak at public events at Tripp Commons in the Memorial Union. Bashir will present Monday, Coleman on Thursday, and Maric on Friday, each from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. The events will not be streamed online, but community members can submit feedback online until 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 14.

The announcement came after 25 members of the Board of Visitors for UW-Madison's College of Letters & Science sent a letter dated Nov. 4 to Kyle Weatherly, who leads the UW system's Board of Regents. The letter expressed "disappointment, frustration and incredulity" that Wilcots was not among the finalists.

"While we disagree, we understand this decision is final," the letter said. "Nonetheless, based on our deep and direct working relationship over many years with Dr. Wilcots … we firmly believe his exclusion does not serve the best interests of UW-Madison."

Wilcots declined to comment through a campus spokesperson about the letter or whether he applied for the permanent position.

Weatherly responded in a letter dated Nov. 5, saying he understands the disappointment and that it stems from a deep commitment to the university. He explained that a 23-member search committee made up of students, faculty, administrators, regents and community members held public listening sessions, interviewed applicants and recommended finalists to a small group of regents, who followed those recommendations.

"Because confidentiality is essential to the integrity of any search, I am not able to discuss individual candidates or how any particular person was considered," Weatherly wrote. "That confidentiality protects every candidate, internal and external, and it is what allows strong leaders to put their names forward."

He added that the regents are "excited about the strong finalists coming to campus and about the university's next chapter."

The Board of Visitors letter highlighted Wilcots' 30 years of campus experience, noting that as dean of the College of Letters & Science he helped oversee construction of Levy Hall, the university's new humanities hub, and the establishment of the new College of Computing & Artificial Intelligence. As interim chancellor, he hired Shawn Eichorst as the Badgers' athletics director and "successfully steered the entire university through a critical transition period following the former chancellor's resignation," the letter said.

"During Dr. Wilcots' six years leading the (College of Letters & Science), undergraduate enrollment has increased as have applications to the university," the letter said.

The members also argued that Wilcots' experience and continuity are especially important amid high turnover rates and short tenures for leaders in higher education. The average tenure of college presidents nationwide has declined to 5.9 years, according to the American Council on Education. Former Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin led UW-Madison for nearly four years before stepping down in May to become president of Columbia University.

The person selected as the next chancellor is expected to start next year and will oversee more than 51,000 students and 28,000 faculty and staff at the state's flagship research institution, which has a nearly $5 billion budget.

The UW system hired the search firm Isaacson, Miller to assist with the chancellor search at a cost of more than $266,000, or about a third of the chancellor's annual pay, according to a contract obtained under Wisconsin open records laws. Mnookin's base salary was $919,443 when she stepped down, and Wilcots' base salary as interim chancellor is $828,800. The job description for the next chancellor did not include an expected salary range.

The UW system is also paying an additional $150,000 to AGB Search to help find a new leader for the broader UW system. Tonjanita Johnson was recently selected as the next president of the Universities of Wisconsin and will start on or around Jan. 1, succeeding Jay Rothman, who was fired by the Board of Regents in April.

In September, under open records laws, the Cap Times requested copies of applications submitted for the UW system president and UW-Madison chancellor positions. The UW system denied the requests, citing a state law that allows job applicants to request confidentiality and a "balancing test" that determined the public interest in protecting the integrity of the search process outweighed disclosure. The UW system is required to reveal the identities of finalists.

UW-Madison completed another leadership search in March, hiring John Zumbrunnen as provost. He has worked for the university for nearly two decades and receives an annual salary of $640,000, plus $70,000 per year for coaching, professional development and research activities, according to his employment agreement. Before becoming provost, Zumbrunnen served as interim provost after Charles Isbell Jr. resigned last year to lead the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. UW-Madison also worked with Isaacson, Miller for that search and paid the firm more than $244,000.