The decision by Calgary’s Mount Royal University (MRU) to fire a tenured professor in 2021 was disproportionate to her conduct, an arbitrator has ruled.
Frances Widdowson, who often spoke out against “wokeism” and identity politics on her Woke Academy website and social media, was fired just before Christmas amid a “Twitter War”—as described by the arbitrator—between her and colleagues. She filed a grievance over her dismissal.
The July 2 decision is nearly 300 pages long and details 10 grievances. Arbitrator D.P. Jones dismisses most of the grievances, which involve the process through which the university dealt with Widdowson.
On the matter of discipline, Jones concluded that although Widdowson’s actions were “just cause” for discipline, her termination was “disproportionate.”…