Cambridge agrees to hold independent inquiry into Jason Arday appointment

Cambridge University’s leadership has bowed to internal pressure for an independent investigation into its appointment of Jason Arday as a professor, with its vice-chancellor admitting the affair has damaged the institution.

Prof Deborah Prentice said she recognised the “anger and anxiety around this damaging and difficult case” but described it as an aberration that should not be used to cast aspersions on the abilities of its staff of colour.

Senior Cambridge academics had called for the university to hold a fully independent inquiry into the circumstances around Arday’s appointment as professor of sociology of education, after the details of his career and life story were exposed to intense scrutiny.

The university initially defended him as the “victim of a vile campaign to undermine his credibility” but he resigned last week after a series of his claims were called into doubt.

In a letter to staff, Prentice said: “I know there is anger and anxiety around this damaging and difficult case … We will now investigate the circumstances around his appointment by the faculty of education back in 2022 and his time here in Cambridge since his appointment nearly four years ago.

“That investigation, as you say, should be thorough and transparent, and will be carried out independently by senior academics from within and beyond Cambridge.”

The university did not supply any details of the investigation’s membership or its terms of reference.

Prentice said the investigation’s findings would be used to review Cambridge’s appointment process for senior roles, and that its education faculty bore some responsibility for Arday’s selection. She also highlighted that Arday had held positions at Durham and Glasgow universities before applying to Cambridge for a professorial chair.

“As you are fully aware, appointments to senior academic roles, as in the case of the faculty of education and Jason Arday, are currently led at department level,” she said. “I note that Durham and Glasgow universities have announced that they are also investigating the circumstances surrounding the appointment of Jason Arday to academic posts there.”

However, academics at Cambridge said Prentice’s description of the appointment process was “nonsensical”, and Arday’s appointment had been made by a separate board of electors chaired by a representative of the university’s leadership.

While Glasgow has announced its own investigation into Arday’s selection, Durham University declined to endorse Prentice’s comments.

A spokesperson for Durham said: “Since the recent emergence of questions relating to the circumstances surrounding Jason Arday’s appointment to a chair at Cambridge University, we have looked into his appointment to a junior academic role at Durham in 2019. He was appointed following a standard, competitive recruitment process in which he met published criteria for the role.

“He left Durham over four years ago and no longer has any formal association with us. Allegations about plagiarism in his PhD did not surface until after he had left Durham.”

Prentice also recognised the effect of the controversy on other black and minority ethnic academics at Cambridge, after some had described the atmosphere as toxic.

She said: “In light of the focus on this troubling case and the widespread commentary around it, I want to be very clear that we do not need the outcomes of an investigation to clearly and loudly affirm that our staff of colour are highly valued, for their scholarship, their achievements and the contributions they make to the institution and the wider academic community.

“This particular case is an aberration and should not be used to cast aspersions on their work or the legitimacy of their roles at Cambridge.

“The desire for quick answers and rapid responses is understandable, but we need to allow these reviews to complete their work effectively so we can learn from any mistakes and, where needed, improve our processes.”

Prentice joined Cambridge from Princeton University in 2023, several months after Arday’s appointment.

Reporting from The Guardian contributed to this story.