Joe Gow

Born in Newark, New York,^[2] Gow initially enrolled at West Chester University of Pennsylvania before transferring to New York University and transferring again to Pennsylvania State University,^[3] where he earned an undergraduate degree in journalism in 1982.^[2] Gow received a master's degree in Speech Communication from the University of Alabama,^[2] then returned to Penn State to earn a Ph.D. in Speech Communication.^[2][7][8] Before pursuing his advanced degrees, he spent two years as the guitarist and frontman of a rock band called Johnny Deadline, which released an EP titled Whatever Happened to Rock & Roll in 1982.^[3] The band broke up later that year, but reunited for shows in 1987,^[8] while Gow was teaching for a year at the University of Cincinnati,^[2] and had a reunion tour in 1999, while Gow was employed as a professor of communications at Alfred University.^[9] While at Alfred, Gow, then director of the communications studies program, published a 1993 study on the influence of MTV, concluding that male performers were substantially over-represented,^[10] despite the "revolutionary" status of the enterprise, writing that MTV "finds itself in the incongruous position of presenting videos that reinforce very traditional gender definitions".^[11]

In 2001, Gow became dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota, and in February 2004, Gow was hired as dean of liberal arts at Nebraska Wesleyan University.^[12] In 2006, Gow was promoted to serve as interim president of Nebraska Wesleyan for one year, insisting on a salary tens of thousands of dollars lower than the salary that was offered.^[13] Described as "a student and faculty favorite", his salary decision presented a stark contrast with that of his predecessor, who had secured a $750,000 retirement package when leaving the position.^[13]

Gow began as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse on February 1, 2007.^[14] Shortly after taking over as chancellor, he performed for students at a battle of the bands at the Cartwright Center's "Cellar" restaurant.^[15] In 2018, Gow courted controversy when he brought pornographic actress Nina Hartley to the campus to speak as part of a campus "Free Speech Week", paying her $5,000 out of university funds for her appearance.^[5][7][16] Gow was reprimanded for this event,^[16] and was one of a handful of university chancellors in the Wisconsin state system who was denied an annual raise.^[7] In August 2023, Gow announced that he planned to step down as chancellor in 2024, and at the time the announcement was met with praise for his work during his tenure.^[16]

In December 2023, Gow was terminated from his position as chancellor when it was discovered that he and his current wife, Carmen Wilson, also a former professor at the university, uploaded adult videos of themselves to websites such as OnlyFans and PornHub. The couple also wrote two books together, Married with Benefits: Our Real-Life Adult Industry Adventures, and Monogamy with Benefits: How Porn Enriches Our Relationship, under the pen names of Geri and Jay Hart.^[4] The couple created social media profiles on several services under the name, "Sexy Happy Couple",^[4][5] and hosted a YouTube channel titled "Sexy Healthy Cooking", which featured videos of them cooking vegan dishes with pornographic actors.^[5]

Gow challenged the decision as a violation of his freedom of speech.^[17] According to Gow, he did not use University of Wisconsin resources in the production of the videos or mention his connection to the college.^[5][18][6] Following his termination, a local brewery capitalized on the controversy by offering a "Hot for Chancellor" beer featuring a caricature of Gow on the can.^[19][20]

In April 2024, in addition to firing him as chancellor, the university administration sought to remove him from his position as a tenured professor.^[21] In July 2024, a committee of peer-tenured faculty had voted to recommend that he be removed from his faculty position.^[22] In September 2024, the Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents voted 17-0 to fire him from his tenured faculty job over making pornography. In response, Gow noted that "the regents claim to want to protect and promote free expression, but their action today shows this isn't true", describing them as "a Board of Hypocrites".^[23] The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression called the termination "a major blow to academic freedom and faculty free speech rights."^[24]

• University of Wisconsin–La Crosse profile of Joe Gow