A statement from Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman said that Chancellor Joe Gow was terminated on Dec. 27 following a unanimous vote from the UW Board of Regents.“In recent days, we learned of specific conduct by Dr. Gow that has subjected the university to significant reputational harm,” Rothman said. “His actions were abhorrent.”UW System Regent President Karen Walsh echoed this sentiment in a statement, saying Gow showed “reckless disregard for the role he was entrusted with,” and that the board is “alarmed, and disgusted, by his actions, which were wholly and undeniably inconsistent with his role as chancellor.”The firing comes after it was discovered that Gow had been producing and publishing pornographic content with his wife. The couple posts explicit content on X and porn websites, and hosts a YouTube channel called “Sexy Healthy Cooking,” which shows videos of them cooking alongside other porn actors and actresses.The couple have also published two books under the pseudonyms Geri and Jay Hart, which they note “are the pen names of a married woman and man who serve in executive positions at two well-known organizations in the U.S.” on their Amazon author biography.
I'm wondering what the community standard for "abhorrent" is at the University of Wisconsin; maybe D29 can comment on that. Naked cooking sounds pretty mild given the kinds of things that porn now embraces. Obviously I haven't seen their pornography, so maybe it's worse than it sounds. The books they have listed on Amazon sound like endorsements of open marriages, which while definitely not in the spirit of the institution of marriage is still on the conservative side for pornography.
Gow maintains that his actions are protected by the First Amendment, especially since he allegedly did not mention his position with the university during his pornographic work.
Probably the 1A doesn't protect you from being fired by a private employer for your speech, but a state university is in a dubious middle position.
* Lost his job as chancellor: as punishment he'll be 'transitioning' into a faculty role, where he can spend more time with students. Somehow this makes sense to people.
Since this is the U of Wisconsin system, I suppose that "abhorrent" could range from being happily married to a member of the opposite sex, to being caught filming himself in a way that makes him recognizable to members of both the video audience and members of the general public as being associated with the university.
ReplyDeleteLittleRed1
I'm not that familiar with the La Crosse campus, but even UW Madison would get a bit itchy about a chancellor known to be making porn.
ReplyDeleteNot that the powers-that-be would care about the sexual ethics of it, but it could impact fundraising, and somebody who wants his name on a building or a scholarship fund probably cares a lot about reputation.
Reputation is a form of honor. Your comment, James, aligns this post with the last one. The ancient conception was that the love relationships would align with the pursuit of honor and flight from dishonor; here, the loving couple (who are heterosexual and at least formally married) are not concerned about pursuing honor or fleeing dishonor. They're engaged in things that bring dishonor on the organization they lead.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very reasonable cause to dismiss the one (and completely, not just from the chancellorship, and certainly not to make him faculty). It's also enlightening as to how the ancient view differs from the modern sense that you should have "Pride" in your sexuality, wherever it happens to lead. That's interesting.
Can't really add anything more than James did. It's not what the UW Board thinks of the 'porn.' It's all about the money.
ReplyDeleteAnd they're kinda wrinkly for porn, anyway.
about a university chancellor who lost his job* due to making pornography
ReplyDeleteI know an example from the 1960s of a university professor who was forced to resign when it was discovered he had WRITTEN pornography under a pseudonym. Given the era, I imagine what he wrote was rather tame compared to what would be written today. Don't know how the university discovered it. This was one example of someone who published, and perished. I heard that he obtained a tenured professor position at another school, but I have no way of proving or disproving that, given the time lag.