Jason Arday's rise and plagiarism storm before death

Jason Arday, the former Cambridge professor found dead on Friday aged 41, had risen from a south London childhood and a career as a PE teacher to one of Britain's most visible academic posts before resigning during plagiarism investigations.

Arday became Cambridge University's youngest Black professor in March 2023, when he was 37, as a professor of sociology of education. Cambridge described him as a respected scholar of race, inequality and education.

His public story included accounts of childhood autism and developmental delays. In a memoir due to be published this month, Arday wrote that doctors diagnosed him with autism and global developmental delay and that he was non-verbal until age 11 after extensive speech therapy. Cambridge's website said he did not read or write until he was 18.

At least two former schoolmates told The Guardian they remembered him speaking during the period when he said he was non-verbal. Childhood friend Mike Freeman told Sky News that portrayals of Arday as a fantasist and liar did not match the person he knew.

The controversy grew after plagiarism concerns were raised by British academic David Harris, later by a Times Higher Education reporter, and in July by Nathan Cofnas, a US academic whose Cambridge affiliation ended in 2024 amid racism accusations. The Telegraph alleged that dozens of passages in Arday's PhD had been copied from an earlier thesis.

Arday admitted academic “mistakes” but said he was being falsely portrayed as a liar. He also said Black academics faced racially motivated targeting. His family and supporters alleged a racist “campaign of sustained abuse”, while critics argued that his Cambridge appointment reflected unfair benefits from diversity, equality and inclusion policies.

Arday, born in May 1985 to parents originally from Ghana, was married and had two children.