Chancellor fired for appearing in porn videos
UW-La Crosse board ‘alarmed and disgusted’
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents unanimously fired UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow during a closed-door meeting Wednesday after discovering videos posted on porn websites featuring him and his wife.
Gow, 63, and his wife, Carmen Wilson, are featured on several porn websites using “Sexy Happy Couple” as the account name, a moniker also used on at least two social media accounts.
The couple also published two books detailing their experiences in the adult film industry, under pseudonyms. Both books and the social media accounts feature photos clearly showing Gow and Wilson.
“In recent days, we learned of specific conduct by Dr. Gow that has subjected the university to significant reputational harm,” UW System President Jay Rothman said. “His actions were abhorrent.”
UW Board of Regents President Karen Walsh said Gow showed “a reckless disregard” for his role as a UW-La Crosse leader.
“We are alarmed, and disgusted, by his actions, which were wholly and undeniably inconsistent with his role as chancellor,” she said.
Gow told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network, that the creation of books and videos exploring consensual adult sexuality falls within his right to free speech under the First Amendment. He said he previously hid this part of his life but made a recent decision to “be a little bit more open about these free speech issues.”
“There’s nothing said about the University of Wisconsin; there’s nothing said about the chancellor (on the videos),” he said after the firing Wednesday. He also noted that no university property or funds were used to create the books or videos.
Gow questioned whether the board afforded him due process because he said he wasn’t given an opportunity to make his case. He said no one at the UW System nor on the UW Board of Regents contacted him ahead of the Wednesday meeting where the board met behind closed doors for just over three hours.
The statements from UW leaders Wednesday struck a different tone from earlier this year when Gow announced plans to step down at the end of the 2023-24 school year and return to the faculty as a communications professor. He is the longest serving of the current chancellors, leading the 10,000 student campus since 2007.
“This is a hallmark of excellent stewardship,” UW System President Jay Rothman said in an August statement. “He has provided a steady hand through challenging times and met the moment when we needed him.”
Gow’s 2006 contract spells out his separate appointment as a tenured faculty member and explain how his new salary would be determined if he were to resign or be terminated from the chancellorship.
The contract also includes these key lines: “The Chancellor may not engage in any activity that may be adverse to, or competitive or inconsistent with the interests of the University of Wisconsin System.”
Rothman, who said he placed Gow on paid administrative leave as he transitions into his faculty role, has also filed a complaint with the new interim chancellor, UW-La Crosse Provost Betsy Morgan, asking for Gow’s tenured faculty status to be reviewed. Rothman said an outside law firm has been hired to conduct a full investigation.
Wilson chaired the search committee that selected Gow to lead UW-La Crosse. She was Gow’s chief of staff in the chancellor’s office from 2008 to 2011. She then led UW-Rock County from 2011 to 2016.
The two married in 2014. As Gow’s spouse, Wilson serves as an “associate to the chancellor” under the terms of his contract. The formal appointment is unpaid and complements the chancellor’s public-facing role leading the university.
Gow and Wilson have six videos on OnlyFans that feature adult film stars, according to descriptions of the videos. They also appear on at least two other porn websites, PornHub and XHamster. Some videos have more than 200,000 views. All videos were posted in the past two months.
The couple also appears to have published two books under the names Geri and Jay Hart. According to the author bio on Amazon, the names are pseudonyms for “a married woman and man who serve in executive positions at two well-known organizations in the U.S.” An author photo shows Gow and Wilson.
The books don’t reference La Crosse, Wisconsin, or any work for a university. But they do allude to the couple’s status in the community, and the tension they felt between the expectations of their “establishment” careers and their desires to be more open about their sex lives.
In “Monogamy with Benefits: How Porn Enriches Our Relationship,” published in 2015, the couple noted they were “fairly certain a scandal would ensue if our peers were to know about what we’ve been doing.”
“Our careers likely would be ruined,” they wrote.
This isn’t Gow’s first brush with controversy. He was in hot water five years ago after he invited adult film star Nina Hartley to speak on campus as part of a “Free Speech week” event.
Then-UW System president Ray Cross reprimanded Gow for exercising “poor judgment” and denied him a pay raise. Gow personally reimbursed the $5,000 speaker’s fee amid the public outcry.
Gow told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel earlier this year the lecture was a stimulating discussion about an uncomfortable topic and illustrated why free speech is a good thing for universities.