University of Wisconsin-La Crosse: Attempt to Terminate Tenured Professor for Making Poronography Outside of Work

In December 2023, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse fired Joe Gow as its Chancellor after discovering he made and posted pornographic videos with his wife in his spare time. UW-La Crosse then sought to terminate his tenured professor role in March 2024, alleging his actions rendered him unfit to teach. On June 18, FIRE urged UW-La Crosse to refrain from punishing Gow for protected extramural expression that did not affect his academic role. The next month, a faculty committee recommended UW-La Crosse fire Gow, citing negative media coverage and reputational damage to the university and finding him responsible for various minor policy violations. On July 16, FIRE again called on UW to uphold faculty First Amendment rights by allowing Gow to continue teaching. We also connected Gow with an attorney through our Faculty Legal Defense Fund for his appeal to the UW Board of Regents.