The Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents has scheduled a final hearing regarding a UW-La Crosse faculty tribunal’s recommendation to strip professor Joe Gow of tenure. The hearing, set for September 20, will address Gow’s creation and appearance in adult content.

Hearing Details and Participants

The final hearing is scheduled for September 20 at Vilas Hall at UW-Madison. The La Crosse Tribune reported that oral arguments will be conducted in an open meeting. These arguments will be presented by either Gow or his lawyer, Mark Leitner, and by either Wade Harrison or Jennifer Lattis from the UW system’s legal counsel office.

The hearing will be conducted with the Regent’s personnel matters committee, not the entire Board of Regents. Following the open meeting, the committee will craft a recommendation in a closed session. This recommendation could then be considered by the full Board of Regents at an upcoming meeting, potentially as early as September 26-27 at UW-Parkside.

Background of the Tenure Challenge

Joe Gow, a veteran professor of communications, faces a recommendation to be stripped of tenure for creating and appearing in adult content. XBIZ reported that Gow was previously fired as chancellor on the recommendation of Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman. Rothman described Gow’s actions, which included posting adult videos with his wife on their OnlyFans account, as “abhorrent.”

In December, Rothman informed Gow that he had initiated a process to challenge Gow’s tenured faculty position in communication studies. This process led to a hearing where Gow defended himself before a faculty tribunal. After this hearing, the tribunal recommended that Gow be stripped of tenure.

During the tribunal, Wade Harrison, senior legal counsel for the Universities of Wisconsin, presented the case for removing Gow to a faculty senate committee. Gow delivered an opening statement in his own defense, stating, “Tenure is based on the quality of one’s teaching, research and service. These bogus charges have nothing to do with that and they raise the question: do faculty have the right to engage in free speech in their personal lives, particularly on contemporary social media?”

Board of Regents and Meeting Procedures

The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System (UWS) maintains meeting materials, including agendas, supporting materials, committee lists, and minutes. Advance meeting materials are posted for reference, though the official record of final Board action is the full-Board minutes. The Board’s regular meetings are listed on a meeting calendar. Webcasts of Board meetings have been available since September 2004, initially as live audio and later including video for meetings held in Madison starting in May 2006. Video was subsequently added for meetings hosted outside of Madison. These webstreams cover full-Board sessions, include PowerPoint slides, and are archived for viewing.

Archival minutes of the Board of Regents meetings from 1921-1991 are available in a digitized collection. Meeting materials from 1992 to the present are also accessible. The Board of Regents is governed by administrative code, which is accessible through the Wisconsin State Legislature website.

Key Facts

  • The Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents has scheduled a final hearing for Joe Gow.
  • The hearing is set for September 20 at Vilas Hall at UW-Madison.
  • The hearing will address a faculty tribunal’s recommendation to strip Gow of tenure for adult content creation.
  • Oral arguments will be presented by Gow or his lawyer, Mark Leitner, and by Wade Harrison or Jennifer Lattis from UW system legal counsel.
  • The hearing will be conducted by the Regent’s personnel matters committee.
  • A recommendation from the committee could be considered by the full Board of Regents as early as September 26-27 at UW-Parkside.