THE media frenzy around Jason Arday was sparked by allegations of plagiarism from one man.
Arday, who was found dead on Friday, resigned from his post as professor of sociology of education at the University of Cambridge last week after allegations that he had fabricated parts of his life story.
The National previously told how the professor's family hit out at the “campaign of sustained abuse” directed at Arday before his death last week, saying that those against him left “no stone unturned in their quest to undermine him”.
The allegations of plagiarism were first made by self-described "race realist" Nathan Cofnas, who questioned the late professor's background and achievements.
Who is Nathan Cofnas?
Nathan Cofnas is an American philosopher who works in the areas of biology and ethics.
He describes himself as a "race realist" and believes that intelligence varies by ethnic background.
Cofnas is critical of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and has claimed that without this, certain minorities would not be in high-value positions.
He once said: "What would happen if we actually had a colourblind meritocracy? Representation of certain groups, such as African Americans, would be decimated. It would fall, well, not just a reduction of 10%, but it would fall to 10% of what it is."
In 2024, while in a fellowship post at Cambridge University, Cofnas wrote a blog post advocating for scientific racism.
"Harvard faculty would be recruited from the best of the best students, which means the number of black professors would approach zero per cent," he said.
The blog led to intense backlash from students, yet the university ruled that the post ultimately fell under freedom of speech protections.
However, Cofnas went on to resign and is now a postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University in Belgium.
What did Nathan Cofnas say about Jason Arday?
Nathan Cofnas was critical of Jason Arday, who became one of the youngest black professors in England when he was appointed as a sociology professor at Cambridge University in 2022, at 37 years old.
In a Substack post on July 21, Cofnas wrote that "there are serious questions about Arday's biographical claims" and made a number of accusations that the professor's academic work was plagiarised.
"There are more than a thousand black people in the UK with IQs over 140 who would be capable of doing serious work in the sociology of education," he wrote.
"If Cambridge administrators wanted a black professor to serve as a role model for underrepresented minorities, they could have found someone qualified.
"Instead, they grabbed a random black person with an unvetted fairytale backstory and almost nothing that even resembles genuine scholarship."
Arday went on to admit errors in his work, telling The Times that he was accountable for those mistakes but that "what I am not is a liar".
He told the newspaper: "There has been, since I arrived at Cambridge, a very well orchestrated and co-ordinated campaign to unseat me from my position."
He argued this was "racially motivated" and that he had become a "lightning rod" for criticism of DEI policy.
Has Nathan Cofnas said anything about Jason Arday's death?
Nathan Cofnas has not released a public statement regarding the death of Jason Arday.
However, he "restacked" a post on Substack which claimed that he has received numerous death threats.
Cofnas was seen smiling in a podcast with disgraced academic David Starkey around a week before Arday's death, following the professor's resignation from Cambridge.
Starkey said: "The reason we're both grinning is good, honest, straightforward and Christian vengeance."
