The family of Jason Arday, a former Cambridge University professor who resigned following plagiarism allegations, has stated that a "campaign of misinformation" was responsible for his death. Arday, 41, was found unresponsive at his south London home on Friday, just over a week after stepping down from his position.
Cambridge University had launched an investigation into accusations that Arday plagiarized parts of his Ph.D. dissertation and misrepresented his prior academic appointments. The allegations included claims that he lifted more than 100 passages from another academic's work and falsely stated positions he held at previous institutions.
In a statement, Arday's family said he had been subjected to "a campaign of sustained abuse for more than three years" since taking up his professorship. They described the misinformation campaign as "too much for Jason, who was a gentle man and who always wanted to see the best in everyone." The family expressed shock at the loss of their father, partner, brother, uncle, and son, and requested privacy from the press, asking them to cease what they termed a "campaign of harassment."
Arday, noted as the youngest Black professor at Cambridge, resigned on August 5 as the university initiated its inquiry. He was pronounced dead at the scene.