Academia has a racism problem

The death of Cambridge professor Jason Arday has reignited the debate about racism in academia. Yeşim Topuz asks where legitimate scholarly criticism ends and hostile, dehumanizing pressure begins.

Academia has a racism problem. Here, I said it. But I am neither the first nor the only one to say that. Studies have shown how racism continues to be an issue in the academic field even with the implementation of policies that are supposed to combat it. Over the years, professors of color have come out to share their experiences.

The tragic death of Jason Arday has brought this conversation surrounding racism in academia back into the spotlight and increased public scrutiny. Earlier this year, Arday, a professor of sociology of education at Cambridge, was accused of plagiarism by Nathan Cofnas, an academic at Ghent University known for describing himself as a ‘race-realist’.

After the allegations became public, Arday faced growing pressure and media attention. The exact merits and scope of the plagiarism allegations remain contested, leaving open the question of whether the critique was legitimate academic oversight or a racially motivated attack. The controversies around the accusation, the public reaction, and the tragic outcome have added complexity and urgency to the broader conversation.

Regardless of the initial intent, the escalation was swift and unforgiving. Arday faced relentless media scrutiny, resigned from his post, and was found dead just nine days later.

In the fallout, Ghent University suspended Cofnas, prompting multiple academics to come out in support of Cofnas, emphasizing ‘academic freedom’. According to them, Ghent University ‘appears to be treating threats to academic freedom, whether from its own staff claiming distress or from external actors announcing boycotts, as grounds for disciplining the very individual targeted by those threats.’

Yet, an opposing letter by his own Ghent colleagues points out that concerns about Cofnas long predate the Arday case – citing statements made on Cofnas’ blog and in podcast appearances as violations of the university’s code of ethics, rather than retaliatory censorship.

Legitimate scholarly critique is essential, but academic freedom should not be able to serve as a blanket shield for disproportionate campaigns that compromise an individual’s safety, mental well-being and dignity.

When dozens of scholars, including faculty from Dutch universities such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Leiden, sign a petition framing this tragic situation purely as an issue of free expression, it signals a troubling disconnect. Universities, after all, do maintain a ‘duty of care’ with their staff as well as students, to protect their communities from hostile, dehumanizing pressure.

We must ask what environment this creates for scholars of color in our lecture halls and research centers. Academic freedom is vital, but potentially weaponizing it to normalize hostility undermines the integrity and safety of the university community as a whole.