The University of Cambridge will review its process for appointing senior academics following the resignation of Jason Arday in the midst of a plagiarism row. The institution said findings from an investigation into the education professor's academic qualifications and appointments would "feed into" a new review on the appointment process for senior academic roles. The Jesus College fellow has also faced accusations of fabricating or exaggerating elements of his CV.
He has defended himself and his work, with attention now turning to Cambridge's handling of concerns and his upcoming memoir. News of the review comes after a group of academics called for an independent probe into his appointment. Priyamvada Gopal, professor of postcolonial studies at Cambridge and among those calling for an independent inquiry, said the university was facing "massive reputational damage" over the affair.
"This is reputational damage that has upset colleagues across disciplines, across the political spectrum," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Friday. "I've been quite struck by the number of people who are very upset by what has happened. So I don't think it is an option for Cambridge to just sweep this under the carpet and not take any action at all." Gopal said the university should not be "marking its own homework", adding that the group of academics of which she is a part had suggested a mix of senior academics at Cambridge and elsewhere to conduct an investigation.
Cambridge said on Friday that it was "fully aware of the public commentary and concerns" and would "continue to investigate the circumstances around Jason Arday's appointment and tenure". A spokesperson declined to comment further. It previously announced an investigation into "new information" about Arday's academic qualifications and appointments on Wednesday, having already said it was looking into allegations of plagiarism.
Jesus College welcomed the appointments review, saying Arday's role as fellow there had been "contingent on his university position". "We rely on the university to do checks on academic credentials for its appointments," a spokeswoman added. The University of Glasgow, where Arday worked for just over a year before moving to Cambridge, has commissioned its own review of his appointment.
"Jason Arday was employed as Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Glasgow, from January 2022 to March 2023," a statement said. "The Principal has commissioned a review of the appointment with the aim of understanding all the facts and learning lessons for the future." Accusations of plagiarism in Arday's work were first voiced by Nathan Cofnas - a US researcher whose role at a Cambridge college was terminated after backlash against his view that under a true meritocracy black people would "disappear from almost all high-profile positions outside of sports and entertainment". He highlighted that plagiarism detection software had found several tracts of Arday's PhD dissertation to be copied verbatim or lightly rephrased from prior academic works by other authors.
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