Web Desk(National Times)- The head of Cambridge University on Monday condemned a \u201cracist feeding frenzy\u201d prompted by plagiarism claims against the black academic Jason Arday, who was found dead last week after resigning from his post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Arday, Cambridge\u2019s youngest-ever black professor, was found dead on Friday following multiple plagiarism accusations, Chris Smith, the university\u2019s chancellor, told the BBC he believed it was important that claims of plagiarism were \u201crigorously investigated\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Smith said it was also right to \u201crefuse to join in a racist feeding frenzy over a particular academic\u201d, without naming Arday directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arday resigned on Aug 5 after accusations he had plagiarised parts of his doctoral thesis were covered widely by media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 41-year-old academic said he had \u201creached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Friday, Arday was found dead at home in London, which Prime Minister Andy Burnham, a Cambridge alumnus, called \u201ca tragedy on so many levels\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arday\u2019s family have blamed a \u201cmisinformation campaign\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An online fundraising page for Arday\u2019s family had raised over \u00a3146,000 ($198,000) on Monday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A petition demanding a public inquiry into the media coverage of Arday had gathered almost 32,400 signatures on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group Stand Up To Racism was set to hold one vigil on London\u2019s Trafalgar Square on Monday evening and another in Cambridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The university was also facing mounting questions over its handling of the allegations and treatment of Arday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Cleverly, a right-wing opposition MP whose mother was born in Sierra Leone, told the BBC on Monday that \u201cquite possibly\u201d some scrutiny of Arday was motivated by racism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the situation would \u201cnever have come this far if people within the university establishment \u2014 not just Cambridge \u2014 had done the robust due diligence and checking that should happen with any senior academic appointment\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, prior to the announcement of Arday\u2019s death, Cambridge\u2019s vice-chancellor Deborah Prentice announced an investigation into the circumstances of his appointment and his time working at the university.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Web Desk(National Times)- The head of Cambridge University on Monday condemned a \u201cracist feeding frenzy\u201d prompted by plagiarism claims against the black academic Jason Arday, who was found dead last week after resigning from his post. After Arday, Cambridge\u2019s youngest-ever black professor, was found dead on Friday following multiple plagiarism accusations, Chris Smith, the university\u2019s chancellor, told […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":131409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n