Former Cambridge Professor Jason Arday found dead at 41

Former Cambridge professor Jason Arday has died unexpectedly at the age of 41 after being found unresponsive at a property in Battersea, south London.

Arday was discovered on Friday, August 14, 2026. Emergency services were called shortly after 3pm, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to the Metropolitan Police, officers responded to a call from the London Ambulance Service at 3:12pm. His family has been notified and is receiving support from police.

The Met said Arday’s death is currently considered unexpected but there are no indications that it was suspicious. Detectives from the Central South Command Unit are handling the investigation, while a file will be submitted to the coroner.

The London Ambulance Service said its initial call came at 3:06pm. It dispatched an ambulance, an advanced paramedic in a fast-response vehicle and a specialist Hazardous Area Response Team to the address.

A police cordon was placed around the property as officers continued their inquiries.

Arday, who was born in 1985, was raised in Battersea and began his education locally. He later studied education, earning a PhD from Liverpool John Moores University, and went on to work at several universities, including Roehampton, Durham and Glasgow.

At the University of Glasgow, he became professor of sociology of education in 2021. He subsequently joined the University of Cambridge, where he became its youngest-ever Black professor.

His time at Cambridge ended on August 5, when he resigned as professor of sociology of education following allegations of plagiarism. The university had announced an investigation into his appointment and tenure, as well as a wider review of its procedures for recruiting senior academics.

Arday said he stepped down because of the “unrelenting level of public scrutiny”.

His memoir, Great and Unfortunate Things, was released in the United States earlier this week and is expected to reach UK readers on August 27.

Paying tribute, Cambridge vice-chancellor Prof Deborah Prentice said the university was “desperately saddened” by the news and extended her sympathies to Arday’s family and friends.