Ghent University said on the 20th that it had formally notified a member of its staff that a preliminary disciplinary investigation had been opened, and that pending the outcome the person had been suspended as a precaution. That step decides whether there is enough to refer a case to the competent disciplinary body. The university said confidentiality prevented it from saying more about the substance or its grounds, and it did not name the person in its statement. Al Jazeera reports that it cited its respect for human dignity and its opposition to discrimination; the Guardian adds that it said it opposes discrimination, hatred and racism.
The researcher is Nathan Cofnas, an American postdoctoral fellow who had been making plagiarism allegations against Jason Arday. Cofnas said so on X before the university's announcement, writing that he was under investigation for discriminating against Arday, and in a separate post that he had just been suspended and would almost certainly be fired. VRT NWS reports that he pointed to the rector's earlier political career, calling it a decision taken by a former Green heavyweight.
The rector, Petra De Sutter, and vice-rector Herwig Reynaert had issued a joint statement on the Wednesday. They said the university valued academic freedom and open academic debate even where views are contested, but that the freedom is not unlimited — it carries responsibility and can be restricted to protect the rights of others. They said they took the postdoctoral researcher's recent public statements very seriously, while declining to anticipate what might be decided.
The allegations became public in July, when Cofnas wrote on his blog that Arday had plagiarised parts of his academic work. He also questioned some of Arday's achievements. The Guardian reports that the plagiarism allegations have not been upheld by any formal investigation.
Arday was appointed in 2023 as the youngest Black professor Cambridge had had. After the university said it would examine his appointment and career, he resigned his post as professor of sociology on 5 August, writing that he had reached the limit of what anyone could be asked to bear. He was 41. He was found dead last Friday. NOS reports that shortly before his death he told a British outlet there had been a very well organised and coordinated campaign to push him out since his appointment, and that he had admitted errors in his work — by his own account because of his autism — while denying that he had lied about his achievements.
Cambridge's handling and some of the press coverage have drawn criticism of their own. The Guardian reports that the university's chancellor, Chris Smith, called it a racist frenzy. A memorial gathering for Arday in Trafalgar Square earlier this week drew more than 30,000 people by organisers' count.
Cofnas was dismissed from Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 2024, and according to NOS has been a postdoctoral researcher at Ghent since the start of this year; the Guardian gives his department, on the basis of his own website, as philosophy and moral sciences. Hundreds of students and staff objected to the hiring at the time, and NOS reports the rector defended it as having followed the rules. He describes himself as a race realist and has argued for links between intelligence and race, claims researchers say have no scientific basis.
Ghent said it was shocked by Arday's death and that it should be an occasion for reflection. It is still deciding whether to take the matter to a full disciplinary process.
Why it is on the board
Second on the Guardian's most-viewed list when we collected, and video on it was running at 4,579 views an hour. Two of the three lens types we have for Britain.
확인: The Guardian · Al Jazeera · VRT NWS · NOS