Cambridge University has appointed Jason Beer KC, lead counsel to the post office Horizon inquiry, to head an independent review of its involvement with the late academic Jason Arday. The review will assess how the university handled allegations of research and other misconduct before Arday resigned, as well as his recruitment and the support he received as Cambridge’s youngest Black professor, appointed at 37.
Beer will also examine the university’s procedures for appointing Arday and for protecting academics facing significant public and media scrutiny. He said the review would consider whether Cambridge’s policies were reasonable, how they worked in practice, who made decisions and whether concerns were properly addressed. He will also assess whether wider institutional changes are needed.
Arday, a professor of the sociology of education, died at his home in south London after facing widely publicised allegations of plagiarism and inconsistencies in statements about his career. He denied the plagiarism allegations. Cambridge announced on 5 August that it would investigate his academic qualifications; Arday resigned hours later and was found dead nine days afterwards.
The review is the second independent examination of Cambridge’s involvement with Arday. In September, the university appointed Nazir Afzal, a former chief crown prosecutor for north-west England, to review the support given to Arday in the period immediately before his death.
Beer said he hoped people with relevant knowledge or experience would contribute, and pledged to treat participants sensitively, respect confidentiality and ensure fairness to anyone whose actions are examined. Cambridge vice-chancellor Deborah Prentice said Beer would bring extensive experience leading complex reviews and inquiries, and welcomed the independent experts he had assembled to assist him.
Sources: The Guardian Education.