On Wednesday, Dec. 27, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow was unanimously terminated by the UW Board of Regents during a closed-door meeting following the discovery of explicit videos featuring him and his wife.
Gow, who had held the position of chancellor for nearly 17 years and was the most tenured in the UW System, had publicly announced his retirement intentions on Aug. 30, with plans to transition into a full-time tenured professor post-retirement. The revelation of the explicit videos led the university to expedite the departure of its chancellor.
The couple adopted the name “Sexy Happy Couple” on at least two pornographic platforms, PornHub and XHamster, and have a social media account on X [formally Twitter] under the same name. All videos by the couple were posted in the last two months, with some garnering more than 200,000 views.
They also have authored two books under the pseudonyms Geri and Jay Hart, detailing their experiences within the adult film industry, featuring the imagery of Gow and Wilson.
Their published book from 2017, “Monogamy with Benefits: How Porn Enriches Our Relationship” explains how they embarked together on a sexual journal that unfolded around the United States, including visits to strip clubs, legal brothels, a swinger’s gathering, a sex expo and on the set of their own professionally produced adult video.
Their second book, released in 2018, “Married with Benefits: Our Real-Life Adult Industry Adventures” recounts how the ‘Harts’ keep their marriage fresh and exciting, including interviews with some of the top male and female performers in the business.
UW System President President Jay Rothman stated, “In recent days, we learned of specific conduct by Dr. Gow that has subjected the university to significant reputational harm… His actions were abhorrent.” Rothman placed Gow on administrative leave for the time being.
In an email to students, Provost Betsy Morgan stated,
“I have recently been appointed as the interim chancellor of UWL. I’m honored to serve the students, faculty, and staff of UWL in this interim time while the university searches for a new permanent chancellor. I also want to acknowledge how challenging it is for the campus to face a change like this on such short notice. Please be assured that my sole goal will be to provide stable leadership in the months ahead and I’ll be working closely with student leadership.
I came to UWL over 30 years ago to be an assistant professor in psychology and I stayed because of the people and the excellence of the university. I look forward to seeing you back on campus in the spring.”
Some UWL students have started a petition on change.org to re-hire Gow. The bio of the petition states, “The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has lost our dear Chancellor Joe Gow as he was terminated unfairly on December 27th. Joe Gow should be able to continue his position at the university because the vids are low key good. Please sign this petition to reinstate our beloved Porn Star Chancellor. <3”
The Racquet Press will continue to update this story as presented with new information.
John • Dec 29, 2023 at 2:58 am
How is having a healthy relationship with your spouse (and others apparently) abhorrent? Is it a good look? Not to the stuffed shirts and donors who clutch their pearls in public and then run to their computers in private to check out their adventures. It’s UWLC for crying out loud. It will probably be one of the best things that happened to the school. To borrow from The Matrix – would we be reading and commenting on articles like this if they hadn’t fired him and made it a story?