President
Universities of Wisconsin | Madison
Jay Rothman has served as the ninth president of the Universities of Wisconsin, previously known as the UW System, since 2022. He has oversight of the system’s 13 universities across the state, which collectively serve about 161,000 students and 35,000 faculty and staff. He is also responsible for the UW system’s $6 billion annual budget.
He’s overseen the downsizing of many two-year campuses. Six of UW’s 13 branch campuses have closed or will by the end of this school year due to declining enrollment.
Prior to leading the UW system, Rothman was chairman and chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based Foley & Lardner LLP, one of the top 50 law firms in the country, based on revenue. Foley has more than 1,100 lawyers and 1,000 staff members across 22 cities and serves more than 10,000 clients. Rothman led Foley & Lardner for 11 years and was a member of the firm’s management committee for 20 years. As a practicing lawyer, Rothman focused on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and corporate governance.
Rothman serves on the boards of Quad and Mayville Engineering Company Inc. He has also served as a director of Junior Achievement of Wisconsin and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and previously was chairman of the Children’s Wisconsin board of directors.
Education: Bachelor’s, Marquette University; J.D., Harvard Law School
2022 Wisconsin 275 Profile
Nonprofits and Education
President
UW System | Madison
Jay Rothman was appointed president of the University of Wisconsin System earlier this year. His role includes oversight of the system’s 13 universities and 26 campuses. The system serves about 165,000 students and has 40,000 faculty, academic and university staff, and graduate assistants. Reporting to the UW System board of regents, Rothman is also responsible for the system’s $6 billion annual budget.
Prior to leading the UW System, Rothman was chairman and chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based Foley & Lardner LLP, one of the top 50 law firms in the country, based on revenue. Foley has over 1,100 lawyers and 1,000 staff members. In that role, he was responsible for implementing the firm’s strategic plan and overseeing its administrative functions.
Rothman joined Foley in 1986 and became a partner in 1994. He joined the firm’s management committee in 2002. As a practicing lawyer, Rothman focused on mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and corporate governance.
Rothman is a director on the boards of Quad/Graphics Inc. and Mayville Engineering Company Inc. He has also served as a director of Junior Achievement of Wisconsin and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and previously was chairman of the Children’s Wisconsin board of directors.
Education: Bachelor’s, Marquette University; J.D., Harvard Law School
