Wisconsin chancellor fired for making porn was Northern State University finalist

Joe Gow was on Board of Regents' short list to head NSU

A longtime administrator of a public university in Wisconsin who is drawing national attention for making pornographic videos was almost president of Northern State University. 

Joe Gow, who was fired this week as chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse, was a top-three contender to become the Aberdeen university’s next president in 2016. After several interviews and an extensive vetting process with the South Dakota Board of Regents, Gow withdrew his name from consideration after he was announced as a finalist.

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Gow, 63, was the second longest serving chancellor in Wisconsin-Lacrosse’s history, a role that functions as a university president. He entered into the position in 2007.

The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents opted to abruptly remove Gow from the post earlier this week after sexually explicit videos that Gow produced with his wife – a former university official in North Dakota – came to light. 

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