UGent suspends controversial researcher after death of Cambridge professor

“The university has formally notified the staff member concerned of the launch of a preliminary disciplinary investigation,” Ghent University said in a brief statement. “Pending the results, the staff member has been suspended as a precautionary measure. We cannot comment further on the specific details or the underlying arguments in order to safeguard confidentiality.”

Cofnas - an outspoken opponent of equal opportunities policies - broke the news himself via X. “I was just suspended by Ghent University. They will almost certainly fire me,” he wrote. “The decision was made by rector Petra De Sutter, a former leader of the Green Party.”

UGent had already announced that it would take “appropriate action” in response to Cofnas’s statements about Arday, the youngest ever black professor at Cambridge. Cofnas ran his PhD thesis through plagiarism software and blogged about his findings last month, leading to widespread public scrutiny of Arday’s backstory and counterclaims of racism.

Arday writes in his memoir, recently published in the US, that he was non-verbal until the age of 11 and did not learn to read or write until he was 18. He was appointed Professor of Sociology of Education at Cambridge when he was 37 in 2023. He denied the allegation ⁠of ​plagiarism but ​acknowledged making mistakes.

Shortly before Arday’s resignation on 5 August, Cambridge had announced that his appointment would be investigated. Arday referred to “unrelenting public attention” in his resignation announcement. The 41-year-old was found dead at his London home a week later.

Cofnas is an American researcher who describes himself as a “race realist”. He was forced to leave Cambridge’s Emmanuel College in 2024, partly following allegations of racism.