剑桥大学前教授Jason Arday周五在伦敦南部家中被发现死亡，享年41岁[2]。他于8月5日因面临抄袭指控而辞去教授职位[2]。Arday否认了这些指控[1]。警方表示其死亡被视为非预期，但无可疑之处[1][2]。
Arday于2023年成为剑桥大学最年轻的黑人教授[2]。针对他的抄袭指控涉及其2015年博士论文，据称其中100多段内容与其他研究人员的论文"完全相同或近乎相同"[2]。英国首相Andy Burnham将Arday的去世称为"多层面的悲剧"[1][2]。
多位政界人士和教育界领袖在悼念中指出，Arday遭受了不成比例的对待。伦敦市长Sadiq Khan表示："他是恶意公众羞辱的受害者，其他处于他位置的人根本不会面临这种情况"[1]。工党议员Bell Ribeiro-Addy指出了种族因素，称"他们的区别在于他们是白人，而他不是"[1]。国家教育工会总书记Daniel Kebede将此事描述为"一场公开残酷的倒台，引发了种族歧视的浪潮"[1]。Arday的家人声称他遭受了"骚扰运动"和"持续虐待"[2]。
临床心理学家Simon Baron-Cohen称Arday在周五早晨向他表示"感到无法继续"[1]。剑桥大学副校长Deborah Prentice随后宣布，大学将调查Arday聘用的相关情况[2]。利物浦约翰摩尔斯大学今年早些时候维持了授予Arday博士学位的决定[1]。
Jason Arday, a Black professor at Cambridge University, was found dead in his home in south London on Friday following allegations of plagiarism that prompted his resignation from the institution days earlier.[1][2] He was 41 years old.[2] Police classified his death as unexpected but not suspicious.[1][2]
Arday had resigned from his professorial position the previous week after facing accusations that over 100 passages in his 2015 doctoral thesis were entirely or nearly identical to work by other researchers.[2] He denied the plagiarism allegations.[1] The controversy surrounding his departure and the subsequent media coverage has drawn widespread condemnation from political figures and education leaders, who have characterized the treatment he received as disproportionate and racially motivated.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham described Arday's death as "a tragedy on multiple levels."[1][2] London Mayor Sadiq Khan stated: "He was a victim of malicious public shaming, and others in his position simply would not have faced this."[1] Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy suggested racial discrimination was at play, asserting that "the difference between them is that they are white, and he is not."[1] Clinical psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen reported that Arday told him Friday morning that he felt unable to continue.[1] Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, called the situation "a publicly brutal downfall that sparked a wave of racism."[1] Arday's family claimed he had endured a "harassment campaign" and "sustained abuse."[2]
Cambridge University Vice-Chancellor Deborah Prentice announced the institution would investigate the circumstances surrounding Arday's appointment.[2] Liverpool John Moores University had upheld its decision earlier in the year to award him his doctorate.[1]