On Wednesday, December 27, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse’s Chancellor Joe Gow, a figure with a nearly 17-year tenure, was unanimously terminated by the UW Board of Regents.
Chancellor Caught and Fired
Long-time University of Wisconsin Chancellor Joe Gow was fired by the university’s Board of Regents on Wednesday following revelations that he and his wife Carmen Wilson created and shared explicit adult content online.
The Board voted to fire Dr Gow, 63, citing his actions as “abhorrent” and causing significant reputational harm to the university.
The explicit videos featuring the couple under the title “Sexy Happy Couple” are accessible on platforms such as OnlyFans and Pornhub, sometimes including appearances by well-known adult film stars.
Under pseudonyms Geri and Jay Hart, the two have also published two books about their experiences in the adult film industry, though pictures clearly indicate their identities.
“Passionate plant-powered couple cooking, conversing, and shooting with top adult video stars. Visit our LoyalFans and OnlyFans sites for fully explicit scenes!” the profile reads. The cover photo shows them standing in a kitchen; the website is called “Sexy Healthy Cooking.”
One X post touted the couple’s OnlyFans page, saying, “If you’re on OnlyFans please check out our solo interview, sex scene and cooking demo.” The couple’s OnlyFans page reads, “Top adult video stars cook, converse and shoot sex scenes with a plant-powered couple. Please subscribe to have full access to complete episodes!”
Gow has argued that the creation of the books and videos falls under free speech and did not use any university property, funds, or time. He also argued that he was not given a chance to make his case.
“There’s nothing said about the University of Wisconsin; there’s nothing said about the chancellor (on the videos),” Gow said after the firing. “So someone else would have to make those associations. And then someone would have to say those are problematic.”
“These are serious works [in which] we examine consensual adult sexuality, so we would think that would be protected by the First Amendment,” Gow told WTMJ. “I’m very concerned that there was no due process around this, and what that entails is having a hearing and I get to know what I’m charged with and I get to reply and make my case. That never happened.”
In statements, Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman and UW System Board of Regents President Karen Walsh revealed that the Board of Regents voted unanimously to terminate Gow as chancellor, a position he has held at the major public university since 2007.
Gow previously announced that he would step down at the end of the current 2023-2024 school year and return as a communications professor. Wilson, formerly a leader of UW-Rock County, is currently “associate to the chancellor” under Gow’s contract.