University suspends academic behind Jason Arday plagiarism charges

A Belgian university on Thursday suspended a US academic who spearheaded accusations of plagiarism against Jason Arday, the black ex-Cambridge professor found dead last week after resigning over the scandal.

Researcher Nathan Cofnas -- a self-defined "race realist" who was himself sacked from his Cambridge post two years ago -- posted on X: "I was just suspended by Ghent University. They will almost certainly fire me."

Without naming Cofnas, the University of Ghent said in a statement it had launched a "preliminary disciplinary investigation" against a postdoctoral researcher embroiled in the furore, suspending him "as a precautionary measure".

Arday, who became Cambridge's youngest-ever black professor when he was appointed in 2023, was found dead Friday aged 41. He was facing mounting accusations he had plagiarised parts of his doctoral thesis and exaggerated some of his personal life achievements.

Diagnosed with autism and other developmental difficulties as a child, Arday had disputed the allegations against him.

But he quit on August 5, writing in his resignation letter that he had "reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure".

Plagiarism concerns surrounding Arday first surfaced several years ago but went nowhere at the time, with one reporter backing down from investigating further after the professor threatened legal action.

Last month, however, Cofnas came forward to say he had found numerous instances of plagiarism in the professor's work -- and the case snowballed, receiving widespread media coverage in Britain and the United States.

British media and right-wing commentators seized on the row, claiming Arday had unfairly benefited from diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) policies.

Ghent University said it was now "assessing" whether there were sufficient grounds to launch full disciplinary proceedings in the case.

In a previous statement on Wednesday, the university said it was "shocked" by Arday's death and took "very seriously" public statements made by its researcher regarding the former professor.

"Ghent University stands for respect for human dignity and opposes discrimination, hatred and racism," said the statement by the university's rector Petra De Sutter and vice-rector Herwig Reynaert.

"We attach great importance to academic freedom and to open academic debate, even when views are controversial," it added.

"However, that freedom is not unlimited. It goes hand in hand with responsibility and may be restricted in order to protect the rights of others."