Ex-Cambridge Professor Jason Arday Found Dead After Plagiarism Row

Jason Arday, the former University of Cambridge professor at the centre of a plagiarism row, has been found dead.

Emergency services said a man was found “unresponsive” at an address in Battersea, south London, on Friday afternoon.

Arday resigned as a Cambridge professor of sociology of education last week after allegations of plagiarism and questions about some of his achievements. He had denied the claims.

Arday’s family said in a statement that they were “in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son”.

They added: “The campaign of misinformation was too much for Jason, who was a gentle man and who always wanted to see the best in everyone.”

On Friday, police officers were called by the London Ambulance Service. A 41-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene and his next of kin have been informed, the Metropolitan Police said.

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In a statement, the Met Police said: “At this time his death is being treated as unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious.”

Cambridge University vice-chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice said: “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”, she said.

Education Secretary Lucy Powell said she was “deeply shocked and saddened” to hear about the death and she urged people to “remember there are real people with loved ones involved”.

Arday, 41, had denied any plagiarism – but admitted errors in his work – and last week said the recent controversy about his work had led to “an unrelenting level of public scrutiny and personal attack”.

The row first erupted after another academic – self-defined “race realist” Nathan Cofnas, who was sacked from his Cambridge role in 2024 – said he found numerous instances of plagiarism in Prof Arday’s work.

There were also questions around Arday’s claims that he ran 30 marathons in 35 days, and 300 miles in three days for charity, which Arday said had raised more than £5m for charity, as well as running 600 miles on a treadmill in six days.

Arday said some errors in his early academic work was because of his autism, as he relied on using mimicry to make sense of information. Similar scrutiny would find similar errors in work by other academics, he said.

“We’re talking about academia here. I didn’t murder somebody. I think the cruelty that I’ve experienced and the positioning of me as this kind of liar and fantasist is totally unacceptable,” he told the Times newspaper earlier this month.

Arday’s appointment as Cambridge’s youngest ever black professor at the age of 37 in 2023 was hailed at the time as a progressive moment.

Announcing his resignation last week, Arday said the “personal cost” of the scrutiny of him had become “too great”.

He said: “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 stressed that his resignation should not “be mistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me”.

Cambridge initially said claims of plagiarism regarding Arday’s thesis and some journal publications had been investigated by Liverpool John Moores University (LMJU) and the journals in question.

LJMU – which awarded Arday his PhD in 2015 – concluded that he had not plagiarised work.

Earlier this week, Cambridge announced an independent investigation into his appointment.

In a letter to university staff at the time, Prof Prentice said: “I fully understand the concerns being raised across the university and well beyond it, regarding Jason Arday’s appointment and I share them…

“That investigation, as you say, should be thorough and transparent, and will be carried out independently by senior academics from within and beyond Cambridge.”

Arday originally worked as a PE teacher before earning his doctorate at LMJU and going on to become an associate professor at Durham University and professor of sociology of education at the University of Glasgow.

Glasgow university also announced a review into Arday’s previous academic work.

When news of his death emerged, the university said in a statement it was “shocked and saddened” by the death of a former colleague.

“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his friends and family at this desperately sad time.” it added.

Durham University, another of Arday’s former employers, described him as “a kind and warm person, who actively sought to promote opportunities for PhD students”.

Last weekend, Arday cancelled an event promoting his forthcoming memoir.

Publisher Simon & Schuster previously said that the book, Great And Unfortunate Things, would be published in the UK on 27 August. It was released in the US earlier this week.

The book tells the story of his life from being non-verbal until the age of 11 and unable to read or write until 18, then going through a series of “improbable triumphs and heartbreaking setbacks”, before being appointed professor of sociology of education at Cambridge.

BBC