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Joe Gow was confirmed Friday as the 10th chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and will start Feb. 1, making UW-L the city’s second college to welcome a new leader in the past year. Rick Artman succeeded William Medland at Viterbo University.
The UW Board of Regents unanimously approved Gow on Friday in Madison.
Gow takes over a much larger college than Nebraska Wesleyan Uni-versity, the private school he is interim president at. NWU has a student body of 1,500 and a 300-person staff, compared with
UW-L’s 9,400 students and 1,100-person staff.
“I’m excited to do the things I’ve done at Nebraska Wesleyan on a little larger scale,” Gow said last week, noting
UW-L’s small campus provides an intimate environment. “There are more people to know, but there also is more talent, more passion.”
Gow, who has served as NWU’s interim leader since April, quickly became beloved by the campus. More than 400 students formed an online group and called for a reconsideration when Gow was passed over as a finalist in NWU’s own presidential search.
NWU students and staff expressed happiness for Gow but are sad to see him leave the school he has been at since 2004, when he was hired as provost and a dean.
“There were actual tears shed that this guy was leaving,” said Libbi Peters, editor of Reveille, the NWU student newspaper. “I haven’t heard from one person here who isn’t disappointed he’s leaving.”
An energetic, 46-year-old man who plays guitar in a campus band might not be the image some think of when they picture a chancellor, said Larry McClain, an NWU associate professor of English.
But Gow is a “genuine, regular guy” who is good to his word, he said. For example: As provost, Gow wanted to give faculty a raise and proposed eliminating two new positions to do so, McClain said. When faculty said the jobs were more important, Gow didn’t cut them — and found another way to give them a raise.
Gow’s inclusive and transparent leadership style made him stand out among the four finalists for the UW-L job, said Carmen Wilson, who served as chairwoman of the local search and screen committee.
“It is clear that he has amazing strengths that have been recognized very early on in his career. He has taken a quick ride to the top, but that’s because he is so good at what he does,” she said.
“We’ve had a number of presidents of the United States who have been younger than he,” UW System President Kevin Reilly said last week. “He has good experience at a range of institutions. He’s been in the line of fire in these jobs. He doesn’t come in untested.”
The UW-L chancellor’s post was vacated by Doug Hastad in June when he left to become president of Carroll College in Waukesha, Wis.
Gow plans on spending his first few months at UW-L getting to know the campus and La Crosse communities, and focusing on the university’s goals, which include securing additional resources and increasing diversity.
He also would like to lower the faculty-to-student ratio to provide more personal attention and access, which he believes are instrumental to student success.
Dedication to students is nothing new for Gow, said Patty Karthauser, vice president for university enrollment and marketing at NWU. Gow recently spent a 30 minutes with a prospective student and his parents — after waiting for them for more than a half hour.
It’s a trait UW-L students are eager to experience firsthand, said Ryan VanLoo, president of the Student Association.
“I felt a different step out of people when Joe was here,” VanLoo said. “He’s going to bring a breath of fresh air and a lot of new ideas to the table.”
The Gow file
Joe Gow, the new chancellor for UW-La Crosse, grew up in Palmerton, Pa., and is a vegan. He is married to Betsy Valentine and has two cats. He has played the guitar for more than 35 years and plays in a campus band at Nebraska Wesleyan University called Release Time. His professional experience includes his current post as interim president at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln. He has served as provost and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Nebraska Wesleyan since 2004. Prior to that, he was dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Winona State University in Winona, Minn. (2001-2004); associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Alfred University in Alfred, NY (1996-2001); and director of the communication studies program at Alfred University (1990-2001).
New salary
The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents approved a salary of $184,000 for Joe Gow during a meeting Friday in Madison. Former chancellor Doug Hastad was making $168,622.
Kate Schott can be reached at Kate.Schott@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8226.
