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An inquest has commenced into the circumstances surrounding the death of Jason Arday, a former professor at the University of Cambridge who was involved in a plagiarism controversy. Arday was discovered dead at his London residence on August 14, shortly after stepping down from his academic position.
In 2023, Arday made history as Cambridge’s youngest ever black professor at the age of 37, a milestone that was widely celebrated. However, following his resignation, serious questions were raised about the originality of his work. Senior coroner Dr Julian Morris announced on Wednesday that the information he had received indicated that Arday’s passing was an unnatural death, prompting the opening of a formal investigation at the London Inner South Coroner’s Court.
Reports from the Metropolitan Police at the time indicated that Arday’s death was unexpected but was not considered suspicious. According to the inquest, family members found Arday unresponsive at his home in Battersea. Despite attempts to resuscitate him, he was pronounced dead. The professor, aged 41, had recently been accused of plagiarism and faced criticisms concerning elements of his academic record. While denying intentional wrongdoing, he acknowledged certain mistakes in his work and described the intense public scrutiny and personal attacks he endured as a consequence of the allegations.
The controversy intensified after Nathan Cofnas, a fellow academic who labels himself a “race realist” and was dismissed from Cambridge in 2024, accused Arday of multiple instances of plagiarism. Arday attributed some of the issues in his work to his autism, explaining that he used mimicry as a way to process information, and suggested that such errors could be found in the work of other scholars under similar scrutiny. Following his death, Arday’s family released a statement expressing their devastation over the loss of a beloved father, partner, brother, uncle, and son. They also conveyed that the campaign of misinformation targeting him was overwhelming for a gentle man who always sought to believe in the best of others.
Arday’s memoir, scheduled for release in the UK this Thursday, will proceed as planned. Publisher Simon & Schuster confirmed the publication, with his family affirming their commitment to fulfilling his wishes despite the recent events
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