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UW system presidential finalists to hold Madison forums Oct. 27
Three out-of-state higher education administrators are competing to lead Wisconsin’s 13 public universities, which serve about 163,000 students. The finalists will appear at public forums in Madison next week as the search moves toward a Board of Regents decision.
The Universities of Wisconsin has named three finalists to lead its 13 public universities, including UW-Madison. The candidates are scheduled to meet the public in Madison on Tuesday, Oct. 27, as the system searches for a permanent successor to Jay Rothman, who was fired in April.
The finalists are Steven Holley, executive vice chancellor and chief operating officer at the University of Mississippi; Tonjanita Johnson, senior vice chancellor for academic and student affairs for the University of Alabama System; and Bernard Savarese, vice president for academic affairs, research and student success for the University of Tennessee System.
All three work outside Wisconsin, and none appears to have a connection to the state in the application materials made public by the system. Each has experience in higher education administration. Holley joined the University of Mississippi in 2021 and previously worked in the private sector. Johnson joined the Alabama System in 2019, after higher education roles in Tennessee, New York and Mississippi. Savarese has been with the Tennessee System since 2021 and previously worked at New York University and Ohio State University.
The candidates are scheduled to visit UW-Parkside on Monday, Oct. 26, and UW-Madison the following day. At UW-Madison, public forums will take place in the Memorial Union’s Great Hall and on Zoom. Savarese is scheduled for 8 a.m., Holley for 9:30 a.m. and Johnson for 11 a.m. The livestream will be recorded.
The system is accepting public feedback online from 8 a.m. Monday through 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. Candidates will also be interviewed by search committee members, university chancellors and system administrators. The committee will recommend a candidate to the Board of Regents, which appoints the president.
The system’s president oversees about 163,000 students and more than 41,000 employees. UW-Superior Chancellor Renée Wachter has served as interim president since Rothman’s departure.
The search is taking place alongside a separate hunt for UW-Madison’s next chancellor. The Universities of Wisconsin hired AGB Search for the presidential search at a cost of $150,000, in addition to about $266,000 committed to Isaacson, Miller for the chancellor search. Leaders of both searches expect decisions by the end of the year; chancellor finalists could visit campus as soon as next month.
The system declined open-records requests for applications for both positions, citing state law allowing applicants to keep their identities private and concluding that releasing the applications could undermine the searches. State law requires the system to disclose the identities of finalists for president and chancellor.