LONDON(National Times)- Black academic Jason Arday, who resigned from the University of Cambridge last week following a high-profile plagiarism scandal that raised claims of racism, was found dead on Friday, the prestigious British institution confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arday, 41, was found unresponsive Friday afternoon at an address in south London, according to the capital\u2019s Metropolitan Police Service, which did not confirm the identity of the deceased person at the time of discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are desperately saddened to hear this tragic news,\u201d Cambridge University\u2019s top administrator, Vice Chancellor Deborah Prentice, said in a brief statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arday\u2019s family criticised what they called a \u201ccampaign of harassment\u201d that followed allegations about his academic work and personal life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe campaign of misinformation was too much for Jason, who was a gentle man and who always wanted to see the best in everyone,\u201d the family said in a statement released through his publisher Simon & Schuster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The scandal erupted after some academics and media reports accused Arday, who became Cambridge\u2019s youngest black professor in 2023, of plagiarising parts of his doctoral thesis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The allegations have been seized on by British right-wing newspapers and commentators, who claim that he unfairly benefited from diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arday announced on August 5 that he was resigning from both his university post as a professor and as a fellow of Jesus College, shortly after they announced probes into the various accusations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a letter posted online, Arday said that quitting was \u201cthe only way\u201d to end a \u201cdifficult period\u201d, but insisted the decision should not be \u201cmistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Newspaper claims<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police said officers had been called by the London Ambulance Service \u201cfollowing a report that a man had been found unresponsive inside a property\u201d in the city\u2019s Battersea neighbourhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSadly, a 41-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene,\u201d it said in a statement, noting his next-of-kin had been informed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt this time his death is being treated as unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe case is being investigated by officers from the Met\u2019s Central South Command Unit. A file will be prepared for the coroner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Education Secretary Lucy Powell said she was \u201cdeeply shocked (and) saddened\u201d by the news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She urged people to give his family \u201cprivacy through this incredibly difficult period (and) to remember there are real people with loved ones involved\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The furore around Arday grew after Nathan Cofnas, a US academic and self-defined \u201crace realist\u201d \u2014 whose Cambridge research affiliation ended in 2024 amid racism accusations \u2014 published claims about him in July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The allegations included that multiple sections of Arday\u2019s doctoral dissertation were copied from other works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Times and Telegraph newspapers have published several investigative articles into Arday\u2019s academic work and personal life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of his claims about his personal life, including that he once ran 30 marathons in 35 days and raised millions for charities, were also disputed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Racially motivated\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview with The Times earlier this month, Arday admitted making academic \u201cmistakes\u201d but said he was being wrongly \u201cportrayed to be a liar and a fantasist and an academic fraud\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also alleged the \u201ccampaign to unseat me from my position\u201d was \u201cracially motivated\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The controversy around Arday appears to have divided the Cambridge campus and wider academia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A group of university academics last week wrote to Prentice slamming Arday\u2019s appointment and asking her to appoint an independent body to probe what happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others have written joint letters in support of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Wednesday, Prentice had called his alleged wrongdoing \u201can aberration\u201d and vowed a thorough and transparent investigation, while insisting it should not be used \u201cto cast aspersions\u201d on other academics from ethnic minority backgrounds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON(National Times)- Black academic Jason Arday, who resigned from the University of Cambridge last week following a high-profile plagiarism scandal that raised claims of racism, was found dead on Friday, the prestigious British institution confirmed. Arday, 41, was found unresponsive Friday afternoon at an address in south London, according to the capital\u2019s Metropolitan Police Service, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n