MADISON, Wis.—Dr. Joe Gow appeared before the University of Wisconsin (UW) System Board of Regents personnel matters committee on Friday to make a last-ditch effort to protect his tenured status as a communications professor.
After serving as the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse for 17 years, Dr. Gow was fired after being outed as an independent adult content creator and vegan lifestyle influencer alongside his spouse, Dr. Carmen Wilson. A faculty committee recommended he lose tenure in a two-day hearing over the summer and be fired.
Gow stands accused of unethical behavior and other administrative charges, including an accusation that he engaged in "illegal activity."
The hearing before the Board of Regents lasted about an hour. No questions from the regents were asked. They deliberated quickly and reached a confidential ruling that they will report to the larger board at an upcoming meeting next week.
The committee is expected to recommend to the Board of Regents that Gow be terminated and have his tenure revoked. The board is under political pressure to terminate Gow.
During the hearing, UW System attorney Wade Harrison told the regents, "Enough is enough ... Dr. Joe needs to go," per the Associated Press. Gow argues that the UW System is infringing on his First Amendment rights to produce adult entertainment content during his private time with his spouse.
Harrison maintains that as a representative of the university, he is held to a standard of always representing the UW System even in his private life.
“Gow’s pornography videos are not protected by the First Amendment,” Harrison argued, citing his legal theory that Gow waived certain rights when he signed a contract with the UW System. Mark Leitner, Gow's attorney, disagreed with Harrison, saying, "You don’t need the First Amendment to protect easy and comforting speech ... it’s exactly the opposite. We need the First Amendment precisely when the danger of stifling, controversial, unpopular speech is at its highest. And that’s what we have here.”
UW says faculty must "exhibit a level of behavior supporting the mission." But at all times? That is central to Gow's defense in the matter.
He maintains that he and his spouse produced their adult content on their own time, and dime, and featured no mention of his role at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
"I thought my attorney, Mark Leitner, made a great First Amendment defense of our books and videos," Gow told AVN. "However, the members of the committee didn't ask a single question; so I fear they may have come into the hearing with their minds already made up."
He also expressed his thanks for the support he and his spouse have received from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). FIRE retained Leitner to serve as Gow's representation in this matter.
"FIRE ... urges the University of Wisconsin System (UWS) Board of Regents to honor its constitutional obligations and protect tenure for all faculty by ensuring Professor Joe Gow keeps his faculty appointment, despite controversy over revelations that he writes about and appears in adult-oriented content in his private time," FIRE's Zachary Greenberg, faculty legal defense counsel, wrote in a letter that was addressed to Amy Blumenfeld Bogost, the president of the Board of Regents, per AVN's most recent coverage.
AVN has reported extensively on Dr. Gow's case since his termination as chancellor in December 2023.
