MADISON, Wis. (AP) — In a closely watched First Amendment rights case, a former University of Wisconsin campus chancellor who was fired after making pornographic films with his wife argued Friday for keeping his tenured teaching position even as he faces removal for unethical behavior.
Joe Gow, who had served as chancellor of UW-La Crosse for nearly 17 years, hoped to convince a personnel committee of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents to recommend he be allowed to retain tenure and return to teaching communications courses.
Gow has been on paid leave from his faculty position since the regents fired him as chancellor in 2023, shortly after university leaders became aware of the videos that were posted on pornographic websites.
Gow’s behavior has been “unethical, hypocritical and unacceptable,” university attorney Wade Harrison told six regents who form the personnel committee on Friday.
“Enough is enough," he said. “Dr. Joe needs to go.”
A UW-La Crosse faculty committee unanimously recommended in July that Gow lose his faculty position, saying he exploited his position to generate more interest and revenue from the videos. University attorneys argued Friday that he should lose his tenured teaching position because he harmed the university’s reputation and interfered with its mission.
Gow has established that he is unable to recognize his own poor judgment, university attorneys argued in filings ahead of the hearing.
The regents personnel committee discussed the case behind closed doors after taking testimony Friday. Its recommendation, also secret, will then be taken up at a meeting of the full Board of Regents as soon as next week.
The case has garnered national attention both for the salaciousness of a high-profile university official making pornographic movies and publicly talking about it and the questions it raises about free speech rights.
Gow argued that his videos and two e-books he and his wife, Carmen, have published about their experiences in adult films are protected by the First Amendment.
“You don’t need the First Amendment to protect ‘The Star Spangled Banner,’” Gow’s attorney, Mark Leitner, told the committee. “You don’t need the First Amendment to protect easy and comforting speech. It’s exactly the opposite. We need the First Amendment precisely when the danger of stifling, controversial, unpopular speech is at its highest. And that’s what we have here.”
Harrison, the university's attorney, countered that the videos themselves are legal, but they are not protected speech under his employment contract.
“Gow’s pornography videos are not protected by the First Amendment,” Harrison said.
Gow has gotten what he wants, which is attention on his books and videos, Harrison said.
The regents asked no questions.
“It was a very ominous sign that no regent asked a question,” Gow said after the hearing. “That to me indicates that this has all been preordained.”
When asked if he would consider filing a lawsuit if his tenure is revoked, Gow said, “Would you blame us if we did?”
The school is pushing to fire Gow for unethical conduct, insubordination for refusing to cooperate with an investigation and violating computer policies. The UW-La Crosse employee handbook requires faculty to “exhibit a level of behavior supporting the university mission.”
Gow has maintained that he and his wife produced the pornographic materials on their own time. He insists the videos and the books never mentioned UW-La Crosse or his role at the university.
However, Gow was criticized in 2018 for inviting porn actor Nina Hartley to speak on campus. She was paid $5,000 out of student fees to appear. He developed the idea of bringing her to campus after shooting a pornographic video with her, the university said.
Gow and his wife's e-books were written under pseudonyms: “Monogamy with Benefits: How Porn Enriches Our Relationship” and “Married with Benefits — Our Real-Life Adult Industry Adventures." But they also star in a YouTube channel called “Sexy Healthy Cooking” in which the couple cooks meals with porn actors.
Gow's hope to return to teaching in the classroom is opposed by his department chair, Linda Dickmeyer. She said that because Gow has not taught for 20 years, he would be assigned general education courses, but she opposes allowing him to return to teaching in any role.
Former University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow and his wife, Carmen Wilson, take questions after a hearing before a committee that will determine whether he can teach after being fired as the campus leader for making pornographic videos on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
Former University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow, right, and his wife, Carmen Wilson, center, take questions after a hearing before a committee that will determine whether he can teach after being fired as the campus leader for making pornographic videos, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
FILE - This undated photo provided by University of Wisconsin system shows UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow. (University of Wisconsin-La Crosse via AP, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, will be sworn in as the 47th president on Monday, taking charge as Republicans assume unified control of Washington and set out to reshape the country's institutions.
Trump is expected to act swiftly after the ceremony, with executive orders already prepared for his signature to jumpstart deportations, increase fossil fuel development and reduce civil service protections for government workers, promising that his term will bring about “a brand new day of American strength and prosperity, dignity and pride.”
Frigid weather is rewriting the pageantry of the day. Trump’s swearing-in was moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda — the first time that has happened in 40 years — and the inaugural parade was replaced by an event at a downtown arena. Throngs of Trump supporters who descended on the city to watch the inaugural ceremony on the West Front of the Capitol from the National Mall will be left to find somewhere else to view the festivities.
“God has a plan,” said Terry Barber, 46, who drove nonstop from near Augusta, Georgia, to reach Washington. “I'm good with it."
When Trump takes the oath of office at noon, he will realize a political comeback without precedent in American history. Four years ago, he was voted out of the White House during an economic collapse caused by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Trump denied his defeat and tried to cling to power. He directed his supporters to march on the Capitol while lawmakers were certifying the election results, sparking a riot that interrupted the country’s tradition of the peaceful transfer of power.
But Trump never lost his grip on the Republican Party and was undeterred by criminal cases and two assassination attempts as he steamrolled rivals and harnessed voters’ exasperation with inflation and illegal immigration.
Now Trump will be the first person convicted of a felony — for falsifying business records related to hush money payments — to serve as president. He will pledge to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution from the same spot that was overrun by his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. He’s said that one of his first acts in office will be to pardon many of those who participated in the riot.
Eight years after he first entered the White House as a political newcomer, Trump is far more familiar with the operations of federal government and emboldened to bend it to his vision. He has promised retribution against his political opponents and critics, and placed personal loyalty as a prime qualification for appointments to his administration.
He has pledged to go further and move faster in enacting his agenda than during his first term, and already the country's political, business and technology leaders have realigned themselves to accommodate Trump. Democrats who once formed a “resistance” are now divided over whether to work with Trump or defy him. Billionaires have lined up to meet with Trump as they acknowledge his unrivaled power in Washington and ability to wield the levers of government to help or hurt their interests.
Trump has pledged to bring quick change to the country by curtailing immigration, enacting tariffs on imports and rolling back Democrats' climate and social initiatives.
Long skeptical of American alliances, his “America First” foreign policy is being watched warily at home and abroad as Russia's invasion of Ukraine will soon enter its third year and a fragile ceasefire appears to be holding in Gaza after more than 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas.
Trump, who spent Saturday and Sunday night at Blair House across from the White House, will begin Monday with a prayer service at St. John’s Episcopal Church. Then he and his wife Melania will be greeted at the executive mansion by President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden for the customary tea. It's a stark departure from four years ago, when Trump refused to acknowledge Biden's victory or attend his inauguration.
The two men and their spouses will head to the Capitol in a joint motorcade ahead of the swearing-in.
Vice President-elect JD Vance will be sworn-in first, taking the oath read by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on a bible given to him by his great-grandmother. Trump will follow, using both a family bible and the one used by President Abraham Lincoln at his 1861 inauguration as Chief Justice John Roberts administers his oath.
The inaugural festivities began Saturday, when Trump arrived in Washington on a government jet and viewed fireworks at his private golf club in suburban Virginia. On Sunday, he laid a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery and rallied his supporters at Washington’s downtown Capital One Arena.
A cadre of billionaires and tech titans who have sought to curry favor with Trump and have donated handsomely to his inaugural festivities, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, will be in attendance.
Also present will be the head of TikTok, the popular Chinese-owned social media app deemed a national security risk by the U.S. Trump has promised to lift an effective ban on TikTok through one of many executive orders expected to be issued on Monday as the new president attempts to show quick progress.
At his Sunday rally, Trump teased dozens of coming executive actions, promising that “by the time the sun sets” on Monday he will have signed executive orders involving border security and immigration policy, including a revival of Trump’s first-term effort to shut down access to many new entries under what’s called Title 42 emergency provisions.
Others orders are expected to allow more oil and gas drilling by rolling back Biden-era policies on domestic energy production and rescind Biden's recent directive on artificial intelligence.
More changes are planned for the federal workforce. Trump wants to unwind diversity, equity and inclusion programs known as DEI, require employees to come back to the office and lay the groundwork to reduce staff.
“Expect shock and awe,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
“What I’ve been urging the president, and my colleagues, to do is stay laser-focused on delivering on our promises,” Cruz said. “And that’s what I expect that we’re going to do.”
With control of Congress, Republicans are also working alongside the incoming Trump administration on legislation that will further roll back Biden administration policies and institute their own priorities.
"The president is going to come in with a flurry of executive orders,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “And we are going to be working alongside the administration and in tandem.”
AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and AP writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.
Follow the AP's coverage of Donald Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump.
President-elect Donald Trump arrives at a rally ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Snow falls on the Capitol in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a rally ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)