Former University of Cambridge professor, Jason Arday has been found dead in south London, just days after resigning from the institution amid allegations of plagiarism, data fabrication and inaccuracies in his academic record.
According to the BBC, Arday, 41, was found unresponsive at an address in Battersea on Friday afternoon.
The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to the scene by the London Ambulance Service, adding that a 41-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.
His next of kin have been informed.
In a statement, the police said: “At this time his death is being treated as unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious.”
Arday had resigned last week as Cambridge’s Professor of the Sociology of Education following allegations concerning his academic work and claims about his professional achievements. He denied the allegations.
The controversy initially focused on his PhD thesis, which he completed at Liverpool John Moores University. Academic critics and investigations alleged that substantial sections of the dissertation had been copied from the work of other scholars without proper attribution.
Further scrutiny, including reporting by Retraction Watch, raised allegations that Arday had reused qualitative interview quotations from other researchers’ studies and presented them as original data.
Questions were also raised over inconsistencies in reported sample sizes, numbers of interviews and research methodologies, leading to concerns about the authenticity of some of the research supporting his academic work.
The scrutiny later extended to aspects of Arday’s personal and professional biography.
He had gained public attention for his account of overcoming significant challenges, including claims that he had been diagnosed with autism, remained unable to speak until the age of 11 and only learned to read and write at 18.
However, recent investigations questioned several claims associated with his biography and CV, including books he claimed to have authored, visiting professorships, honorary appointments and sporting and charitable achievements.
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 led to a widening academic controversy in Britain and ultimately preceded his resignation from Cambridge last week.
Arday was found dead just days after his resignation. His death is being treated as unexpected but not suspicious by the police.
