Inquest Opens Into Death of Former Cambridge Professor Jason Arday
A London coroner has opened an inquest into the death of Jason Arday, the former Cambridge professor who died days after resigning amid plagiarism and credential disputes.
An inquest has been opened into the death of Jason Arday, the former Cambridge University professor who died earlier this month, days after resigning his post amid a plagiarism controversy.
Arday, 41, was found dead at an address in south London on August 13. Police described the death as "unexpected" but not suspicious. At a brief hearing at London Inner South Coroner's Court on Wednesday, senior coroner Dr. Julian Morris said reports had given him reason to suspect an "unnatural death" and that an investigation was required.
Arday had resigned from his role as professor of sociology of education on August 5, following intense media scrutiny over his academic credentials and claims about his accomplishments. He denied plagiarism but admitted to some mistakes in his doctoral work.
The controversy began when Nathan Cofnas, a former Cambridge philosophy researcher, publicly questioned Arday's qualifications. Cofnas, who left Cambridge after his critique of diversity programs sparked protests, was later suspended from Ghent University in Belgium. Media reports alleged that more than 100 passages from Arday's 2015 PhD thesis were nearly identical to an earlier paper by another researcher.
Questions were also raised about Arday's claims of raising £5.5 million for charity through feats like running 30 marathons in 35 days and 600 miles in six days. He later revised those claims. Some also questioned his account of overcoming developmental delays that left him non-verbal until age 11 and unable to read or write until 18.
Arday, who became Cambridge's youngest Black professor in 2023, was remembered with an outpouring of grief. A fundraiser launched in his memory has raised nearly £225,000 from over 7,900 donors, intended for his family and funeral expenses.
The inquest opened a day before the UK publication of his memoir, "Great and Unfortunate Things," which tells the story of his rise from a non-verbal autistic child to a Cambridge professor. The book had already been published in the US earlier this month.