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.<\/p>\n
Jason Arday, 41, became the youngest Black professor at Cambridge when he was hired as professor of sociology of education in 2023. <\/a><\/p>\n London\u2019s Metropolitan Police said it responded to a report of a man found unresponsive inside a property on Friday, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene, without naming Arday. Authorities said the death is being treated as \u201cunexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are desperately saddened to hear this tragic news. Our heartfelt sympathies go to Jason Arday\u2019s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time,\u201d University of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice said Friday.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Arday had resigned on Aug. 5 following scrutiny over alleged plagiarism in his academic work and questions about his accomplishments.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The Times of London had subsequently published an analysis of Arday\u2019s 2015 Ph.D. thesis highlighting passages that it said were \u201cidentical or near-identical\u201d to an earlier paper written by another researcher. <\/p>\n In the weeks since, British media outlets have continued weeks of intense and prolonged scrutiny of Arday\u2019s work, also interrogating a history of claims about his childhood and personal life.<\/p>\n A statement from Arday\u2019s family said he was \u201ca gentle man and who always wanted to see the best in everyone,\u201d condemning critics who they said \u201cwould leave no stone unturned in their quest to undermine him.\u201d<\/p>\n Cambridge professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the university\u2019s Autism Research Centre, told the BBC he was in touch with Arday hours before his death.<\/p>\n He said Arday \u201cwas being subjected to relentless scrutiny, including ridicule, discrediting absolutely every detail of his life,\u201d adding that he \u201cwasn\u2019t coping with the loss of his career, the loss of his reputation, and he felt he couldn\u2019t go on.\u201d<\/p>\n Baron-Cohen said that Arday had believed \u201cthere was a racist playbook to discredit black academics in universities, and that they used accusations of plagiarism to try and bring down black academics,\u201d saying that Arday referred to former Harvard president Claudine Gay<\/a>, who resigned two years ago while facing plagiarism allegations and criticism over her comments on antisemitism.<\/p>\n British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Saturday that the death was \u201ca tragedy on so many levels,\u201d adding that \u201cit\u2019s not a moment for any rushing to judgment, it\u2019s a moment for reflection, I would say.\u201d<\/p>\n Other figures were more vocal in questioning his treatment by the media. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said on X that Arday had faced \u201can unacceptable public hounding and campaign of abuse\u201d and that he \u201cwas the victim of a pernicious public shaming that other people in his position simply wouldn\u2019t have faced.\u201d<\/p>\n Hacked Off, a campaign group that supports regulation of the media, called for an \u201dinquiry into the culture and behaviour of the British press\u201d following the death, saying scrutiny \u201cwent far beyond any limited public interest considerations around academic standards.\u201d<\/p>\n While Cambridge initially defended Arday, on Aug. 5 it opened an investigation \u201cfollowing new information about Professor Arday\u2019s qualifications and honorary appointments.\u201d<\/p>\n