LA CROSSE, Wis. — After the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse last week recommended firing veteran communications professor Joe Gow for relentlessly creating and appearing in adult content, a major free speech organization has voiced its support.
The recommendation to strip Gow of his term now rests in the hands of the Board of Regents of the Universities of Wisconsin, which will decide whether to fire him.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) published a statement on Tuesday titled “The Naked Truth: University of Wisconsin Professor’s Push-to-Fire on Porn Hobby Is Bad for All Faculty.”
As XBIZ reported, Gow was fired as chancellor at the recommendation of University of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman, who called the professor’s actions — including posting adult videos featuring his wife on their OnlyFans account — “appalling.” .
Rothman told Gow in December that he had initiated a process to challenge his tenured faculty position in communication studies. The trial resulted in a hearing where Gow had to defend himself before a faculty court. After the hearing, the tribunal recommended that Gow be stripped of his term of office.
At the tribunal, Wade Harrison, senior legal counsel for the Universities of Wisconsin, presented the case for Gow’s removal to a faculty senate committee.
Gow gave an opening statement in defense of himself, noting that “Tenure is based on the quality of one’s teaching, research and service. These false accusations have nothing to do with that and they beg the question: Do teachers have the right to concern themselves with freedom of expression in their personal lives, especially on today’s social media?”
According to FIRE, Gow’s tenure was in jeopardy “for performing pornographic videos with his wife on his own time and writing books about the experience.”
The tribunal’s recommendation, according to the free speech organization, “undermines what the mandate is designed to protect – including teachers’ right to express themselves outside the classroom,” conflicts with the First Amendment and threatens the rights of all UW faculties.
The First Amendment and the concept of academic freedom, FIRE added, “protect professors from the machinations of any party that controls state legislatures, or that controls faculty governing bodies, university boards, or boards of regents.” Punishing faculty speechmakers for insulting major donors and lawmakers endangers the many professors who openly criticize elected officials or take minority positions.”
Main image: University of Wisconsin communications professor Joe Gow, with wife Carmen Wilson and performer Lauren Phillips