Following his retirement as a Cambridge professor due to accusations of plagiarism and concerns about some of his accomplishments, Jason Arday has canceled a presentation in London next month.
According to the organization, Arday’s speech at the Royal Geographical Society conference has been “cancelled at the request of the speaker.”
Additionally, he is no longer mentioned on the websites of two other events that are planned for the upcoming months.
Although he acknowledged mistakes in his early work, Arday—who was appointed Cambridge’s youngest black professor in 2023—stated that he was not a “liar” and that the latest controversy had resulted in “an unrelenting level of public scrutiny and personal attack.”
On September 2, he was scheduled to participate in a “fireside chat” at the Royal Geographical Society’s conference in London.
The website no longer lists Arday’s September 18 engagement at Edinburgh’s Topping & Company bookstore, which has apparently also been canceled. The store refused to comment.
Additionally, he was scheduled to attend the Arizona Women’s Board Authors’ Luncheon on October 24. However, the event’s website no longer lists him as a guest.
Upcoming events cancelled or changed
He is still scheduled to talk at the November Stroud Book Festival in Gloucestershire.
Arday’s resignation as a publication director and trustee of the British Sociological Association (BSA). The national organization for sociology scholars, was reported by News on Sunday.
The BSA informed the newsit would soon update its website to reflect the change. Earlier this year, Arday gave a speech to the BSA, stating that black academics were being targeted in “evil” ways.
It was one of Arday’s many positions in different organizations.
Arday resigns from British Sociological Association role
He is listed as a member of the “academic reference advisory group” of the NHS Race and Health Observatory. Which investigates racial and ethnic disparities in health, citing his out-of-date Cambridge title.
When Cambridge appointed Arday, it also designated him a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
When asked if they were still in their current positions, neither organization responded.
Arday also served as an expert on the Welsh Government’s anti-racism external accountability committee and on ITV’s Cultural Advisory Council, however both positions terminated earlier this year.
Other roles linked to Arday
Last week, a statement supporting Arday and denouncing “racialised, hyper-aggressive media scrutiny” was made by the Runnymede Trust think tank, for whom he served as a trustee until 2024.
Great and Unfortunate Things, Arday’s book, is scheduled to be released in the US on Tuesday and the UK on August 27.
The book chronicles his life from being non-verbal until he was eleven years old and unable to read or write until he was eighteen.
He subsequently had a number of “improbable triumphs and heartbreaking setbacks” until being hired as a professor of sociology of education at Cambridge.
Questions surrounding Arday's academic and personal claims
Arday claimed the “personal cost” of the scrutiny had grown “too great” and announced his resignation on the same day.
He stated that: “While criticism is an inevitable part of academic life, what I have experienced has gone far beyond scholarly disagreement.
“My loved ones and I have suffered greatly as a result of the constant allegations, rumors, and public criticism.”
His resignation, he said, should not be seen as “acceptance of the narratives that have surrounded me.”
