During the fall of 2004 and the spring of 2005, Mr. Ford counseled with a client who was going through marital difficulties. At the time, she was uncertain whether she should remain with her husband or pursue a divorce. Mr. Ford attempted to help her think through the consequences of either choice.

When Professor Hecker reviewed Mr. Ford’s case notes, she told Professor Wetchler she was concerned about Mr. Ford’s approach. Shortly thereafter, Wetchler ordered Mr. Ford to counsel this client to pursue divorce, to advise the client to seek legal counsel, and to ensure that her bank account was protected.

After Mr. Ford complied with Professor Wetchler’s orders and the client never returned for further counseling. During this controversy, Professor Hecker stated that if Mr. Ford pursued any other course of counseling with this client, he would be forcing his religious beliefs on the client.

In October of 2004, Mr. Ford began assembling the committee to review his master’s thesis. By this time, the evidence of discrimination and retaliation against Mr. Ford was so great that he and Dr. Byrd feared that the faculty would not grade his thesis fairly.

To prevent any such problems, Dr. Byrd worked with Mr. Ford to get Dr. Philip Sutton, one of Dr. Byrd’s colleagues and a Purdue University alumnus, appointed to Mr. Ford’s committee. Dr. Sutton agreed to serve in this capacity to insure that Mr. Ford received a fair evaluation.

On the date that Mr. Ford put forth his formal proposal of his thesis committee,Mr. Ford saw Professors Wetchler and Trepper discussing Dr. Sutton’s presence on the committee. In particular, they were discussing Dr. Sutton’s activities with the National Association of Research and Therapy of Homosexuality and whether he had sufficient expertise to serve on this committee. But when they saw Mr. Ford walking down the hall, Wetchler closed the door to Trepper’s office.

It seems the fate of our Mormon friend would be decided in secret. Or so they thought.

To be continued…