Jason Adey, former Cambridge University professor, carries the Olympic torch at the 2012 London Games. [AP]
Jason Adey, former Cambridge University professor, carries the Olympic torch at the 2012 London Games. [AP]

Jason Adey, 41, a sociology of education professor who became Cambridge University's youngest Black professor, has stepped down amid allegations of plagiarism and inflated research achievements.

According to the BBC and The Times, Adey resigned Wednesday night, moments after Cambridge announced it was launching a probe into potential misconduct on his part.

In a statement released through the Good Law Project, a civil society organization that had supported him, Adey said the "relentless allegations, speculation and public condemnation have caused deep harm to me and those I love."

Adey was appointed Cambridge's youngest Black professor in 2023 at the age of 37, drawing wide attention. His personal story — diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and global developmental delay as a child, unable to speak properly until age 11 and unable to read or write until age 18 — made him a symbol of triumph over adversity.

He began his career as a physical education teacher before earning a doctorate from Liverpool John Moores University. He then built his academic career at Durham and Glasgow before joining Cambridge, where his research focused on neurodiversity and race.

Questions about his academic record surfaced consistently after his rise to prominence.

On July 21, Nathan Cofnas, a former Cambridge researcher, raised plagiarism allegations against Adey. Three days later, The Times reported that an analysis of a 2015 paper by Adey found numerous passages identical or similar to a doctoral dissertation by Paula Zwozdiak-Myers published six years earlier.

Scrutiny also extended to his publicized social achievements. Claims that he ran 300 miles (about 482 kilometers) over three days for charity and raised around 5 million pounds ($6.3 million) were alleged to have been exaggerated.

The allegations quickly drew broader attention as they became entangled in debates over diversity, equity and inclusion. Supporters argued that Adey's record had faced unusually intense scrutiny because he was a prominent Black academic, while critics countered that allegations of academic misconduct should be examined regardless of a scholar's race.

Adey said racial bias had played a role in the attacks against him. In an interview with The Times on July 31, he said there had been "an orchestrated effort to bring me down since I arrived at Cambridge" and that he believed there had been ableism and racism. He stopped short of flatly denying the plagiarism allegations, however, citing his autism spectrum disorder and complex learning disabilities and adding that he had not received adequate supervision or academic support.

An online petition in support of Adey, which argued there may have been "an attempt to undermine an influential Black scholar," gathered more than 12,000 signatures. Voices from academia, meanwhile, maintained that scholars are not immune to questions about academic integrity and that any problems found should be acknowledged and corrected.


betterj@heraldcorp.com