Jason Arday, 41, a former professor of the sociology of education who overcame autism and dyslexia to become the youngest Black professor at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, resigned amid a plagiarism controversy and was later found dead at home.
According to the Guardian, police on the 14th local time confirmed that Arday had died at his home in south London. Police said there were no signs of foul play.
Born to a family of immigrants from Ghana, he was appointed in 2023 at age 37 as Cambridge's youngest Black professor. But the academic world raised suspicions of plagiarism in his papers, and questions also arose over whether his accounts of autism and dyslexia—saying he could not speak until age 11 and did not learn to read and write until 18—were fabricated. Arday stepped down from his professorship on the 5th, shortly after Cambridge released that it would investigate possible misconduct.
Arday also served as a torchbearer during the 2012 London Olympics.
The New York Times (NYT) reported, "Questions about Arday will not easily disappear with his death," adding, "Those questions are about the individual and at the same time about the University of Cambridge." NYT reported, "When Cambridge interviewed Arday, he was a junior scholar just entering academia and, lacking 'internationally excellent research outputs,' fell 'short of the qualifications' for a professorship under the school's own standards," adding, "Cambridge hired him at a time when it was under pressure to improve diversity."
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said, "Arday was the victim of a malicious public shaming," adding, "His death is a tragedy, but it should serve as a wake-up call for all of us."
Andy Burnham, the U.K. prime minister, said, "In many ways, it is a tragedy," adding, "Now is not the time for snap judgments; it is a time to reflect on how things came to this."