Cambridge’s youngest Black professor in plagiarism row publishes memoir

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Black British academic Jason Arday, who has been at the centre of a row over alleged plagiarism and racism, published his memoir in the United States on Tuesday, days after resigning from Cambridge University.

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Allegations against Arday have been seized on by British right-wing newspapers and commentators, who say he unfairly benefited from diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) policies.

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The scandal erupted after some academics and media reports accused Arday, who became Cambridge University’s youngest Black professor in 2023, of plagiarizing parts of his doctoral thesis.

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His memoir “Great and Unfortunate Things” has also attracted scrutiny.

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Diagnosed with autism, Arday says he was non-verbal until age 11 and only learnt to read and write at 18, before becoming Cambridge’s professor of sociology of education at 37.

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“Miraculously, just a few days shy of my 12th birthday, I spoke,” he writes in the book, excerpts of which were published by The New York Times.

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Its British publisher has insisted that “no allegations of plagiarism have been made with respect to” the memoir.

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“What if I have completely overestimated my capabilities? What if my story ends up being a cautionary tale like Icarus about flying too close to the sun?” he writes in the book.

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On Friday, Cambridge University said that it would continue to investigate Arday’s appointment and tenure after he resigned citing pressure over the bitter dispute.

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Arday announced that he was stepping down both from his university post as a professor and as a fellow of Jesus College.

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The Times of London and Telegraph newspapers have published several investigative articles into Arday’s academic work and personal life.

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Arday has admitted to mistakes, but said he was being wrongly “portrayed to be a liar and a fantasist and an academic fraud.”

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He also alleged the “campaign to unseat me from my position” was racially motivated.

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Plagiarism claims against Arday were first made in July by Nathan Cofnas, a US academic and self-defined “race realist” whose research affiliation with a Cambridge college was terminated in 2024 amid racism accusations.

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AFP

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