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Police said Jason Arday was found unresponsive at an address in Battersea, south London, on Friday afternoon, with officers treating the death as unexpected but not believed to be suspicious. In a statement issued via his publisher Simon & Schuster, Arday’s family said they were in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son, adding that a campaign of misinformation had been too much for the gentle man who always wanted to see the best in everyone. The family noted that for three years he had been subjected to sustained abuse by those who would leave no stone unturned in their quest to undermine him.
University of Cambridge vice-chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice said the institution was desperately saddened to hear the tragic news and extended heartfelt sympathies to Arday’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time. Education Secretary Lucy Powell stated she was deeply shocked and saddened, urging people to remember there are real people with loved ones involved. Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan described the death as a tragedy that should serve as a wake-up call, while shadow communities secretary Sir James Cleverly said he was angered and that a number of people at academic institutions have serious questions to answer.
Professor Simon Baron-Cohen of Cambridge’s Autism Research Centre told the BBC he spoke with Arday on the morning of his death, when the academic said he felt unable to leave the house and that a campaign had destroyed his life, apparently referring to the media. Kehinde Andrews, a professor of Black Studies and friend who also spoke to him that morning, said Arday was very down, upset with no way out, had stopped leaving the house and lost a lot of weight, calling it a wake-up call for how bad Black academics have it. Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy said the level of media scrutiny an academic faced was unheard of, and multiple outlets reported that the University of Glasgow joined in expressing deep sadness over the loss.
Arday had resigned as professor of sociology of education at Cambridge the previous week, stating in his letter that while criticism forms an inevitable part of academic life, what he experienced went far beyond scholarly disagreement and took a profound toll on him and those he loved. He denied plagiarism allegations but admitted errors in early work that he attributed to his autism and use of mimicry to process information, stressing the move should not be taken as acceptance of surrounding narratives. Cambridge had previously said the claims were investigated by Liverpool John Moores University, which awarded him a PhD in 2015, along with the journals involved, and that no plagiarism was found.
Arday made history in 2023 when appointed Cambridge’s youngest-ever Black professor at the age of 37, a milestone that was widely hailed at the time. Born on May 9 1985, he had participated as a torchbearer in the 2012 London Olympic flame relay, according to reports. The Associated Press noted that the controversy extended to questions about elements of his personal history including athletic and fundraising accomplishments, yet tributes highlighted his contributions to the sociology of education.
The Guardian quoted Khan as saying Arday faced an unrelenting public hounding and campaign of abuse along with pernicious public shaming that others in his position simply would not have faced. Cambridge has announced it will investigate the circumstances around Arday’s employment, according to several accounts. Additional tributes continued to emerge on Saturday as colleagues described the personal cost of the sustained public pressure.
