Students who raised concerns about the quality of former Cambridge University professor Jason Arday’s teaching were reportedly met with accusations of racism.
Arday, who was previously touted as the youngest black professor at the university, resigned from his position last week amid allegations that he plagiarized portions of his PhD thesis. Cambridge hired Arday in 2023 amid the university’s effort to increase representation of black and other non-white academics. He was also praised for his academic career despite having autism and experiencing delayed speech development as a child.
According to a report by The Telegraph, students raised concerns about Arday’s qualifications and alleged that he was not providing basic academic supervision.
“Apart from one meeting throughout my whole course, he made a number of excuses not to meet with me or provide any substantive feedback on my work. As a supervisor, he was terrible,” a former MA student said. “Any feedback that he did give was that my work was outstanding and that I didn’t need [supervision].”
The student tried to appeal to the university but was ultimately rejected. Another student had asked for a change of supervisor but was then accused of racism. A third student had complained in 2023 to their director of studies about Arday's teaching, claiming that sessions scheduled to last an hour sometimes ended after just 20 minutes.
The allegations of students being accused of racism after raising concerns about Arday’s performance mirror a separate controversy involving a journalist who questioned the professor’s credentials. A reporter for Times Higher Education reportedly was subject to a multi-month harassment investigation after sending questions to Cambridge and Arday. Metropolitan Police warned the journalist that contacting Arday could affect his mental health.
Cambridge initially defended Arday against the plagiarism allegations, calling the claims a “vile campaign to undermine his credibility.” However, the university eventually changed its tune and launched an investigation last week, leading Arday to resign just hours later.
Arday, who was previously touted as the youngest black professor at the university, resigned from his position last week amid allegations that he plagiarized portions of his PhD thesis. Cambridge hired Arday in 2023 amid the university’s effort to increase representation of black and other non-white academics. He was also praised for his academic career despite having autism and experiencing delayed speech development as a child.
According to a report by The Telegraph, students raised concerns about Arday’s qualifications and alleged that he was not providing basic academic supervision.
“Apart from one meeting throughout my whole course, he made a number of excuses not to meet with me or provide any substantive feedback on my work. As a supervisor, he was terrible,” a former MA student said. “Any feedback that he did give was that my work was outstanding and that I didn’t need [supervision].”
The student tried to appeal to the university but was ultimately rejected. Another student had asked for a change of supervisor but was then accused of racism. A third student had complained in 2023 to their director of studies about Arday's teaching, claiming that sessions scheduled to last an hour sometimes ended after just 20 minutes.
The allegations of students being accused of racism after raising concerns about Arday’s performance mirror a separate controversy involving a journalist who questioned the professor’s credentials. A reporter for Times Higher Education reportedly was subject to a multi-month harassment investigation after sending questions to Cambridge and Arday. Metropolitan Police warned the journalist that contacting Arday could affect his mental health.
Cambridge initially defended Arday against the plagiarism allegations, calling the claims a “vile campaign to undermine his credibility.” However, the university eventually changed its tune and launched an investigation last week, leading Arday to resign just hours later.
