He was Chancellor of a major university and moonlighting as a porn actor. Now he has been fired from the top position at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Joe Gow said Wednesday that interim Chancellor Betsy Morgan filed three charges against him March 29, accusing him of unethical conduct, failing to cooperate with an investigation, and using UW-La Crosse computers to produce pornographic materials.
Gow has declined to share the letter and stated that he does not want to try his case in the court of public opinion.
The regents fired Gow from the chancellor post in December after learning he and his wife, former UW-La Crosse professor Carmen Wilson, were producing and starring in pornographic videos. They also wrote two e-books titled “Monogamy with Benefits: How Porn Enriches Our Relationship” and “Married with Benefits — Our Real-Life Adult Industry Adventures” under pseudonyms.
While Gow has no wish to delve into details, he does offer that the ethics charge may be connected to his writings in two pornographic e-books and that the allegation of failure to cooperate stems from his refusal to speak to an outside law firm investigating the matter without an attorney, he said. He denied using any UW state-owned equipment or state dollars to produce porn.
Gow said he has requested a hearing before a faculty committee, as is his right under state law. The committee would recommend to the Board of Regents, the UW system’s governing body, whether he can keep his backup job as a tenured communications professor. The board would make the final decision on whether he can stay on.
Gow’s termination as Chancellor was unexpected, but not disastrously so; he had planned to retire as chancellor at the conclusion of the spring 2024 in any case, but he had planned to maintain his role teaching communication courses. But Jay Rothman, president of the UW system, put that on hold until his tenure could be reviewed.
Gow has maintained he and his wife produced the pornographic materials on their own time. He insists that the videos and the books never mentioned UW-La Crosse or his role at the university and that the regents violated his free speech rights when they fired him.
The question at the heart of the issue is whether his public role as Chancellor and educator precluded his involvement in producing porn in his personal life.
One social media user commented: “I would argue that not only has his free speech been violated, he is being bullied by colleagues who consider themselves morally superior. That is more disturbing than anything. Imagine if your colleagues found out something about your personal life they unilaterally deemed ‘inappropriate’ despite it literally having NOTHING to do with your work and firing you.”
The faculty committee hearing has yet to be scheduled, Gow said, but he is anxious to clear his name. Students have told him that they think he’s a great person and that they’re eager to take his courses, he said.
“It is really hard to be treated like a criminal when you haven’t done anything wrong,” Gow said. “I really am curious how the administration is going to prove I did anything wrong.”
The regents replaced Gow last month, hiring James Beeby, formerly provost at New Hampshire’s Keene State College.
