Belgium’s Ghent University has suspended Nathan Cofnas, the controversial scholar whose blog accusing Jason Arday of plagiarism led to widespread public scrutiny of the late University of Cambridge professor’s academic record and personal achievements.
Ghent said in a statement that it has launched “a preliminary disciplinary investigation” into Cofnas, a postdoctoral researcher in its department of philosophy and moral sciences.
“As part of this process, the university is assessing whether there are sufficient grounds to refer the case to the competent disciplinary body for further consideration,” it said.
“Pending this preliminary investigation, Ghent University has suspended the staff member as a precautionary measure. The university cannot comment further on the specific details of the disciplinary case or the underlying arguments, in order to safeguard the confidentiality of the personnel file and the disciplinary proceedings.”
Last month Cofnas, a self-described “race realist”, accused Arday of plagiarising parts of his PhD thesis at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU).
