MADISON- In his first on-record interview since taking over the role as President of the University of Wisconsin System, Jay Rothman says he looks forward to working with new UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin & said he planned on continuing the tuition freeze for in-state undergraduate students.
Jay Rothman took over as president on Wednesday and held a short question-and-answer session with reporters on Thursday.
“She (Mnookin) is a gifted academic & a gifted leader and I really look forward to when she arrives in Madison on a full-time basis,” Rothman said of the new Chancellor of the system’s flagship campus. “I think she’ll do a great job here.”
He said system officials plan to present their 2022-23 budget to regents next week and the spending plan will include the freeze.
“The fund-freeze is for the upcoming school year and we’ll be looking at the budgets on a going-forward basis looking for places we can drive efficiencies and looking at places we can balance the revenue,” he added. “We want to make it affordable but we want to ensure that we maintain the quality of excellence of education that occurs in the university system.”
Rothman says he sees the tuition freeze as an important way to maintain enrollment levels as college admissions drop across the country.
Tuition for in-state undergraduates has remained flat for the last nine years.
