Frances Widdowson is a Canadian political scientist. She was an associate professor in the department of economics, justice and policy studies at

Mount Royal University Mount Royal University (MRU) is a public university in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally “Mount Royal College,” Mount Royal University was granted university status in 2009 by the provincial government. The university has an average class s ...

from 2008 to 2021. She was fired from the university in December 2021 after an investigation into claims of harassment by Widdowson against a fellow faculty member were not substantiated. In July 2024, an arbitrator found that the firing was not justified.

Education

Widdowson received an Honours BA and MA in political science from the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

and a PhD in political science from

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

Career

Widdowson worked as a policy analyst for the government of the Northwest Territories. While she worked in

Yellowknife Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of t ...

, she became interested in researching Canada's Aboriginal policy, directing her attention towards what she calls the "Aboriginal industry," which includes non-Indigenous lawyers and consultants acting as intermediaries between the government and Indigenous communities. She believes this industry prioritizes compensation and funding discussions over the quality of services provided and that they engage in lengthy legal battles, often lasting decades, during which government personnel change and the needs of the Indigenous communities are overlooked, while the intermediaries profit significantly from the settlements. Widdowson joined the faculty of

in 2008. She received tenure in 2011. In 2020, Widdowson and a number of her colleagues took part in a "Twitter War". This led to filings of a series of official complaints about harassment and bullying by Widdowson and also her colleagues. Several investigations determined that Widdowson had made some tweets which constituted harassment and that some of the complaints by Widdowson against her colleagues were substantiated. In July 2021, Widdowson filed a complaint against a colleague regarding his tweets. An investigation concluded in November 2021 that the tweets did not amount to harassment and deemed Widdowson's complaint as "malicious, frivolous, vexatious, and made in bad faith." Widdowson was fired in December 2021. In January 2023, the

University of Lethbridge The University of Lethbridge (also known as uLethbridge, uLeth, and U of L) is a public comprehensive and research university located in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with a second campus in Calgary, Alberta. Founded in the liberal arts traditio ...

canceled a guest lecture by Widdowson titled “How Does Woke-ism Threaten Academic Freedom?” after complaints by students and faculty at the university. She returned to the town to give her lecture at the

Lethbridge Public Library The Lethbridge Public Library (or LPL, as it is commonly known) is a public library service that is provided by the municipality of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. It was established in 1919. While it has had as many as three branches at one time, th ...

. In July 2023, Widdowson sued the University of Lethbridge for canceling her scheduled lecture. The lawsuit was filed by the

Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) is a Canadian legal advocacy group, advocacy organization specializing in a libertarian approach to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The libertarian organisation has partnered w ...

. In July 2024, an arbitrator ruled that Mount Royal University's firing of Widdowson was disproportionate to her actions. Currently, she is working a manuscript entitled ''The Woke Academy: How Advocacy Studies Murder Academic Disciplines and Effective Policy Development''.

Awards and honors

Widdowson's book ''Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry'' was short-listed for the 2008

Donner Prize The Donner Prize is an award given annually by one of Canada's largest foundations, the Donner Canadian Foundation, for books considered excellent in regard to the writing of Canadian public policy. The prize was established in 1998, and is meant t ...

Personal life

Widdowson is married to Albert Howard.

Books

*with Albert Howard ''Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation'' (2008) * editor ''Approaches to Aboriginal Education in Canada: Searching for Solutions'' (2013) *''Separate but Unequal: How Parallelist Ideology Conceals Indigenous Dependency'' (2019) * editor ''Indigenizing the University: Diverse Perspectives'' (2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Widdowson, Frances Living people Year of birth missing (living people)