DISPATCHES FROM THE EDUCATION APOCALYPSE: Cambridge Cancels Probe into Jason Arday Hiring, Will Instead Focus on University Support.

Cambridge University has decided against investigating how and why the late professor Jason Arday was hired despite his lack of qualifications and will instead look into whether staff offered him sufficient support after he was accused of plagiarizing large sections of his published work and fabricating a series of personal achievements.

Touted as the youngest black Cambridge professor in history when he was hired in 2022, Arday came under significant public scrutiny earlier this year after fellow academics and journalists began surfacing evidence of extensive plagiarism throughout his publication record. That scrutiny extended to Arday’s professed personal biography, which featured staggering athletic achievements and acts of philanthropy.

Arday was found dead in his south London home on August 14, nine days after resigning as a professor of sociology of education at Cambridge. Police on scene described his death as “non-suspicious,” and his family later commented that the “campaign of misinformation was too much” for him.

Cambridge has learned nothing and forgotten nothing about the Arday debacle, and their role in making it happen.