In August 2023, Joseph Gow announced that he intended to step down from his role as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. At that time, Gow was the longest-serving active chancellor in the University of Wisconsin System and the second-longest-serving chancellor in the school’s long history. Gow’s nearly 17-year tenure as chancellor was described as historic, marked by growth, achievement, and unprecedented increases in enrollment.

As chancellor, Gow guided the university through COVID and dramatic shifts in higher education and funding. He was praised by his superiors for leaving a lasting imprint and creating a “vibrant, thriving university known for academic excellence, faculty expertise, and student support.” Gow described at his retirement announcement, “I’ve enjoyed every minute of that, but I want to do other things.”

Just a few short months later, the university’s view of Gow changed dramatically after it was exposed that for a few years, he and his wife Carmen had been making professional pornographic videos and exploring their sexuality on camera.

Gow was dismissed from his position as chancellor in advance of his scheduled retirement. He retained his tenured status as a professor of communications. Gow’s wife, Carmen, holds a Ph.D. in counseling psychology and has also served in the administration of several universities.

The news of this sex scandal was covered in major media markets around the world. "Wisconsin University Chancellor Fired After Making Pornographic Videos With His Wife," read the New York Times, where the same official who, just months earlier, raved over his lasting legacy, now described that she was........

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