Former Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism found dead in UK
Jason Arday, a former University of Cambridge professor, was found dead in London on Friday, just days after resigning over questions surrounding his career.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told CNN that a 41-year old man was found unresponsive in Battersea in south London and was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Jason Arday, a former University of Cambridge professor, was found dead in London on Friday, just days after resigning over questions surrounding his career. Joe Giddens/LOCOG/PA/AP
While the force did not name Arday, British media widely reported that he was the man found dead in Battersea in London.
Arday, a sociologist, was celebrated as the youngest ever black professor at Cambridge until last month, when allegations of plagiarism in his academic work and questions surrounding claims about his athletic and fundraising accomplishments began to swirl in the media.
The university’s Vice-Chancellor Deborah Prentice said in a statement on Friday that the university was “desperately saddened to hear this tragic news.”
“Our heartfelt sympathies go to Jason Arday’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time,” she added in the statement posted on X.
When Arday resigned in early August, he defended himself, saying his decision to step down “should not be interpreted as a loss of faith in scholarship.”
“Nor should it be mistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me’” he said. “It is simply the decision of someone who has reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure.”
‘A tragedy for him and those who loved him’
News of his death on Friday sent shockwaves online, with many criticising some of coverage that led to and followed his resignation.
“Quite a bit of the British media should ask themselves some serious questions as to whether the tenor and volume of the coverage they gave to this man was remotely proportionate,” journalist Lewis Goodall said on X.
The Good Law Project, a campaign group that has supported Arday since the allegations first emerged, said Arday’s death was “a tragedy for him and those who loved him.”
The group’s executive director Jo Maugham said in a statement that people around Arday “had been warning the media that this was a risk.”
“I do not understand what the public interest was in continuing to hound him after he resigned as a professor and I do not understand what risk assessments media outlets did,” he added.
Lucy Powell, UK’s Secretary of State for Education, said she was “shocked and saddened” to hear about Arday’s death.
“My heartfelt condolences are with his friends and family at this very sad time. I urge people to give them privacy through this incredibly difficult period (and) to remember there are real people with loved ones involved.”
Cambridge initially stood by Arday when questions about his qualifications were raised publicly by the British press and a one-time philosophy researcher who left the university after his critique of diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The university said at the time that the plagiarism allegations had been investigated by Liverpool John Moores University, which awarded Arday’s doctorate.
The university later opened an investigation into “new information” about his academic qualifications, “following new information about Professor Arday’s qualifications and honorary appointments,” it said in a statement.
Earlier this week, the university said that Durham and Glasgow Universities were also investigating the circumstances surrounding Arday’s academic posts there.
The Guardian also reported other claims by Arday.
It said he wrote in his book he had run 30 marathons in 35 days to raise money for charity. He claimed he had epileptic seizure during one of the marathons and fractured his leg.
But he said he carried on running nine more, something the paper said doctors told them would be “incredibly painful.”
He also said he ran 965km in six days, which the paper said would have “make him one of the world’s most gifted endurance runners.” He later said he did it over 12 days.
It also cast doubt on his claim he had raised $10m for charity, as well as his claim in an interview he had played football for Crystal Palace as an under-18.
- reported with CNN.
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