Former University of Cambridge professor Jason Arday has been found dead in south London, days after resigning from the university amid allegations of plagiarism, data fabrication and inaccuracies in his academic record.
Arday, 41, was found unresponsive at an address in Battersea on Friday afternoon, according to the BBC.
The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to the property by the London Ambulance Service. A 41-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene, while his next of kin have been notified.
Police said the death was unexpected but was not being treated as suspicious.
Arday had resigned last week from his position as Cambridge’s Professor of the Sociology of Education following mounting scrutiny of his academic work and claims about his professional achievements. He denied the allegations.
The controversy initially focused on his PhD thesis, completed at Liverpool John Moores University. Critics and subsequent investigations alleged that significant sections of the dissertation had been copied from the work of other scholars without appropriate attribution.
Further scrutiny, including reports by Retraction Watch, raised questions about whether interview quotations from previous studies had been reused and presented as original research data.
Investigators also highlighted inconsistencies involving reported sample sizes, the number of interviews conducted and research methodologies, prompting questions about the reliability of some of the research underpinning his academic work.
The scrutiny later expanded to claims contained in Arday’s professional biography and curriculum vitae.
Arday had previously attracted public attention for accounts of overcoming significant personal challenges, including claims that he had been diagnosed with autism, could not speak until the age of 11 and only learned to read and write at 18.
However, investigations subsequently questioned a number of claims linked to his biography and CV, including alleged books he had authored, visiting professorships, honorary positions, sporting achievements and charitable activities.
Among the claims questioned was an assertion that he had run 600 miles in six days to raise millions of pounds for charity.
The allegations sparked widespread debate within British academia and ultimately preceded Arday’s resignation from Cambridge.
His death comes just days after his departure from the university. Police have stressed that while the circumstances remain unexpected, there is currently no indication that his death was suspicious.
