U.S. academic suspended from Ghent University in Belgium after accusing former African-American Cambridge professor of plagiarism

(Central News Agency, Brussels, Comprehensive Foreign Reports on the 20th) Jason Arday, a former African-American professor at the University of Cambridge in the UK, was found dead last week after resigning amid a plagiarism scandal. The American scholar who took the lead in accusing him of plagiarism was suspended today by the University of Ghent in Belgium where he worked.

Agence France-Presse reported that researcher Nathan Cofnas posted on the social platform

Ghent University did not name Kovnas directly in its statement, but said it had launched a "preliminary disciplinary investigation" against a postdoctoral researcher involved in the incident and suspended him as a "precautionary measure."

When Alday was appointed in 2023, he became the youngest African-American professor in the history of Cambridge University. He was found dead on the 14th at the age of 41. Alday faced a barrage of accusations during his lifetime, including plagiarism of parts of his doctoral thesis and exaggeration of some of his personal achievements.

Alday, who was diagnosed with autism and other developmental disabilities as a child, has disputed the charges against him. However, he still resigned from his teaching position on August 5, writing in his resignation letter that he had "reached the limit of what any person could reasonably be expected to endure."

Plagiarism concerns about Alday first surfaced several years ago, but were ignored at the time, with a reporter abandoning further investigation after the professor threatened legal action.

However, Kovnas came forward last month and claimed that he had discovered multiple cases of plagiarism in Alday's work. The case subsequently escalated and triggered widespread media coverage in the United Kingdom and the United States.

The British media and right-wing commentators took advantage of the topic and claimed that Alday unfairly benefited from diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) policies.

Ghent University said it was currently "evaluating" whether there were sufficient grounds to initiate full disciplinary proceedings in the case.

Ghent University said in a statement yesterday that it was "shocked" by Aldai's death and "takes very seriously" the public statements made by its researchers about the former professor.

Ghent University President Petra De Sutter and Vice-President Herwig Reynaert stated in a statement: "Ghent University insists on respecting human dignity and rejects discrimination, hatred and racism."