Cambridge chancellor slams ‘racist feeding frenzy’ over Jason Arday as vigils planned
LONDON — The chancellor of the University of Cambridge on Monday condemned a “racist feeding frenzy” surrounding Jason Arday, the Black academic found dead last week, as supporters prepared for an evening vigil in London.
Arday, who became Cambridge’s youngest-ever Black professor in 2023, was found dead Friday aged 41. The cause of death has not been made public. His death came after he resigned from the university on Aug. 5, following multiple accusations that he plagiarized parts of his doctoral thesis and exaggerated his achievements.
Chris Smith, the university’s chancellor, told the BBC that allegations of the sort Arday faced should be “rigorously investigated,” but said it was right to “refuse to join in a racist feeding frenzy over a particular academic.” He did not name Arday directly.
In a public resignation letter, Arday said he had “reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure.” His family later said he had been subjected to a “campaign of sustained abuse” since his 2023 appointment.
Stand Up To Racism, the campaign group organizing Monday’s vigil at Trafalgar Square, billed it as a stand against “racist witch hunts.” A separate rally was planned in Cambridge at 6:30 p.m.
Andy Burnham, a Cambridge alumnus, called Arday’s death “a tragedy on so many levels.” A petition launched by the Good Law Project and addressed to Burnham and arts minister Lisa Nandy had gathered more than 83,000 signatures by Monday afternoon, including from lawmaker Diane Abbott and Green Party leader Zack Polanski. The petition says Arday’s death was “the direct, foreseeable and foreseen result of press harassment” and that “racism lay at the heart of this story.” Downing Street declined to say whether an inquiry was planned.
James Cleverly, a Conservative lawmaker whose mother was born in Sierra Leone, told the BBC that “quite possibly” some scrutiny of Arday was motivated by racism. But he said the controversy would “never have come this far if people within the university establishment — not just Cambridge — had done the robust due diligence and checking that should happen with any senior academic appointment.”
The case has become a flashpoint in a broader debate about race, media ethics and the treatment of academics in the public eye. Supporters argue that Arday was subjected to intense scrutiny that went beyond legitimate inquiry, and that institutional failures compounded the pressure.
An online fundraiser created by racial equality campaigner Patrick Vernon to support Arday’s family had raised more than £163,000 ($218,000) by Monday afternoon. Former students also launched a website called “Everything Good About Jason Arday” to collect memories, saying they were “tired of the single reductionist narrative about the kindest person we knew.”
Cambridge’s vice-chancellor, Deborah Prentice, announced an investigation into the circumstances of Arday’s appointment and his time at the university last week, before his death was made public. The university now faces mounting questions about its handling of the allegations.
Monday’s vigil was expected to draw students, campaigners and colleagues determined to remember Arday’s life as well as demand answers. His supporters have described his death as a moment of reckoning for British academia.