Nearly 2,000 people sign petitions at University of Wisconsin after search for new president ends with University of Alaska president Jim Johnsen as sole finalist

MADISON, Wisconsin — The sole finalist in the running to become the next University of Wisconsin System president made his pitch for the position Tuesday while nearly 2,000 UW students, staff and alumni called for a new search.

University of Alaska System President Jim Johnsen, 62, fielded about a dozen questions from faculty, staff and one student during a single campus forum. Chancellors, system staff and the UW Board of Regents held their own interviews with Johnsen on Tuesday that were not open to the public.

Concerns about a single finalist emerging from the monthslong search, as well as Johnsen's record in Alaska, prompted the UW-Madison chapter of the Association of American University Professors to draft a petition last week calling for a new search. More than 1,800 signatures have been collected, along with hundreds of comments from people who wrote that they are "horrified" by a "failed" search process that, unlike previous searches, did not include any faculty or staff on the search committee.

Johnsen alluded to employees' feeling shut out of the process and vowed to mend those relationships if he is hired.

"I think some healing's got to happen on that front," he told the more than 700 people participating in the meeting.

Johnsen offered few details on how he would address the problems facing UW campuses, which include eight years of a Republican-imposed tuition freeze, repeated budget cuts, declining enrollment and the latest obstacle: safely reopening campuses this fall amid the COVID-19 crisis.

[University of Alaska regents vote to cut or reduce over 40 programs, set merger aside for closer look]

During a video call in which his corgi dogs could be heard barking in the background, faculty and staff pressed Johnsen on how to shore up more state money. He said he would advocate for more state money by meeting lawmakers in their districts and fostering relationships based on trust and mutual interest.

Alaska's public universities rely on the state for more than 40% of their revenue, he said, and funding is highly dependent on the whims of the oil industry. Wisconsin has a more diverse economy, making him optimistic about the state's ability to rebound from the pandemic.

‘Listen and learn’

Johnsen said he would spend his first few months on the job listening and learning as much as possible to create a five-year plan. Some ideas he proposed included conducting a pay equity study and taking a hard look at the system’s costs.

In response to a question on his experience promoting diversity, Johnsen said he appreciates and understands the anger people feel when loved ones are treated unfairly. He described a "foundational experience" during his childhood in the late 1960s when his family shared a duplex with an African American family and grew close to them. He reconnected with the family's father a few years ago and said the dad referred to him as his "white son" while Johnsen called him "his black father."

Johnsen, who is white, also characterized himself as a “minority” while working at Doyon, an Alaska Native regional corporation, between 2008 and 2011 because the majority of employees were Alaska Natives.

It’s unclear how many, if any, minority or female candidates applied for the position. System spokesman Mark Pitsch referred the inquiry to the public records office. The system also has yet to fulfill a records request seeking the total number of applications received.

Faculty are wary of Johnsen’s pledge to strengthen shared governance, a decision-making process outlined in state law and regents policy that requires consultation with faculty, students and staff. They point to “no confidence” votes in Johnsen’s leadership taken by Alaska faculty groups in recent years as reason for their concern.

Johnsen said the UA system has both a faculty and student representative who regularly offer their views to the board during meetings. The UW Board of Regents does not currently have a position similar to that.

Single finalist

Previous University of Wisconsin System presidential searches ended with the naming of multiple finalists, as was then required by law. But a 2015 change in state law paved the way for system officials to keep more names confidential, and search committee chairman Michael Grebe defended the decision to name just one finalist in a meeting last week.

Johnsen topped the list of an unspecified number of finalists, all of whom backed out of being publicly named because they feared it would affect their ability to lead their current campuses through the coronavirus crisis, Grebe said.

The search committee could have added a semifinalist's name into the mix, Grebe said, but doing so would be "unfair" to the applicant and disingenuously designed to create the perception of multiple finalists when the group had already agreed Johnsen was the best pick.

The committee also could have restarted the search, but he said this option would have delayed the hiring timeline by at least six months at a time when campuses are desperately in need of stable, steady leadership.

In the end, the committee named only Johnsen, though Grebe said the process is far from a done deal. He also said a single finalist allows for even more rigorous vetting than if multiple finalists emerged.

The search committee is expected to make a hiring recommendation to the full board in the coming days.