CALGARY — Jason Arday, the youngest black professor ever appointed at the University of Cambridge, has resigned after the university opened an investigation into “new information” about his academic qualifications amid a whirlwind of controversy over accusations of plagiarism.The 37-year-old Arday, who taught sociology and became a Cambridge professor in 2023, announced his decision on Wednesday after weeks of allegations regarding his academic work and claims he had previously made about his athletic and fundraising achievements.“Sadly, the years since my appointment have also been marked by an unrelenting level of public scrutiny and personal attack,” Arday 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.”.VARDHAN: Merit is losing to DEI in Canada's universities.Questions regarding Arday’s credentials began surfacing last month when Nathan Cofnas, a former Cambridge philosophy researcher — who left the university after his criticism of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies caused widespread protest — published an article on Substack detailing Arday’s claims.Cofnas said he put Arday's academic work through plagiarism detection software, which subsequently found that "many passages are lifted with minimal editing, sometimes retaining copy-editing mistakes from the original source."In late July, The Times of London also published an analysis of Arday’s 2015 Ph.D thesis and highlighted what it said were multiple examples of passages that were “identical or near-identical” to an earlier paper written by another researcher.Other British publications also began their own investigations, with The Telegraph reporting that 188 sentences in Arday’s doctoral dissertation were identical or highly similar to work by academic Paula Zwozdiak-Myers.Initially, Cambridge stood by Arday, pointing to an earlier investigation by Liverpool John Moores University, which awarded him his doctorate, into the plagiarism allegations..BARCLAY: DEI, identity politics, and the emergence of diversity-based discrimination in Canada.However, on Wednesday, the university opened an inquiry into the matter.“The University of Cambridge has begun an investigation following new information about Professor Arday’s qualifications and honorary appointments,” Cambridge said in an official statement.“In order to ensure a fair process, we will not comment further until this has concluded.”Arday denied committing plagiarism in an interview with The Times published last week, although he acknowledged making mistakes in his work, which he attributed to inadequate supervision while completing his doctorate.Arday’s claims that have come under scrutiny have not just been related to academics. He had previously claimed that he ran 30 marathons in 35 days and 300 miles in three days for charity — reportedly completing the final nine marathons with a broken leg — and that he had helped raise more than £5m for charity, as well as that he had run 600 miles on a treadmill in six days.He later told The Guardian that the millions were raised with the help of others over a 20-year period, adding that he couldn’t name the other people due to having signed a non-disclosure agreement..Law Society of Alberta disbands DEI committee after UCP passes ‘Peterson law’ .Arday also told The Times he stood by his running record, saying he “can’t make people believe me.”"Nobody lives their life having a receipt for every single thing they say or they've done,” he said.He had also previously said he was nonverbal until age 11 and learned to read and write at 18, while also reporting that he had passed two secondary school exams before that age.On top of that, Arday had also previously said he completed his doctoral work while suffering from a brain tumour, which was removed two weeks before his oral defence, and that he subsequently suffered a stroke and had to relearn material because of memory loss.Arday also reportedly has a book deal with Simon & Schuster for a memoir titled Great and Unfortunate Things, which he has claimed is worth £1.4 million.Despite the allegations surrounding Arday, Simon & Schuster said earlier this week it is still planning to move ahead with publication of the memoir, scheduled for August 11 in the US and August 27 in the UK.“We have worked closely with Professor Jason Arday on Great and Unfortunate Things since acquiring it and can speak to the professionalism and integrity he has brought to every stage of the publication,” Simon & Schuster said in a statement.In announcing his resignation, Arday said, “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.”
