Univ. of Wisconsin Faculty Committee Recommends Joe Gow Be Fired

LA CROSSE, Wis.—A faculty committee has recommended to the Universities of Wisconsin (UW) Board of Regents to revoke the tenure of former UW-La Crosse (UWL) chancellor Dr. Joe Gow and remove him from his position, according to a report on the committee's decision reviewed by AVN. The report's release comes after weeks of waiting for a final recommendation from the faculty committee following a proceeding that took two full days in June. A public hearing on whether to accept the recommendation of the committee before the UW Board of Regents will be set in the near future. Gow was removed from the chancellorship in late December 2023 after it was revealed he was an adult content creator, starring in amateur scenes produced by him and his wife, Dr. Carmen Wilson. After claims that the UW System buckled under political pressure from leading members of the Republican-controlled Wisconsin state legislature, Gow maintains his First Amendment rights were violated. The embattled academic administrator hinted throughout much of the disciplinary hearing that potential litigation in a federal or state court was warranted and that he has fielded the potential representation of a civil liberties attorney from the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). "Although this isn’t the decision we wanted, Carmen and I remain firmly committed to defending free speech and expression," Gow told AVN. "We’re in this for the long run, and we look forward to a public hearing with the UW Board of Regents." "Prof. Gow’s pattern of behavior demonstrating poor judgment while acting as a visible and recognizable member of the University faculty violated several applicable UW regulations and policies," reads the report. The report adds, "Prof. Gow’s private life is now public by his choice; his private conduct is entangled with his professional role as a UWL faculty member; and how he has acted since the discovery of his pornographic content has affected UWL and the rights of its other employees."  At issue with the UW System and the administration of UW-La Crosse, in part, are passages in the books that Gow and Wilson authored about their relationship and ethical non-monogamy. They wrote the books under pseudonyms but used their pictures for Amazon book listings and marketing materials. In their books, Gow recollects the potential illegal activity of paying a sex worker to have sex with him and his wife. He also recollects other events involving porn performers and being on a porn set. According to the University of Wisconsin system's regulations, this squarely violates the professional conduct of senior executives and employees of their institutions.  While Gow vehemently argues that these events were consensual and that writing about them is protected by the First Amendment, UW saw this as a potential reputational harm. There is also an issue with the fact that Gow and Wilson appeared in consensual and legally produced adult videos under the social media name "Sexy Happy Couple." Gow and Wilson have appeared in self-produced adult clips alongside top-tier adult talents such as Lauren Phillips, Sofie Marie and Nina Hartley. The couple also carved out a niche as vegan cooking influencers.  "The First Amendment protects the books and videos my wife Carmen and I posted on the internet, so to fire me, UW administrators had to make up a series of duplicitous charges and plant false evidence on our university computers," Gow said, characterizing the case against him as a "sham." "[T]he committee finds that the University administration has established, by a clear preponderance of the evidence, just cause to dismiss Prof. Gow based on his responsibility for the charges set forth above," concludes the faculty committee's report.