BUZZ
The scholar credited with first exposing fabulist academic Jason Arday’s plagiarism and biographical embellishments has been suspended by his university in the wake of Arday’s apparent suicide.
“I was just suspended by Ghent University. They will almost certainly fire me,” Nathan Cofnas posted on X on Thursday. “The decision was made by rector Petra De Sutter, a former leader of the Green Party.”
Arday made history as the youngest black professor at the University of Cambridge. While questions and concerns were raised both internally and more recently in media reports regarding alleged sloppy research and plagiarism, his fall from grace is primarily linked to Cofnas’ July 21 Substack piece “DEI Fraud and Cover-Up at Cambridge.”
Cofnas details the plagiarism concerns over his dissertation as well as casts doubt on Arday’s far-fetched biographical claims.
Arday had described himself as non-verbal until age 11 and said he could not read or write until age 18. He also said he ran 30 marathons in 35 days, claims to have raised millions of dollars for charities in recent decades, and alleged he was sent bananas, bullets, and a pig’s head in the mail.
Ohio State University also recently debunked Arday’s claim he was once a visiting DEI professor at the school.
Arday, 41, was found dead just a few days after resigning. He had denied the allegations of plagiarism, but admitted to some mistakes.
Cofnas’ suspension announcement came just a day after Ghent posted a notice stating that the “death of Professor Arday should prompt reflection. We hope that lessons will be learnt from what has happened regarding the way we treat one another both within and outside the academic world, particularly when people become the subject of public controversy.”
On Thursday, the university added an addendum:
On 20 August 2026, Ghent University formally notified the staff member concerned of the launch of a preliminary disciplinary investigation. As part of this process, the university is assessing whether there are sufficient grounds to refer the case to the competent disciplinary body for further consideration. Pending this preliminary investigation, Ghent University has suspended the staff member as a precautionary measure. The university cannot comment further on the specific details of the disciplinary case or the underlying arguments, in order to safeguard the confidentiality of the personnel file and the disciplinary proceedings.
Supporters of Arday had chided Cofnas as a racist with views as a “race realist” who argues differences in intelligence are real. They accused Cofnas of a racially motivated takedown of Arday.
MORE: Ibram Kendi: Cambridge scholar Jason Arday was ‘lynched’ for being black
