Inquest opens into death of ex-Cambridge professor Jason Arday

An inquest has commenced into the untimely death of former Cambridge professor Jason Arday, who had been embroiled in plagiarism allegations. Dr. Arday, who was 41 when he passed away, was discovered dead in a London residence on August 13, following his resignation from his position as professor of sociology of education. The inquest's opening occurred the day prior to the UK release of his memoir, "Great and Unfortunate Things."

Dr. Arday, the youngest Black professor at Cambridge in 2023, was found deceased at an address in South London just days after he resigned.

Dr. Arday's resignation and death followed a significant media focus on his credentials and various claims he had made regarding his accomplishments outside academia. The inquest commenced at London Inner South Coroner's Court with a brief hearing. Any deaths in the UK that raise questions are investigated by a coroner, as is the case with Dr. Arday's passing.

Senior coroner Dr. Julian Morris stated that based on various reports, he suspects Dr. Arday's death was not due to natural causes. Consequently, the coroner has ordered an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death.

The police classified Dr. Arday's death as "unexpected" but not suspicious at the time of his passing. Allegations about Dr. Arday's qualifications emerged publicly last month by Nathan Cofnas, a former Cambridge philosophy researcher who resigned after his critique of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs triggered widespread protests.

Cofnas had previously claimed that in a meritocracy, Black people would become scarce in high-profile positions outside sports and entertainment. Cofnas was recently suspended from his post at Ghent University in Belgium.

In response to Cofnas' allegations, numerous newspapers reported that over 100 passages in Dr. Arday's 2015 PhD thesis were identical or nearly identical to an earlier paper written by another researcher. Questions arose about numerous claims Dr. Arday had made about his life, including his purported £5.5 million ($10.4 million) charity fundraising efforts through endeavors such as completing 30 marathons in 35 days and 965 kilometers in six days.

Dr. Arday later retracted these claims. Some also questioned his assertion that he had overcome developmental delays that left him non-verbal until the age of 11. Dr. Arday had stated that he was diagnosed with autism at a young age and could not read or write until he was 18, a fact he admitted to making mistakes in when working on his doctoral research.

His death prompted widespread grief and a fundraising campaign in his memory, which raised nearly £225,000 ($300,000) from 7,900 donors to provide financial and practical support for his family and cover funeral and memorial expenses. The inquest's formal opening took place a day before the UK publication of Dr. Arday's memoir, which chronicles the story of an autistic boy who was non-verbal as a child and illiterate until his late teens, eventually becoming the youngest Black professor in Cambridge University's history.