Nathan Cofnas, academic who exposed Jason Arday’s plagiarism, says he had no hard feelings toward him: “It was about DEI” | World news

Nathan Cofnas, the American researcher who first publicly detailed extensive plagiarism allegations against Cambridge University’s youngest black professor, Jason Arday, has said he harbors no personal animosity toward the late academic. In his first detailed comments to VRT NWS after Arday’s death, Cofnas stated that he had “no interest” in Arday as an individual and “no ill will toward him.” He insisted that the controversy was fundamentally about diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) policies at Cambridge and similar institutions. “I set in motion a series of events that led to a tragic outcome, but it was about diversity policy and Cambridge. Arday only played a supporting role,” Cofnas said, adding that he wanted Arday to remain a teacher and “live his best life.”

Nathan Cofnas challenges the story behind Jason Arday’s rise at Cambridge

In March 2023, Jason Arday was appointed professor of sociology of education at the University of Cambridge, becoming the institution’s youngest black professor, and his appointment attracted widespread positive coverage. Central to that coverage was Arday’s account of overcoming extraordinary challenges in his youth. He said that he had been diagnosed with autism, global developmental delay, mutism, deafness and dyscalculia, that he had not spoken until he was 11 years old and that he had only learned to read and write at 18. He also spoke publicly about surviving epilepsy, testicular cancer, and a brain tumor. His story of overcoming these difficulties and ascending to academia was widely held up as an example of exceptional resilience. However, subsequent scrutiny by The Guardian found that the questions went beyond the allegations relating to its investigation. Several claims about his academic career and qualifications could not be substantiated. Arday’s biography at Jesus College, Cambridge, said that he had held visiting professorships at Ohio State University and the University of Glasgow, but Ohio State said he had never worked there, while Glasgow also denied that he had held the claimed visiting professorship. His biography also describes him as an honorary professor at Durham University, although the university said he no longer held any role there. Arday had further stated that he completed a master’s degree in psychodynamic practices at Birkbeck, University of London, and subsequently became a fully qualified counsellor, but Birkbeck told The Guardian that it could find no record of a student called Jason Arday having studied there.His claim to have written a book with Palgrave Macmillan was also questioned, with the publisher confirming that he had received a proposal but that the book was never published. These findings became significant because they did not simply refer to interpretations of their achievements, but to specific claims about institutional affiliations, qualifications, and publications that could be checked against the records of the named organizations. Scrutiny subsequently expanded to his athletic and charitable claims, including his claims about running 30 marathons in 35 days, completing 600 miles in six days and raising £5 million or more for charities. The Guardian reported that some institutional descriptions of the 600-mile challenge were later changed, while Arday clarified that the feat had actually been carried out over 12 days because rest days had been included.

Accusations of plagiarism

In mid-July 2026, Nathan Cofnas, a postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University who describes himself as a “race realist” and critic of DEI policies, published an article on Substack titled “DEI fraud and cover-up in Cambridge.” Using plagiarism detection software, Cofnas argued that numerous passages in Arday’s doctoral thesis and subsequent academic work had been taken from other sources with minimal modifications. He presented the case as evidence of deeper problems with the way universities prioritize identity in appointments.Substack’s release sparked intense coverage, particularly in British newspapers. Cambridge announced an investigation on 5 August 2026 into Arday’s academic qualifications and honorary appointments. The same day, Arday resigned, stating that the pressure had become too great for his and his family’s well-being, although he stressed that his departure was not an admission of guilt. A week later, on August 14, Arday was found dead in his London home at the age of 41. Many on social media and some commentators placed responsibility for the result on Cofnas and the subsequent scrutiny. However, there is no evidence established in the material provided that Cofnas caused Arday’s death.

The response and suspension of Cofnas

Speaking to VRT NWS, Cofnas acknowledged that his actions set in motion events that ended tragically. He argued, however, that powerful people must remain open to criticism even when doing so risks causing personal distress. “You have to be able to criticize these people, even if there is a risk that they will misunderstand you or feel very bad about it,” he said. Shortly after Arday’s death, Ghent University pre-emptively suspended Cofnas and opened a preliminary disciplinary investigation, stating that it took his public statements “very seriously.”

Wider controversy

Cofnas remains a polarizing figure. He has previously argued that genetic factors play a non-trivial role in average differences in group intelligence, views which contributed to the end of his association with Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 2024. His supporters see his work at Arday as a necessary defense of academic standards; Critics describe it as racially motivated. In the same VRT interview, Cofnas characterized an earlier on-camera comment about running a future “Department of Eugenics and Racial Sciences at Harvard” as a joke based on his belief that universities should study race and hereditary influences more openly.