Former Cambridge professor Jason Arday has canceled a series of events scheduled to promote his memoir, "Great and Unfortunate Things," following accusations of plagiarism and allegations of fabricating aspects of his life story. The memoir is set for US publication on Tuesday.
Two appearances have been called off. An event on September 2, described as a 'fireside chat' with the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) to discuss his experiences and research on racial inequality, was canceled at the speaker's request, according to the event page. Another scheduled talk at the Topping and Co. bookshop in Edinburgh for September 18 was also canceled, with customers informed via email.
These cancellations follow Mr. Arday's resignation from his position at Cambridge last week, citing the "personal cost" of the controversy. Cambridge University launched an investigation into the allegations, which include claims from fellow academics that he copied others' work and invented previous academic posts.
Further scrutiny has fallen upon an online letter signed by over 17,000 individuals in support of Mr. Arday, which was carried by the Good Law Project. This letter asserts a "smear campaign" against the former professor and labels the plagiarism allegations as "entirely false." However, the letter's credibility has been questioned due to the inclusion of fake names, including 'FAKER,' 'guilty,' and fictional characters such as 'WalterMitty,' 'BillyLiar,' 'Baron Munchausen,' and 'Pinocchio.' Other signatories used a clown emoji or the name 'WaitMaybeHeISafraud.'
Jolyon Maugham, founder of the Good Law Project, stated he was on holiday during the controversy and that his organization's role was limited to carrying the letter, not representing Mr. Arday in a broader sense. While Maugham expressed discomfort with descriptions of Arday as a "fantasist," he noted he lacked the expertise to speculate on the effects of neurodivergence. The letter's content has also reportedly been edited, with a reference to universities conducting "thorough investigations" removed after a significant number of people had already signed.
Mr. Arday's past claims have also come under review. These include statements that he was unable to write until age 18, ran 30 marathons in 35 days, and raised £5 million for charities. Publisher Simon & Schuster has reportedly removed biographical details about these alleged athletic and fundraising achievements from Mr. Arday's author page on its website, preceding the recent public allegations.
Recent reports also highlighted that two academics who were part of the nine-member panel that appointed Mr. Arday to his position at Cambridge have published work critical of "whiteness" in education. These academics are Michalinos Zembylas, professor of educational theory at the Open University of Cyprus, and Professor Anoop Nayak of Newcastle University.