‘In recent days, we learned of specific conduct by Dr. Gow that has subjected the university to significant reputational harm’
University of Wisconsin – La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow is out of a job after it was revealed he and his wife made porn videos under the name “Sexy Happy Couple.”
The regents made the decision at their meeting yesterday.
“Gow, 63, and his wife, Carmen Wilson, appear in videos on several porn websites using ‘Sexy Happy Couple’ as the account name, a moniker also used on at least two social media accounts,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
“The couple also published two books under pseudonyms detailing their experiences in the adult film industry. Both books and the social media accounts feature photos clearly showing Gow (pictured) and Wilson,” the Journal Sentinel reported.
Wilson “chaired the search committee that selected him to lead the university,” the newspaper reported. “She was Gow’s chief of staff in the chancellor’s office from 2008 to 2011.” The pair married in 2014.
A special meeting will be held tomorrow to discuss the search for a new chancellor, according to a notice on the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents website.
“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, according to the Journal Sentinel. “His actions were abhorrent.”
Gow previously invited a porn performer to come to campus as part of a “Free Speech Week” event, according to the Milwaukee newspaper. Gow reimbursed the speaker’s fee out of his own money, the newspaper reported.
Gow also said after his firing that he did not discuss his position at the university in the videos. He told the Journal-Sentinel, “the creation of books and videos exploring consensual adult sexuality falls within his right to free speech under the First Amendment,” according to its paraphrase of his comments.
The former chancellor still has his position as a tenured professor, but that is currently facing a complaint from President Rothman.
His 2006 chancellor’s contract includes a provision against harming the university. “The Chancellor is encouraged to engage in outside activities that contribute to the Chancellor’s professional advancement or benefit the University,” the contract reportedly states.
“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.”
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IMAGE: WEAU 13
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