The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents voted to strip former UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow of his tenure “with cause” in a unanimous vote Friday due to his continued creation of pornography.
The vote came after a UW-La Crosse faculty committee unanimously recommended his removal for “unethical conduct” and a Sept. 20 hearing under the UW Board of Regents personnel committee.
Under Wisconsin law, revoking tenure requires “just cause and can only be done after due notice and hearing.”
Gow announced retirement plans on Aug. 30, with plans to transition to a faculty position after the conclusion of the 2023-24 school year.
He told reporters after the decision that he plans to sue because the Regent’s decision “violates their own commitment to academic freedom and freedom of expression.”
Gow also referenced the 114-year-old plaque that resides in Bascom Hall that reads: “Whatever may be the limitations which trammel inquiry elsewhere, we believe that the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”
“We might as well take down that famous plaque on the front of Bascom Hall,” Gow said. “Because the people who fired me today aren’t a Board of Regents. They’re a board of hypocrites. They have zero credibility on free speech and expression.”
Tomer Ronen is the Features Editor for the Daily Cardinal. He has covered protests, state politics, sports and more. Follow him on Twitter at @TRonen22.
