Jason Arday found dead after plagiarism controversy
Found dead in his Battersea home after a high-profile resignation amid plagiarism accusations and the release of his memoir.
Jason Arday, the British sociologist who resigned from the University of Cambridge last week amid public allegations of plagiarism, was found dead yesterday afternoon at his home in Battersea, south London.
High-profile resignation and a contested memoir
Arday, who was 37 when in 2023 he became the youngest black professor at Cambridge, stepped down after sustained media attention and several weeks of accusations over alleged plagiarism in his academic work and questions about claims concerning his sporting and humanitarian achievements.
The Times and The Telegraph, together with the BBC and Sky News, reported that the 41-year-old Arday was discovered without signs of life at his Battersea residence.
This news comes in the same week his memoir, "Big and Unhappy Things," was published — a book Simon & Schuster decided to release despite doubts raised about his credibility.
In a statement released through his publisher the family said they were "in shock at the loss of this wonderful father, partner, brother, uncle and son."
There has been intense public scrutiny of Arday's academic record and public persona in recent weeks; details of any official investigations or the circumstances of his death have not been provided in the reports cited by the media.
Photo: AP
