by Benjamin Yount
Republicans at the Wisconsin Capitol are not happy with the new choice for chancellor at UW-Madison.
Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, who is the vice chairman of the Senate’s committee for universities and technical colleges, called Dr. Jennifer Mnookin a “ridiculous choice.”
“Jennifer Mnookin has a very clear history of advocating for the forced indoctrination of college students with critical race theory. She has openly supported mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations regardless of the rights of individuals to make that healthcare determination for themselves.,” Nass said Monday. “It has also been reported that Mnookin met with the scandal plagued Hunter Biden (in 2019) and supported him joining the UCLA faculty to instruct students on drug policies.”
UW Regents unanimously chose Mnookin, who is currently the dean at UCLA’s law school. They announced her selection on Monday.
Nass said the Republican-controlled legislature should take Mnookin’s appointment as a message from the university.
“If the Board of Regents truly believes that Mnookin is the best choice, then the next Republican governor and legislature should find it impossible to provide more taxpayer dollars or allow the board to increase tuition,” Nass added.
UW Regent Karen Walsh told reporters Tuesday that she doesn’t take that threat seriously.
“I don’t think that’s realistic,” Walsh said. “I would like for those folks to meet with Chancellor Mnookin before they threaten our funding. I don’t think they intend to do that. I think they’re much more interested in sitting in a room with us and talking about our differences.”
Mnookin told the same news conference that she is waiting to get to campus, so she can meet with everyone involved with the university.
“I look forward to arriving in Madison and looking for that common ground, and higher education is a place where I hope we can come together,” Mnookin added.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos on Monday pushed regents to take a look at another chancellor candidate.
“We deserve campus leaders who will encourage healthy debate, diverse thoughts and freedom of expression. Given her obvious viewpoints and political donations, Dr. Mnookin needs to prove she supports free speech on campus and not politically correct ideologies,” Vos said. “After all the work of Tommy Thompson and Rebecca Blank that attempted to strengthen relationships between the university and the Legislature, this is a step backwards. I strongly hope the Board of Regents will reconsider their selection.”
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Benjamin Yount is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Jennifer Mnookin” by the University of Wisconsin. Background Photo “Henry Mall at the University of Wisconsin” by James Steakley. CC BY-SA 3.0.
