Wisconsin Univerity President Firing A Skirmish Over DEI?

Eric Swalwell says if he is elected governor of California, he will make sure federal agents are charged with "kidnapping" and "assault" and will take away their driver's licenses. pic.twitter.com/T58GZT74MR

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) December 31, 2025

And we may not have to wait for 2029 for the new reign of terror.  "Woke" isn't dead. It's hibernating.  

And spring is when critters come out of hibernation.  

The regents of the University of Wisconsin system just fired its president, apparently for betraying the one true faith:

The board of @UniversitiesWI has fired its president as revenge for him making concessions to Republican lawmakers by pausing DEI hiring. The board members are appointed by @GovEvers, a Democrat.

People who said “woke is dead” seriously need to rethink their position. pic.twitter.com/VW2CIujsTz

— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) April 8, 2026

The board of regents is trying to be a little more oblique about it:

Rothman lacked urgency to address critical issues like AI, was not fully aligned with the board, tried to limit public board discussions and open records, limited board members' interactions with lawmakers and took credit for accomplishments that were part of a "massive team effort," Regent Timothy Nixon said.

Nixon also said he has been pushing for the UW system to justify why it has 579 employees, something he said Rothman did not 

But there's a political tinge to the whole thing:

In 2023, Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos held up previously approved raises for tens of thousands of UW employees, saying that lawmakers would only restore that money if the university system eliminated DEI programming and positions. 

Rothman later helped broker a deal, in which UW agreed to freeze DEI positions in exchange for $800 million to fund the raises, as well as campus construction projects. Regents eventually approved that deal in a 11-6 vote. 

Several Republican lawmakers have pointed to the timing of Rothman’s firing, suggesting that regents wanted to make sure Evers appointees have control over his replacement. Evers is not running for re-election.

At least, that's what the signs point to; the regents are being pretty secretive about it, in a way some are calling unseemly - not without a little risk, given the vengeful tenor of the time:

I am a conservative professor in the UW System (views are my own and not of my University).

This is absolutely scandalous. We have been given absolutely no reason why they got rid of Mr. Rothman, and on the few occasions that I have had the pleasure to meet him, he has been…

— Trevor Tomesh ☕ (@realDrTT) April 8, 2026

Wisconsin Republicans are not satisfied with Regents' public reasoning:

Some Republican lawmakers have promised to take action against board members, 10 of whom have been seated but not yet confirmed by the Legislature.

“Make no mistake about it, the firing of UW President Rothman is a blatant partisan hatchet job. Despite his efforts to enact meaningful reforms to move our world-class institutions forward, members of the Board of Regents apparently believe President Rothman should be punished for not being liberal enough,” State Senator Patrick Testin posted on social media Tuesday night. “His only crime was his willingness to work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to get things done. Because the Board of Regents decided to remove President Rothman without just cause, I am calling on the Senate to reject every single one of their confirmations. As they say, actions have consequences.”

Consequences of exercising free thought are one thing Democrats are promising plenty of.