U. of Wisconsin System President Reprimands La Crosse Chancellor for Bringing Porn Star to Campus

The chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse has been reprimanded by the system president for having a porn star speak during the campus’s free-speech week this month, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Chancellor Joe Gow covered the adult film star’s $5,000 speaking fee following the backlash from the university. His pending pay raise, under consideration by the system’s Board of Regents, could also be affected by his decision to bring Nina Hartley, a film star and free-expression advocate, to campus.

Ray Cross, the Wisconsin system’s president, plans to audit the past four years of Gow’s office’s discretionary fund, which initially covered Hartley’s speaking fee, reported the Journal Sentinel.

“Apart from my personal underlying moral concerns, I am deeply disappointed by your decision to actively recruit, advocate for, and pay for a porn star to come to the UW-La Crosse campus to lecture students about sex and the adult entertainment industry,” wrote Cross in a letter obtained by the Journal Sentinel.

In his reprimand letter, Cross also wrote that he and other board members were not briefed before the speech, and that he found out about the event through media reports.

In a La Crosse Tribune column, Gow wrote that he invited Hartley to promote “the UW System’s ‘Commitment to Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression.’” Hartley’s lecture, titled “Fantasy vs. Reality: Viewing Adult Media With a Critical Eye,” included discussions about consent and safe-sex practices. She also criticized pornography as a “very poor source of information about sexuality,” Gow wrote.

Hartley’s lecture helped the university pursue its mission, Gow wrote. “To other universities interested in promoting free speech and advancing knowledge about essential social issues, I would recommend Hartley without hesitation.”

Cross has not responded to a request for comment.

In an email, Gow wrote that he thought he was protected and prompted to invite Hartley by the university’s free-speech policy. “When I invited Ms. Hartley to speak at UW-La Crosse I was attempting to promote awareness of the University of Wisconsin System’s Commitment to Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression. I thought the policy would protect, and even encourage, her speech.”

Gow has plans to invite an anti-porn group to discuss issues like porn addiction, according to the Journal Sentinel.

Hartley wrote in the La Crosse Tribune that she empathized with Gow’s decision to invite the anti-porn speaker for the sake of balance. “As an advocate for sexual liberation, I’ve long been cast as either a threat or a menace,” she wrote, “and I posit Chancellor Gow was pressured into his decisions by those uncomfortable with my message and how my expertise was acquired.”

Updated (11/28/2018, 4:24 p.m.) with a statement from the La Crosse chancellor.

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