Former Wisconsin professor defends himself with First Amendment after being fired for making porn with his wife

In a closely watched case about First Amendment rights, a former University of Wisconsin campus chancellor who was fired after making pornographic films with his wife argued Friday to keep his tenured teaching position even though he faces termination for unethical conduct.

Joe Gow, who had served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse for nearly 17 years, hoped to persuade a University of Wisconsin Board of Education personnel committee to recommend that he keep his tenured position and return to teaching communications courses.

Gow has been on leave from his faculty since the university administration fired him as chancellor in 2023, shortly after the university administration became aware of the videos posted on pornographic websites.

Gow's behavior was “unethical, hypocritical and unacceptable,” university attorney Wade Harrison told the six regents who make up the personnel committee on Friday.

“Enough is enough,” he said. “Dr. Joe must go.”

A faculty committee at the University of Washington-La Crosse unanimously recommended in July that Gow should lose his job because he had exploited his position to generate more interest and revenue from the videos. Lawyers for the university argued Friday that he should lose his tenured teaching position because he had damaged the university's reputation and compromised its mission.

Gow has proven that he is incapable of recognizing his own misjudgment, the university's lawyers argued in briefs ahead of the hearing.

The Regents' Personnel Committee discussed the case behind closed doors after taking testimony on Friday. Its recommendation, also secret, will be considered at a meeting of the full Board of Regents next week.

The case attracted national attention because a high-ranking university official made pornographic films and spoke publicly about them, which was offensive and raised questions about freedom of expression.

Gow argued that his videos and two e-books he and his wife Carmen published about their experiences with adult films were protected by the First Amendment.

“You don't need the First Amendment to protect 'The Star Spangled Banner,'” Gow's attorney, Mark Leitner, told the committee. “You don't need the First Amendment to protect simple and comforting speech. In fact, the opposite is true. We need the First Amendment precisely when the threat of stifling, controversial and unpopular speech is greatest. And that's exactly what we have here.”

Harrison, the university's attorney, responded that while the videos themselves were legal, they did not constitute protected speech under his employment contract.

“Gow’s porn videos are not protected by the First Amendment,” Harrison said.

Gow got what he wanted, namely attention for his books and videos, Harrison said.

The rulers asked no questions.

The university is pushing to fire Gow for unethical conduct, insubordination by refusing to cooperate with an investigation and violating computer policies. The UW-La Crosse employee handbook requires faculty to “exhibit conduct that supports the mission of the university.”

Gow has claimed that he and his wife produced the pornographic material in their spare time. He insists that neither the videos nor the books mention UW-La Crosse or his role at the university.

However, in 2018, Gow was criticized for inviting porn actress Nina Hartley to speak on campus. She received $5,000 from her tuition fees for the speech. The idea to bring her to campus came to him after he had filmed a porn video with her, the university said.

Gow and his wife's e-books were written under pseudonyms: “Monogamy with Benefits: How Porn Enriches Our Relationships” and “Married with Benefits: Our Real Adventures in the Adult Industry.” They are also the stars of a YouTube channel called “Sexy Healthy Cooking,” in which the couple cooks alongside porn actors.

Gow's desire to return to teaching is opposed by his department head, Linda Dickmeyer. She said that since Gow has not taught for 20 years, he will be assigned general education courses, but she is opposed to allowing him to return to teaching in any capacity.