This week, the chancellor of a Wisconsin state university was fired following the online posting of explicit videos featuring himself and his wife. Joe Gow, who had served as the head of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse since 2007, was unanimously dismissed by the University of Wisconsin System’s Board of Regents. His wife, Carmen Wilson, was also relieved of her unpaid position as the associate to the chancellor.
Karen Walsh, the board’s leader overseeing the system’s 13 universities, expressed the board’s unanimous decision, stating that they were “alarmed and disgusted” by Gow’s actions without specifying the nature of the misconduct.
In response, Gow and Wilson, in an interview on Thursday, asserted that they believe their termination was a result of the explicit videos, which they had shared under the username “Sexy Happy Couple.” Both argued that the university’s decision to penalize them for the content violated their freedom of speech rights.
Ms. Wilson defended their actions, emphasizing that the videos were accessible only to those actively seeking such content. “It’s not what we’re about in higher ed, to censor people,” she remarked, highlighting that viewers voluntarily chose to access the material.
Gow, 63, and Wilson, 56, disclosed that they had been creating private videos for years but had recently made them publicly available on adult websites. They claimed not to have mentioned their university roles in the videos, despite the content receiving hundreds of thousands of views. The couple even produced a series where they cooked meals with adult film actors before engaging in explicit scenes.
Jay Rothman, the president of the University of Wisconsin System, cited significant damage to the university’s reputation caused by Gow’s actions. Rothman outlined plans for Gow, a tenured professor of communication, to return to a faculty role following a paid administrative leave. However, Rothman also indicated a review of Gow’s tenured status and an external investigation by a law firm into the matter.
