uOttawa and ex-professor Rancourt await arbitration decision

Former University of Ottawa professor Denis Rancourt is in the news again -- this time international news -- as he awaits a 2014 decision on arbitration between himself and his ex-employer that concluded this June. Rancourt, an internationally-recognized researcher in physics and a self-described anarchist and dissident, is requesting to be reinstated at uOttawa if arbitration goes his way. Rancourt was dismissed in 2009 for his unorthodox grading policies, which raised questions around academic freedom and a professor’s right to grade “as he or she sees fit.” Rancourt considers the decision to fire him over the grading dispute a “pretext by the administration” to get rid of him. Rancourt has been involved in multiple controversial lawsuits with uOttawa, even before his dismissal. Chronicle of Higher Education