To better understand how the arbitration decision of Arbitrator D.P. (David Phillip) Jones was reached, a diagram has been created.
This diagram documents four levels in the arbitration process: 1) Arbitrator D.P. Jones decision (made on July 2, 2024 and available here); 2) the MRU and MRFA submissions that formed the basis of each party’s case, and the reply of each party to each other’s submissions; 3) the 303 exhibits (108 from MRU and 195 from the MRFA) and the witness testimony (24 witnesses – Widdowson has about 700 pages of notes documenting everything except her own testimony ((because she couldn’t take notes on the stand)) that formed the basis of the submissions and Arbitrator Jones’ decision; of these exhibits, the five investigation reports that formed the basis of MRU’s case against Widdowson are the most significant. These are divided into three categories – a) the Hawkins and Rence reports that resulted in Widdowson’s two week suspension; b) the first Eichler investigation report of the “gang of 17” which resulted in harassment findings for six professors and their letters of warning; and c) the second Eichler investigation report (about Tim Haney) that found that Widdowson had filed a frivolous and vexatious complaint, as well as the Hope investigation report. The second Eichler report and the Hope report resulted in Widdowson’s termination; and 4) the documents and recordings that provide the universe of relevant and potentially relevant materials that concern the #FrancesWiddowsonCase. Some of these are Widdowson’s documents that were not used in the hearing, and therefore did not become exhibits and form the basis of the arbitrator’s reasoning. These documents can be made publicly available (the recordings of the Geoff Hope investigation meetings, for example). Other documents were released solely for the purpose of the arbitration hearing, but did not make it into the exhibits and did not form the basis of the arbitrator’s reasoning. These documents must remain confidential at this time.
