On this page, links to 18 “Episodes” are provided that document why professor Frances Widdowson was fired.  It will be shown, in detail, how university policies were weaponized to try to prevent Dr. Widdowson from criticizing “woke” initiatives that she believed were totalitarian in nature and destructive to the academic mission of Mount Royal University.  The links are provided in “B. Episodes” after “A. MRU Frances Widdowson Firing Overview”.

A. MRU Frances Widdowson Firing Overview

A copy of MRU President Tim Rahilly’s termination letter to Frances Widdowson can be read below:

On page 281 of his decision, Arbitrator D.P. Jones stated that three items in the termination letter (of December 20, not December 13) were the “grounds for discipline”, and the twelve items were “factors in assessing the appropriate disciplinary measure” (termination).

But the termination letter explicitly states that that there are three “reasons” for why Widdowson was “dismissed…for just, sufficient, and reasonable cause…”.  As was discussed in the article “All Eyes on the Arbitration of the #FrancesWiddowsonCase”, Widdowson was fired for the following transgressions: 1. one Tweet that satirized the concept of “misgendering fatigue” and the LGBTQ initialism (an investigator hired by MRU maintained that this violated three MRU policies and two provincial laws): 2. a number of satirical Tweets that tagged an indigenous studies professor who was trying to mobilize an anonymous “student-led” initiative to get me fired (an investigator hired by MRU found that this violated the Personal Harassment Policy); 3. the findings with respect to a retaliatory complaint filed with Dr. Renae Watchman before she left for McMaster University.  This included a number of satirical Tweets about various “woke” claims, as well as a satirical reply posted on Facebook that proposed an “Oppression Point System” for evaluating MRU faculty members.  These were found, against by an investigator hired by MRU, to create a toxic workplace environment and damage the university’s reputation; and 4. one of the complaints that Widdowson had filed – so as to hold all faculty members to the same standard to which I was being held – was found to be frivolous and vexatious and not made in good faith.

Transgression 1. is discussed in Episode 9: Misgendering Fatigue in White Supremacy Culture and documented in the materials provided.
The details pertaining to Transgression 2. are discussed in Episode 12 and documented in the materials provided.
Transgression 3. is discussed in Episode 1 and documented in the materials provided, as well as in this location.
Transgression 4. is briefly discussed here

All of the evidence that MRU used for Widdowson’s firing has been compiled in the Appendix of her paper “Mobbing and ‘Woke-ism’: Frances Widdowson’s Firing from Mount Royal University“.  Specifically, Widdowson was fired for nine Tweets and one of 18 complaints that she filed was found to be frivolous, vexatious and not made in good faith.

From June 2022-January 2023, Widdowson posed 10 questions about her firing.  She then wrote 10 paragraph answers and nine essays in Minding the Campus in response to these questions.

The “MRU Frances Widdowson Firing” playlist is available on Frances Widdowson’s YouTube Channel.  Most of the information available below is also discussed in the videos.

There are also a number of recordings on Frances Widdowson’s Soundcloud.  The two most shocking are the final disciplinary meeting with Acting Provost Elizabeth Evans and Widdowson’s account of her terrrorization by MRU administrators the evening she was fired, which ended up with her calling 9-1-1.  With respect to the former, Provost Evans tried to get Widdowson to “accept responsibility” and “show remorse” for violating a rule that she did not know existed.  A transcript of this meeting is also available here.

B. Episodes

Links to eighteen Episodes are provided below.  These episodes either concern particular allegations that were made, pertain to circumstances that resulted in complaints being filed, or are related to the firing of Frances Widdowson and its aftermath.