Police said the 41-year-old academic’s death is being treated as unexpected but is not believed to be suspicious.
LONDON — Jason Arday, the former University of Cambridge professor who resigned this month amid allegations of plagiarism and questions about his academic record, was found dead Friday at an address in south London, police said. He was 41.
The Metropolitan Police said officers were called by the London Ambulance Service at 3:12 p.m. Aug. 14 to an address in Battersea, where Arday was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene. His next of kin have been informed. Police said the death is considered unexpected but is not believed to be suspicious, and a file will be prepared for the coroner.
Arday’s death came nine days after he resigned with immediate effect from his position as professor of sociology of education at Cambridge and from his fellowship at Jesus College. His departure followed growing scrutiny of his doctoral research, academic biography and other claims associated with his career. He denied deliberately misleading people and disputed allegations that he had committed plagiarism.
Cambridge had announced an investigation into matters surrounding Arday’s appointment and tenure before his resignation. The university later said it would continue examining the circumstances of his appointment even after he left. Vice-Chancellor Deborah Prentice said this week that the review would be carried out independently by senior academics from within and outside Cambridge and that its findings would help inform a broader review of senior academic appointments.
Questions about Arday’s research intensified after researchers and news organizations identified passages in his doctoral thesis and other work that they said closely resembled previously published material. Those claims remained allegations rather than a formal finding of plagiarism by Cambridge. Liverpool John Moores University, where Arday completed his doctorate, had previously examined concerns involving his work and did not uphold allegations of research misconduct.
Arday addressed the controversy in a resignation statement published Aug. 5. He acknowledged making mistakes in his academic work while rejecting claims that he had intentionally deceived universities or the public. He said the intense public scrutiny surrounding the allegations had become overwhelming and that stepping down was necessary for his well-being and for those close to him.
The controversy also included questions about information that had appeared in accounts of Arday’s career, including academic affiliations and descriptions of his charitable and athletic achievements. Several universities and other organizations were asked to clarify their connections with him as media scrutiny increased. Arday disputed the suggestion that inaccuracies amounted to deliberate dishonesty and said some accounts of his life had been presented without adequate context.
Arday became professor of sociology of education at Cambridge in 2023, when he was 37, and was widely reported to be the youngest Black person appointed to a professorship in the university’s history. His academic work focused heavily on race, inequality and education. Before Cambridge, he held academic posts including a professorship at the University of Glasgow.
His rise had drawn significant public attention because of accounts of difficulties he said he experienced while growing up and his later academic career. The scrutiny surrounding him in recent weeks also triggered a wider debate within British higher education about research standards, university hiring practices, institutional accountability and the treatment of Black academics. Supporters argued that legitimate questions about academic work had at times become entangled with racialized attacks, while critics said universities had an obligation to examine serious concerns about scholarship and credentials.
The University of Cambridge’s review of the processes surrounding Arday’s appointment had not been completed when his death was announced. Police said officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Central South Command Unit are handling the case and that the matter will be referred to the coroner. Authorities had not announced a cause of death as of Friday.
Author note: Last updated August 14, 2026.