Publisher Simon & Schuster defends Cambridge professor in plagiarism row

LONDON – Publisher Simon & Schuster has defended Jason Arday, a University of Cambridge professor facing snowballing accusations of plagiarism ahead of the release of his memoir.

A scandal involving Arday – who made headlines when he was appointed as Cambridge university’s youngest black professor in 2023 – erupted in recent days after some academics and media reports accused him of plagiarising parts of his PhD thesis.

His backstory, detailed in his memoir “Great and Unfortunate Things” set to be published in August by Simon & Schuster UK, has also attracted attention.

Diagnosed with autism, Arday says he was non-verbal until age 11 and only learnt to read and write at 18, before becoming Cambridge’s professor of sociology of education at 37.

“We are proud to publish Professor Jason Arday. We have worked closely with him... and can speak to the professionalism and integrity he has brought to every stage of the publication,” Simon & Schuster said in a statement sent to AFP on Aug 5.

The publisher noted that “no allegations of plagiarism have been made with respect to” the memoir, which is set to be published next week in the United States and the end of the month in the UK.

In a widely shared statement, the University of Cambridge earlier defended Arday as “the victim of a vile campaign to undermine his credibility”.

“Allegations of plagiarism regarding his thesis and journal publications have been thoroughly investigated by the relevant institution and the journals in question. Professor Arday has been cleared by those investigations of any wrongdoing,” the prestigious university said.

In an interview with The Times newspaper, Arday admitted to making “mistakes” in his academic work, but said he was being wrongly “portrayed to be a liar and a fantasist and an academic fraud”.

He also alleged the “campaign to unseat me from my position” was “racially motivated”.

The row was sparked by an article by Nathan Cofnas – a US academic whose research affiliation with a Cambridge college was terminated over accusations of racism – who claimed he found multiple sections of Arday’s doctoral dissertation were copied from other works.

Media reports then piled scrutiny on Arday’s claims about his personal life, including that he once ran 30 marathons in 35 days, and raised millions for charities.

An open letter supporting Arday has more than 15,000 signatures, including from prominent black academics and leaders at Cambridge, Simon Woolley and Sonita Alleyne.

“When a distinguished black academic is repeatedly subjected to baseless allegations after being fully exonerated, it signals there is an attempt to undermine black people who hold positions of influence,” reads the letter, also signed by the UK’s Green Party leader Zack Polanski.

The scandal has been seized upon by right-wing newspapers and commentators, who have labelled Arday as a “poster boy” for diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) policies. AFP