The Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents voted unanimously to remove UW-La Crosse former Chancellor Joe Gow from his tenured faculty position Sept. 27 for making pornographic videos with his wife, according to WKOW.

Gow was previously fired from his position as chancellor in June 2023, after the initial discovery of his pornographic activities when a faculty panel voted 5-0 to recommend Gow’s termination following a hearing that assessed the implications of his actions, according to WKOW.

The case has drawn significant attention, not only for the nature of Gow’s activities but also for controversies around the limits of academic freedom and First Amendment free speech rights, according to the Wisconsin Public Radio.

Academic freedom and the First Amendment are not the same, so an employee contract may have guidelines restricting certain activities, UW-Madison law professor Anuj Desai said.

“When you become an employee, you have a contract with the employer,” Desai said. “And sometimes that contract has written terms, and … sometimes there are contract terms that are not written down — they’re just assumed.”

These written portions are called explicit terms of employment, whereas the assumed ones are implicit, Desai said.

According to a Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression press release, firing Gow would go against the First Amendment — which, FIRE said, protects faculty’s right to create pornography.

The Board of Regents has reiterated its dedication to the principle of academic freedom, emphasizing that it allows faculty members to speak as both scholars and private citizens without receiving discipline from the university, according to Regent Policy Document 4-21.

“The question of whether an employee can create pornography on his own time would not be in an ordinary faculty member’s terms of employment, whether explicit or implicit,” Desai said.

According to the Board of Regents policy document, academic freedom comes with the responsibility to uphold professional regulations and obligations.

The universities must strike a balance between providing a platform for open dialogue while also maintaining standards of professional conduct, according to the policy document.

“If they’re punishing you for something that you did completely off the job and that both sides agree was off the job, that’s different from punishing you for something you’re going to claim is part of your scholarly agenda,” Desai said.

Gow’s case raises important questions about the extent to which personal actions, even those conducted outside of work hours, can impact professional standing and institutional reputation, Desai said.

Gow has responded to his termination and said he intends to file a lawsuit against the university for infringing on his right to free speech, according to Spectrum News.

“The people who fired me today aren’t a ‘Board of Regents,’ they’re a ‘Board of Hypocrites,’” Gow said in a statement from Spectrum News.