Nathan Cofnas, a postdoctoral researcher in Ghent University’s philosophy and moral sciences department, has been suspended from his role, less than a month after he accused late Cambridge professor Jason Arday of plagiarizing his thesis. The suspension was confirmed by Cofnas on Thursday, who also predicted he would "almost certainly" be fired. The move comes just days after Arday, the youngest black professor at Cambridge, was found unresponsive at his south London home and later pronounced dead at the age of 41.
Suspension as a Precautionary Measure
A Ghent University spokesperson said Cofnas’ suspension was a “precautionary measure,” without naming him, as part of a probe into “recent public statements made by a postdoctoral researcher.” The university is assessing “whether there are sufficient grounds to refer the case to the competent disciplinary body for further consideration,” the spokesperson added. They noted that 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.
Cofnas’ suspension was announced after the university’s rector, Petra de Sutter, released a statement saying Arday’s death “should prompt reflection.” De Sutter, formerly a member of the European Parliament for Belgium’s Green Party, said: “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.”
Plagiarism Allegations and Investigation
In his Substack entitled “DEI fraud and cover-up at Cambridge,” Cofnas detailed how he ran Arday’s PhD philosophy thesis through the plagiarism-detection tool “Copyleaks.” The tool found striking similarities with a thesis published by Paula Zwozdiak-Myers, who was studying at Brunel University in June 2009. An analysis later showed more than 100 passages in Arday’s thesis reportedly appeared to be similar to or lifted from Zwozdiak-Myers’ thesis.
Arday was hired by Cambridge “explicitly to advance the cause of racial diversity,” according to Cofnas, who was fired by the university in 2024 over controversial blog posts. The academic highlighted an article published by Cambridge which celebrated Arday’s appointment as a sociology professor in February 2023. In that piece, Arday said his work “focuses primarily on how we can open doors to more people from disadvantaged backgrounds and truly democratise higher education.” He added: “Hopefully being in a place like Cambridge will provide me with the leverage to lead that agenda nationally and globally.”
Additional Scrutiny and Resignation
Arday also came under scrutiny after falsely claiming he had worked at three universities. He claimed he was a visiting professor at Ohio State University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, though the school’s DEI office closed in 2025 and school staffers said they had no record of him as an employee, according to the National Review. He claimed he was a visiting professor at Glasgow University, a claim emphatically denied by the Scottish institution. He also listed working at Durham University as an honorary professor in the sociology department.
A Durham University spokesperson clarified to The Post: “After leaving Durham for another university, Jason had an unpaid academic association with Durham University in relation to ongoing project work. This type of arrangement is standard practice in academia.” Cambridge bosses said they had launched an investigation after the claims emerged, but Arday resigned from his role. In a letter on the Good Law Project, Arday said: “Sadly, the years since my appointment have also been marked by an unrelenting level of public scrutiny and personal attack. While criticism is an inevitable part of academic life, what I have experienced has gone far beyond scholarly disagreement. The relentless accusations, speculation and public commentary have taken a profound toll on me and on those I love.”
