The Guardian view on Jason Arday: diversity advocates must stand firm
Jason Arday’s resignation from the University of Cambridge on Wednesday marked a full stop of sorts, but not an end to the furore surrounding his promotion to a professorship at the age of 37. Academic colleagues have demanded, with justification, that an investigation into his appointment to the faculty of education in 2023, and the subsequent fallout, should include people from outside the university. Allegations of plagiarism and claims made by Mr Arday about his background, career and charity fundraising remain under scrutiny. The memoir for which he said he had received a huge advance, billed as a triumph over adversity including an early autism diagnosis, is scheduled to appear later this month. His publisher, Simon & Schuster, ought to pause while inquiries run their course.
But several things are already clear. By failing to do due diligence on Mr Arday before launching him, with fanfare, as Cambridge’s youngest-ever black professor, and through its inadequate response to later challenges, the university has done a serious disservice to black and neurodivergent scholars more widely. It has also set back the efforts of all the people and groups who have worked in good faith, over many years, to boost the presence of underrepresented groups in influential positions.
Such imbalances, which remain pronounced in many areas of public life, including academia, are the consequence of prejudices and discrimination, as well as unequal access to resources and opportunities. The glee with which some rightwingers have pounced on Mr Arday’s fall from grace is not solely due to relish in his exposure – or the angst among liberals that this provokes. It is because they want to stoke a sense of grievance among white supporters, and to pour scorn on diversity initiatives across the board.
Such efforts to discredit policies aimed at supporting autistic people, and those from ethnic minorities, to achieve their full potential must be strenuously resisted. With hindsight, it seems extraordinary that details of Mr Arday’s remarkable life story were not examined sooner. He was wrong to report a Times Higher Education journalist, Jack Grove, to the police, on the basis of a series of emailed queries. But Mr Arday is an individual. While there are lessons to be learned from his over-hasty ascent, the answer is not to give up on equity as a goal.
The scandal comes at a bad time in more ways than one. Rightwing parties continue to make hostility to migrants part of their core offer to voters, and will seek to capitalise on what will be presented as “Black Lives Matter gone mad”. But consequences within the academy must be taken seriously too. Universities are under massive strain owing to funding shortfalls, which have been worsened by new limits and levies on international students. Some are at risk of going bust, and the reputational blow to the sector inflicted by this scandal can only make the situation worse.
The discipline of sociology, already a target of intellectual conservatives who dislike its radical roots, may also see adverse effects, as its standards are questioned. Needless to say, Cambridge colleges will be relatively insulated from such collateral damage, which is likely to be most severe at less wealthy universities with less privileged intakes. This is a grim irony, and one that should prompt serious self-reflection by an elite institution that should have known better than to be so careless.
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Reporting from The Guardian contributed to this story.
