41岁的Jason Arday在伦敦南部被发现死亡[1][2][3]。这名剑桥大学教授于周五下午在伦敦巴特西的一处住宅内被发现无反应[2][3]。警方在下午3点接到救护车服务的报警，Arday在现场被宣布死亡[1]。警方表示死亡被视为意外，但不被认为存在犯罪嫌疑[1][2][3]。
Arday于2023年成为剑桥大学最年轻的黑人教授，当时37岁[2]。他在上周因学术不诚实指控从剑桥大学辞职[1][2][3]。《泰晤士报》于7月24日发表分析指出，他2015年的博士论文中存在与他人研究"相同或近似相同"的段落[2]。此外，他还面临关于职业成就的质疑。据报道，他曾声称在35天内跑了30场马拉松、在6天内跑了600英里，以及在3天内跑了300英里，以此为慈善机构筹集550万英镑（740万美元）[2][3]。
在辞职声明中，Arday表示"无休止的指控、臆测和公众评论对我和我所爱的人造成了深刻打击"[1][2]。他在另一份声明中声称自己的早期学术错误源于自闭症和对模仿的依赖[3]。出版社Simon & Schuster原计划于8月27日出版他的回忆录《Great And Unfortunate Things》[3]。
Jason Arday, a 41-year-old professor at Cambridge University, was discovered unresponsive in his home in south London on Friday afternoon and pronounced dead at the scene.[1][2][3] Arday had resigned from his position at Cambridge the previous week following allegations of academic misconduct, including plagiarism in his doctoral thesis and questions about the authenticity of his professional accomplishments.[1][2][3] Police treated the death as accidental with no suspected criminal involvement.[1][2][3]
Arday became Cambridge's youngest Black professor in 2023 at age 37, when he was appointed to the chair of sociology of education.[1][2] However, weeks of scrutiny preceded his resignation. The Times newspaper published an analysis on July 24 revealing that passages in his 2015 doctoral thesis were identical or nearly identical to research by other scholars.[2] Additionally, reports emerged questioning claims he had made about fundraising achievements for charity, including assertions that he had run 30 marathons within 35 days and covered 600 miles on a treadmill within six days, allegedly raising over 5 million pounds.[2][3] In his resignation statement, Arday said the experience had taken "a profound toll" on him and those he loved, describing "relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary."[1][2]
Arday attributed his early academic errors to autism and a reliance on imitation.[3] His memoir, titled "Great And Unfortunate Things," was scheduled for publication by Simon & Schuster on August 27.[3]