MADISON, Wis. — The former University of Wisconsin-La Crosse chancellor, Joe Gow, sued the UW Board of Regents in what could become a cutting-edge case for free speech and academic freedom — and against just plain nastiness in firing him. The suit was filed in federal court. Gow was removed as chancellor in 2023 for producing and performing in sex videos that encouraged older adults to loosen up and enjoy the bedroom. With his wife, a fellow academic, he demonstrated up close and personal how to do it. The couple also had written books on the subject. He is 65, she 57. All this was under pseudonyms. UW System President Jay Rothman, a Milwaukee lawyer, was scandalized to learn of the extracurricular videos. Rothman claimed that Gow had sullied the university’s reputation. Rothman organize a campaign not only to remove Gow as chancellor but also to deny him the usual professorship afforded to former chancellors, and to deny him a pension.
Verbatim
Gow: Ironically the suit was filed on the day that spring semester was starting at UW-LaCrosse. Said Gow: “On this day I should be on campus and teaching.”
Gow. The “Strummig Dean” as he was known at Winona State– a passion he kept at UW-Lacsse as chancellor.
Gow profile
He and wife Carmen Wilson no longer produce their “Sexy Happy Couple” videos. Production costs were high, he said: “An expensive hobby. Gow was chancellor a UW-LaCrosse, enrollment 10,000, for 16 years. He was popular with faculty and students. Enrollment has risen since his removal – contrary to claims of JayRothman, UW System president, that Gow’s continuing presence would undermine student recruiting. Earlier Gow headed the liberal college at Winona State University, where they called hm the “Strumming Dean.” He would show up unannounced wtih a guitar and perform folk tunes at student hangouts.
Gow’s legal case
In the suit Gow claims that a governmental unit, the UW System, denied his constitutional right as a citizen to free expression. Further he claims his academic freedom to pursue unconventional avenues was violated. This is a centuries-old tradition inspired by the fate of the Greek philosopher Socrates, who in 399 B.C. was forced to drink the poison hemlock. Academic freedom also has been inspired by the heresy trial of Italian physicist Galileo in 1633 A.D. for theorizing that Earth wasn’t flat. A more mundane element in Gow’s case is wrongful dismissal and denial of a tenured professorship, which is standard practice for former college academic officers.