Jason Arday, ex-Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism, found dead week after resigning - NBC News

A former Cambridge professor was found dead at his London home on Friday, one week after he resigned from his position at the esteemed university following accusations of plagiarism. Jason Arday, 41, became the youngest Black professor at Cambridge when he was hired as a professor of sociology of education in 2023. London’s Metropolitan Police force said it responded to a report of a man found unresponsive inside a property on Friday and that the man was pronounced dead at the scene, without naming Arday. Authorities said the death is being treated as “unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious.” “We are desperately saddened to hear this tragic news. Our heartfelt sympathies go to Jason Arday’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time,” University of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Deborah Prentice said Friday. Arday was known for his neurodivergence; he had said he was diagnosed with autism as a child and was unable to speak until the age of 11. He went on to forge a path in academia as a scholar of race, inequality and education. Arday had resigned on Aug. 5 following scrutiny over alleged plagiarism in his academic work and questions about his accomplishments. Last month, questions regarding his qualifications were raised publicly by Nathan Cofnas, a former Cambridge philosophy researcher who left the institution after critiquing diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The Times of London had subsequently published an analysis of Arday’s 2015 Ph.D. thesis highlighting passages that it said were “identical or near-identical” to an earlier paper written by another researcher. In the weeks since, British media outlets led intense and prolonged scrutiny of Arday’s work, also interrogating a history of claims about his childhood and personal life. A statement from Arday’s family said he was “a gentle man and who always wanted to see the best in everyone,” condemning critics who they said “would leave no stone unturned in their quest to undermine him.” Cambridge professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the university’s Autism Research Centre, told the BBC he was in touch with Arday hours before his death. He said Arday “was being subjected to relentless scrutiny, including ridicule, discrediting absolutely every detail of his life,” adding that he “wasn’t coping with the loss of his career, the loss of his reputation, and he felt he couldn’t go on.” Baron-Cohen said that Arday had believed “there was a racist playbook to discredit Black academics in universities, and that they used accusations of plagiarism to try and bring down Black academics,” adding that Arday referred to former Harvard President Claudine Gay, who resigned two years ago while facing plagiarism allegations and criticism over her comments on antisemitism. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Saturday that the death was “a tragedy on so many levels,” adding that “it’s not a moment for any rushing to judgment. It’s a moment for reflection, I would say.” Other figures were more vocal in questioning his treatment by the media. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on X that Arday had faced “an unacceptable public hounding and campaign of abuse” and that he “was the victim of a pernicious public shaming that other people in his position simply wouldn’t have faced.” Hacked Off, a campaign group that supports regulation of the media, called for an “inquiry into the culture and behaviour of the British press” following the death, saying scrutiny “went far beyond any limited public interest considerations around academic standards.” While Cambridge initially defended Arday, on Aug. 5 it opened an investigation “following new information about Professor Arday’s qualifications and honorary appointments.” In his resignation statement last week, Arday described his tenure as “the privilege of my life to teach my students,” but conceded “the years since my appointment have also been marked by an unrelenting level of public scrutiny and personal attack.” “While criticism is an inevitable part of academic life, what I have experienced has gone far beyond scholarly disagreement. The relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love,” he continued. In a statement Thursday, Cambridge’s Prentice shared an update on the inquiry into Arday, saying the university would investigate the circumstances around his appointment by the Faculty of Education in 2022 and his time at Cambridge. She also said she asked the university council’s deputy chair and council’s audit committee to establish terms for an independent review of all university processes that will take place alongside the probe into Arday. In his resignation announcement, Arday said he reached a point where the “personal cost becomes too great.” “For my own wellbeing, for my family, and for those who have stood by me throughout this difficult period, I have concluded that the only way to bring this chapter to an end is to step away,” he said. Arday’s memoir, “Great and Unfortunate Things,” was released earlier this week in the U.S., giving an account of his childhood — from being diagnosed with autism and developmental delays at the age of 3 — to speaking by the age of 11 and reading and writing by the age of 18. “Without romanticizing the struggle, this is a story of determination against seemingly insurmountable odds — and of a family and a small group of believers whose compassion helped him see what is possible,” a description for the book by publisher Simon & Schuster said.