LONDON (AP) — Britons who saw Professor Jason Arday’s life and death dissected by weeks of headlines covering allegations about his academic qualifications and personal accomplishments can now read his version of the story.
Simon & Schuster will on Thursday publish Arday’s memoir “Great and Unfortunate Things,” which tells the story of how an autistic boy who was non-verbal as a child and illiterate until his late teens grew up to be the youngest Black
professor in the history of Cambridge University.
The book’s release comes less than two weeks after Arday, 41, was found dead at his apartment in London following relentless media coverage about allegations that his academic work was bolstered by plagiarism and that he exaggerated his athletic and fundraising achievements. The memoir was published earlier this month in the U.S.
Simon & Schuster said it decided to publish the book in accordance with his family’s wishes. The publisher said it would have no further comment about the book at this time.
“To the very end, Jason was clear that he wanted his memoir to be published, and it is only right that we honor his wishes," the family said in a statement released by Simon & Schuster.
“There has been so much that has been written and said about our beloved brother, son, father, partner and uncle, mostly by people who don’t know the truth of what he experienced, and we experienced as a family, or what an extraordinary person he was.”
Arday’s death on Aug. 14 has sparked recriminations over who was responsible.
Cambridge has been criticized for elevating Arday too quickly in a rush to promote diversity, despite red flags about his qualifications. The news media has been targeted for driving the professor to despair with a barrage of coverage that his supporters say was out of proportion to what a white scholar charged with similar mistakes would have faced.
Scrutiny of the memoir increased following the controversy, with British newspapers noting that some of the running and fundraising accomplishments he previously touted had been left out of the book. For example, an advance copy of the book doesn’t mention his claim that he once ran 600 miles in six days to raise money for charity.
In an interview with the Times of London that was published July 31, Arday acknowledged that he had made mistakes, which he attributed to his autism and a lack of oversight early in his career. But he rejected accusations that he was “a liar and a fantasist and an academic fraud,” saying they were motivated by “racism and ableism.”
Arday, a sociologist, first rose to prominence when Cambridge announced his appointment in 2023, saying he was a “respected scholar” whose work focused on increasing the number of people from minority ethnic backgrounds who pursued higher education.
Questions about his academic qualifications began attracting public attention in mid-July after British newspapers picked up plagiarism allegations published by a white researcher who has been critical of “diversity, equity and inclusion programs.”
Cambridge initially stood by Arday, saying the plagiarism allegations had been investigated and determined to be unfounded. But on Aug. 5, the university announced that it had opened an investigation into Arday’s appointment after receiving “new information” about his qualifications and honorary appointments.
News coverage of Arday’s story didn’t stop, and he died nine days later.
“We are happy to allow the book to speak for itself and won’t comment further on its content,” the family said in their statement. “The family is still in shock and we are grieving. We call upon the media to give the family the space it needs to come to terms with this terrible loss."
