> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • Student-Success Resource Center
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
Executive Pay
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

2 Wisconsin Chancellors, Tainted by Controversies, Are Denied Raises

By  Cailin Crowe
December 10, 2018
Joe Gow, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse campus, was denied a raise by the system’s Board of Regents following the controversy over his invitation for an adult film actress to speak on campus.
U. of Wisconsin system
Joe Gow, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse campus, was denied a raise by the system’s Board of Regents following the controversy over his invitation for an adult film actress to speak on campus.

The University of Wisconsin system’s governing board has denied a performance raise to its longest-serving chancellor, Joe Gow, who leads the La Crosse campus, following a controversy over Gow’s decision to host a porn star’s speech on the campus, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.

The board gave raises to 10 of the 13 chancellors in a closed meeting last week. The awards ranged from $14,421 to $72,668, the newspaper reported.

Gow invited the adult-film star Nina Hartley to the campus in part, he said, in response to the system’s 2017 revamped free-speech policy, which charged chancellors with advancing free speech on their campuses. The policy was applauded by the system president, Raymond W. Cross.

We're sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network.

Please allow access to our site, and then refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, please contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

Joe Gow, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse campus, was denied a raise by the system’s Board of Regents following the controversy over his invitation for an adult film actress to speak on campus.
U. of Wisconsin system
Joe Gow, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse campus, was denied a raise by the system’s Board of Regents following the controversy over his invitation for an adult film actress to speak on campus.

The University of Wisconsin system’s governing board has denied a performance raise to its longest-serving chancellor, Joe Gow, who leads the La Crosse campus, following a controversy over Gow’s decision to host a porn star’s speech on the campus, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.

The board gave raises to 10 of the 13 chancellors in a closed meeting last week. The awards ranged from $14,421 to $72,668, the newspaper reported.

Gow invited the adult-film star Nina Hartley to the campus in part, he said, in response to the system’s 2017 revamped free-speech policy, which charged chancellors with advancing free speech on their campuses. The policy was applauded by the system president, Raymond W. Cross.

But Cross condemned Gow’s decision to bring Hartley to the campus and threatened to withhold Gow’s future raise.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I understand and appreciate your commitment to freedom of expression and public discourse,” Cross wrote.

But “as chancellor, you need to exercise better judgment when dealing with matters such as these,” he said.

Gow maintains that he was promoting the free-speech policy when he invited Hartley, who has a nursing degree, to speak about consent and sexuality. “I thought that’s what people wanted,” Gow told The Chronicle on Monday. But “that doesn’t appear to be the case.”

Given Cross’s reaction, Gow said he wasn’t shocked by the regents’ decision to withhold a raise.

“I wasn’t surprised entirely, but I was intrigued that I was being excluded from something that was being given to everybody else,” he said. “I don’t do my job for the compensation. I do it because I want to make a difference as a leader, and I’m proud of the performance of our university.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Find Out How Much Other Presidents Make

Private 2018 Exec Comp

Browse The Chronicle’s executive-compensation package, which includes the latest data on more than 1,400 chief executives at more than 800 private and public colleges.

The regents also withheld a raise from the Whitewater campus’s chancellor, Beverly A. Kopper, following an investigation that determined that her husband had sexually harassed female staff members. An additional investigation into Kopper’s husband was opened in the fall and is still underway, the newspaper reported.

A former graduate student who worked in the chancellor’s office told The Chronicle in September that she had been subjected to multiple incidents of harassment by Kopper’s husband, Alan (Pete) Hill, who she said had hugged her despite objections, kissed her, and told her she was attractive.

The Madison chancellor, Rebecca Blank, got the largest raise, according to the newspaper, increasing her total salary to $582,617.

The raises were awarded in part due to increased responsibilities following a restructuring that merged the system’s 13 two-year campuses into some of the four-year campuses, said a system spokeswoman, Heather LaRoi.

ADVERTISEMENT

“It is essential that we remain competitive with our peers on chancellor pay, especially as we expand the duties of our chancellors through restructuring and as they implement our strategic plan to enhance student success, increase efficiency, and improve communities,” LaRoi wrote in a statement to The Chronicle.

Wisconsin’s “chancellor salaries remain well below their peers in other states, and a reinvestment will ensure that we continue to have quality leadership,” she wrote. “These are demanding jobs, and today’s increases are based on merit and performance.”

Follow Cailin Crowe on Twitter at @cailincrowe, or email her at cailin.crowe@chronicle.com.

A version of this article appeared in the December 21, 2018, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Leadership & Governance
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Content

  • A Chancellor, a Porn Star, and $5,000: Did a Wisconsin Campus Find the Limit to Free Speech?
  • Women Say Her Husband Harassed. Now She’s Under Fire.
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Accessibility Statement
    Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin