Sept. 2010: Gabor Lukacs, a University of Manitoba math professor, files an application for judicial review of John (Jay) Doering’s, dean of graduate studies, decision in fall 2009 to waive a comprehensive PhD candidacy exam for a student who claimed to suffer from extreme exam anxiety
Early Oct. 2010: Lukacs is suspended without pay after revealing the student’s name in the court application for judicial review. A letter to Lukacs obtained by the Manitoban was signed by U of M president David Barnard and states that Lukacs’s actions violated the student’s privacy and included “unauthorized reference to a student’s personal [information] and personal health information.”
Oct. 27, 2010: University of Manitoba Faculty Association files grievance with university over Lukacs’s suspension
Nov. 3, 2010: Motion that would have given the dean of graduate studies sweeping authority to grant degrees is tabled for further review by the Senate executive committee after tense debate amongst faculty members at university Senate committee meeting
Nov. 17, 2010: Three weeks after story breaks in Maclean’s, U of M issues it’s official response to PhD case, in which Barnard states there has been “a lot of misinformation” spread about the case that has been “too easily and readily accepted by some as fact”
Early Dec. 2010: University of Manitoba Graduate Students’ Association endorses university’s decision to suspend Lukacs in a letter distributed to several media outlets
Jan. 4, 2011: Lukacs returns to work after suspension ends to warm welcoming from students and colleagues
Jan. 20, 2011: Lukacs and the university have their day in court, Justice McCawley reserves her decision in the case.
April 2011: Lukacs is denied annual salary increase
May – June 2011: Labour hearings over Lukacs’s suspension take place. University argues that Lukacs jeopardized the student’s privacy and potentially impacted their career prospects by revealing their name in court documents
Aug. 24, 2011: Justice McCawley rules that Lukacs has no standing in regards to this case and strikes his application
