Professor Arday QUITS Cambridge University

A Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism quit last night after the university launched an investigation into him.

Professor Jason Arday had been at the centre of a growing row over allegations that he had copied parts of his PhD from another student.

He also faced questions over a list of seemingly tall claims from his life story. A poster boy for diversity as the university’s youngest ever black professor, he was initially backed by Cambridge – which had condemned a ‘vile campaign to undermine his credibility’.

But after the Daily Mail revealed a string of universities disputed Professor Arday’s claims that he held academic posts with them, the university on Wednesday announced it was taking action. 

In a statement, Cambridge said it ‘has begun an investigation following new information about Professor Arday’s academic qualifications and honorary appointments’.

However, shortly after the announcement, 41-year-old Professor Arday released a statement confirming ‘with profound sadness’ that he had resigned with immediate effect from his position at Cambridge and Jesus College.

He added: ‘This decision should not be interpreted as a loss of faith in scholarship or in the values that first brought me to Cambridge. Nor should it be mistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me.

‘It is simply the decision of someone who has reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure.’

The University of Cambridge is launching a formal investigation into Professor Arday over claims he copied a colleague’s work and lied about his past 

Jason Arday became a poster boy for diversity as the university’s youngest black professor, but is now facing questions about his academic record and bizarre claims

It came after four prestigious universities in Britain, the US and South Africa all contradicted details of Professor Arday’s professional background, which are listed on the website of Jesus College, where he is a fellow. 

His official college biography claimed he was a visiting professor at the Ohio State University in the US, the University of Glasgow and Nelson Mandela University in South Africa. 

Spokesmen for all three universities have since denied he holds such a post with them.

His college profile also described him as an ‘honorary professor at Durham University in the Department of Sociology’.

Although Professor Arday previously held several roles at Durham, the Daily Mail revealed this week that he no longer has any ‘formal’ position there.

POLL OF THE DAY: Has criticism of Professor Jason Arday been ‘racially motivated’, as he claims?

The University of Cambridge said on Wednesday night that there ‘remains a number of ongoing complaints regarding academic misconduct’ – believed to relate to his PhD – which it does not intend to examine as his doctorate was awarded by a separate university, Liverpool John Moores.

Its statement continued: ‘While we are fully aware of the public commentary and concerns around this matter, it remains vital that any process is thorough and adheres to both university policies and employment law.

‘We are aware that Jesus College, Cambridge, will be taking their own steps in relation to some of these matters.’

Professor Arday’s own statement showed no sign he accepted any wrongdoing. 

He said that his appointment to Cambridge was celebrated around the world because of ‘what it represented: that talent, perseverance and hope can triumph over even the greatest adversity’.

He claimed the years since his appointment had ‘been marked by an unrelenting level of public scrutiny and personal attack’.

In a surreal twist, Professor Arday suggested he might one day return to the top of academia, concluding: ‘This is not the end of my work. It is simply the end of this chapter. I need time to heal. I need time to simply be myself again. And when that time comes, I will return.’

There have been several apparent discrepancies in the qualifications Professor Arday claims to hold. 

In footage of a talk he gave in 2022, he described studying for a master’s degree in ‘psychodynamic practice’ at Birkbeck University – a claim not reflected in any published list of his qualifications.

Similarly, an archived version of his Jesus College profile page indicates a previous entry saying ‘MA in Education Studies (Liverpool John Moores University)’ has since been deleted from a list outlining his qualifications. It is unclear why this edit took place.

Critics accuse Professor Arday of copying significant chunks of his PhD thesis from research published by another student, leading him last week to admit to a series of errors in his work.

He has insisted he is not a ‘fantasist’ after doubts were raised about his seemingly sensational list of personal achievements, which included running 600 miles in six days and raising millions of pounds for charity. 

Yet revelations have continued to snowball, with charity WaterAid casting doubt on his claim that he volunteered for them ‘installing water points’ in South America and West Africa.

The Daily Mail also revealed the academic had seemingly claimed he was in the TV series Seven Up – but then backtracked when told it was broadcast decades before he was born.

Professor Arday accepted that various achievements he has recounted in the past are not entirely accurate, saying he did not personally raise £5.5million for charity as he once claimed, but was part of a ‘syndicate’ of more than 100 fundraisers, whom he could not name because they had signed non-disclosure agreements.

How the Mail exposed the truth behind Professor Arday’s tale

Footage has emerged from a talk the professor gave in 2022 in which he claimed to have appeared in the TV series Seven Up (Pictured: The original Seven Up show which aired in 1964)

On Wednesday it also emerged that the academic had apparently claimed to have had a book published enтιтled Being Young, Black and Male: Challenging the Dominant Discourse. It never hit the shelves and was abandoned by publisher Palgrave Macmillan several years ago, it was reported.

The Department for Education said that the new Secretary of State, Lucy Powell, would not intervene in the row. 

But it emerged that her own special adviser Sarah Waite handed Mr Arday a role at her charity last year. Ms Waite said she was ‘thrilled’ to welcome him as a Patron of Get Further, a charity that gives extra tuition to disadvantaged pupils.

Labour became further entangled in the row after it was revealed that Mr Arday stood as a council candidate in 2018 in Croydon. He lost to the Conservatives.

Professor Arday’s resignation letter in full

Dear colleagues,

It is with profound sadness that I write to resign, with immediate effect, from my position at the University of Cambridge and Jesus College.

When I accepted the extraordinary honour of becoming Professor of Sociology at Cambridge, it was, without question, the greatest professional privilege of my life. To become the youngest Black professor in the University’s history was something I could scarcely have imagined as a child growing up with a diagnosis of autism, unable to speak until I was eleven years old.

The response from so many people across the world was overwhelming. Thousands celebrated not simply my appointment, but what it represented: that talent, perseverance and hope can triumph over even the greatest adversity. It has been the privilege of my life to teach my students, to learn alongside them, and to witness their curiosity, kindness and ambition. They have given me far more than I could ever have given them.

Sadly, the years since my appointment have also been marked by an unrelenting level of public scrutiny and personal attack. 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.

I have tried to continue because I believe deeply in the values of higher education, in rigorous scholarship, and in the transformative power of universities. I have tried because of my students, my colleagues and the countless people who have written to tell me that my journey gave them hope.

But there comes a point when the personal cost becomes too great.

I have a family. I want to be present for them. I want to reclaim some peace, some privacy and some semblance of an ordinary life. I no longer wish to feel as though I am living under a constant spotlight, where every aspect of my life is subject to public examination and judgement.

For my own wellbeing, for my family, and for those who have stood by me throughout this difficult period, I have concluded that the only way to bring this chapter to an end is to step away.

This decision should not be interpreted as a loss of faith in scholarship or in the values that first brought me to Cambridge. Nor should it be mistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me. It is simply the decision of someone who has reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure.

To my students: thank you. Teaching you has been the greatest honour of my academic career. Your brilliance, compᴀssion and determination give me enormous hope for the future.

To my colleagues and to the many thousands of people, from every corner of the world, who have supported me, defended me, written to me, and believed in me when it mattered most, I offer my deepest graтιтude. Your kindness has carried me through some of the darkest moments of my life.

This is not the end of my work. It is simply the end of this chapter.

I need time to heal. I need time to simply be myself again.

And when that time comes, I will return.

I will return stronger, wiser and with the same determination that has always defined my journey. There is still so much work to do, and I look forward to doing it alongside so many of you in the years ahead.

For now, however, I ask only for understanding, for compᴀssion, and for the space to begin again.

With graтιтude,

Professor Jason Arday

Credit: Good Law Project