Nathan Cofnas, the US academic who raised plagiarism allegations against late former Cambridge professor Jason Arday, has been suspended by Ghent University in Belgium.
Cofnas said on Thursday that the university had suspended him and that he was under investigation for discrimination against Arday.
“I was just suspended by Ghent University. They will almost certainly fire me,” Cofnas wrote on X. In an earlier post, he said he was “under investigation by my university for discriminating against Arday”.
Ghent University confirmed that it had suspended Cofnas “as a precautionary measure” while it conducts a preliminary disciplinary investigation. The university did not provide details about the allegations against him, saying it could not comment further to protect the confidentiality of its personnel records and disciplinary proceedings.
Arday, who was once described as Cambridge’s youngest Black professor, was found dead in London on Friday at the age of 41. His death came days after he resigned from the University of Cambridge.
Arday had denied plagiarism allegations but acknowledged that he had made mistakes.
Cofnas said in a July 21 post on his Substack page that a source at Cambridge had contacted him with allegations of plagiarism involving Arday. He said he would not reveal the identity of the source.
The allegations attracted widespread media attention and led to public scrutiny of other aspects of Arday’s career and personal life. Before his death, Arday repeatedly said that the public criticism was affecting him and his family.
His family said after his death that he had been subjected to misinformation and harassment.
Cofnas had also faced controversy during his academic career. Cambridge University’s Emmanuel College ended its association with him after some students raised concerns about posts on his blog.
In those posts, Cofnas argued that in a meritocracy, “blacks would disappear from almost all high-profile positions outside of sports and entertainment.” Cofnas has denied being racist and is involved in a legal dispute with Emmanuel College.
Thousands of people attended a vigil in central London on Monday to honour Arday.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham described Arday’s death as “a tragedy on so many levels” and said it should be a moment for reflection.
