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In December 2023, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse fired Joe Gow as its Chancellor after discovering he made and posted pornographic videos with his wife in his spare time. UW-La Crosse then sought to terminate his tenured professor role in March 2024, alleging his actions rendered him unfit to teach. On June 18, ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵAPP¹ÙÍø urged UW-La Crosse to refrain from punishing Gow for protected extramural expression that did not affect his academic role. The next month, a faculty committee recommended UW-La Crosse fire Gow, citing negative media coverage and reputational damage to the university and finding him responsible for various minor policy violations. On July 16, ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵAPP¹ÙÍø again called on UW to uphold faculty First Amendment rights by allowing Gow to continue teaching. We also connected Gow with ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵAPP¹ÙÍø Legal Network attorney Mark Leitner for his appeal to the UW Board of Regents. 

On September 13, ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵAPP¹ÙÍø implored the UW System Board of Regents to reject UW-La Crosse’s recommendation to terminate Gow ahead of the Board’s September 20 hearing. The Board approved the termination recommendation on September 27.