The prestigious British University of Cambridge announced today that it will review the hiring process for senior academic positions, following the resignation of one of its professors who is accused of plagiarism.

Jason Arday, a 41-year-old professor of sociology of education, resigned on Wednesday after the university launched an investigation into his academic qualifications and honorary distinctions. Today, the university stated that it will continue its investigation into the circumstances under which Arday was hired, whom it had initially defended.

Arday had become the person of the day in 2023, when Cambridge hired him – the fourth top university in the world, according to the “Shanghai Ranking” evaluation. At the age of 37 he became the university’s youngest Black professor.

The findings of the investigation will be used to review and improve the way in which professors are hired for senior academic positions, the university stated.

In recent days press reports accused Arday that certain passages of his doctoral thesis were the product of plagiarism, something which he himself denies. His resignation “should not be misinterpreted as an acceptance” of the accusations, he noted.

In addition to the review of the hiring process, the University’s Research Policy Committee is also examining “several complaints regarding academic misconduct” against Arday. A group of professors also called for an “independent investigation” into his appointment, as Priyamvada Gopal, a professor of postcolonial studies, told the Guardian newspaper.

“The university bears a heavy share of responsibility for the grotesque racism that this entire affair has ignited, as well as for the damage caused both to the targeted individual and to Black professors,” she added.

An investigation by Liverpool John Moores University, where Arday completed his dissertation, had cleared him of the plagiarism accusations that had already been made last year.