Dozens of academics at the University of Cambridge have signed a letter calling for an independent inquiry into the process around the appointment of a professor embroiled in a high-profile plagiarism row.
The university confirmed it would be continuing an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the “appointment and tenure” of Professor Jason Arday after he quit his position on Wednesday.
The sociology professor’s resignation follows a series of media reports alleging he plagiarised his PHD thesis – completed at Liverpool John Moores University – and other research.
Other claims he’d made, including saying he ran 600 miles in six days and that he’d raised £5.5 million for charity, have since come under scrutiny in the press.
Multiple academics signed a letter to Cambridge University on Friday, with organisers stating that they expected the total number of signatories to reach one hundred by day’s end.
Professor Priyamvada Gopal, who teaches postcolonial studies at Cambridge’s English faculty, said the university should not be allowed to “mark its own homework”.
“We’re saying that the resignation is not the end of the story, that there are potential mistakes and missteps made by the university that need to be investigated,” Professor Gopal said.
“We are absolutely clear that the investigation needs to be independent, not in the university’s own hands, and needs to be completely transparent and accountable to the Cambridge community.”
The university has been contacted for comment.
Prof Gopal said the letter asks for:
– The circumstances of Prof Arday’s appointment to be investigated given that it was a “very senior appointment” for a professor who was “at a very early stage of his career”.
– Information from the Faculty of Education and university communications team on why the “media narrative” focused “so heavily” on his race and his youth, after Prof Arday was appointed as professor of sociology of education in 2023.
– A probe and clear timeline of the handling of plagiarism allegations against Prof Arday.
Prof Gopal also said the academics want to know whether the university was involved in any efforts to deter journalists from reporting on the allegations.
The letter will most likely be handed to the vice-chancellor’s office by the end of the day or first thing on Monday.
“We want the university to note the enormous damage that this has done both to Cambridge’s own reputation and its own academic community, but also specifically to people of colour,” Prof Gopal said.
“We want them to state publicly that anti-racism and academic integrity are not mutually exclusive, that they are both necessary and they both work together.”
She added the case has “gone right into the ongoing culture war scenario” and “acted as a gift to people and forces who have been targeting equality, diversity, and inclusion in universities for a long time now”.
It comes as the Metropolitan Police has drawn criticism over an investigation into a claim of harassment made against a Times Higher Education journalist who emailed Prof Arday with questions some months ago.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley told LBC on Thursday that the force “dropped the ball on that one”, and the report should have been “screened out earlier as not requiring investigation”.
In a statement earlier on Friday, Cambridge said: “As has been widely reported, Jason Arday has resigned from his post at the university with immediate effect.
“Regardless of this, and for clarification, the university will continue to investigate the circumstances around Jason Arday’s appointment and tenure. The findings will feed into a review of the process for the appointment of senior academic roles.
“In addition, and as previously stated, the university’s Research Policy Committee will review the misconduct in research policy.”
Jesus College said previously it was launching its own process in relation to the allegation.
An investigation at Liverpool John Moores University cleared Prof Arday of wrongdoing.
The professor said in his open resignation letter that he felt the “only way to bring this chapter to an end is to step away”.
In the letter, addressed to colleagues and published on the Good Law Project’s website, he said: “This decision should not be interpreted as a loss of faith in scholarship or in the values that first brought me to Cambridge.
“Nor should it be mistaken for an acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me.
“It is simply the decision of someone who has reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure.”
His memoir, Great And Unfortunate Things, is due to be published by Simon & Schuster later this month.
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
