A former student has alleged that David Arday, the sociologist appointed as professor of sociology of education at the University of Cambridge in 2023, responded to a request for academic feedback by accusing her of benefiting from "white privilege." The student, writing under the pseudonym Fiona Brown, described a shift in Arday’s demeanor during the interaction, characterizing him as “angry, but also scared.”
The episode highlights continuing controversy surrounding Arday’s appointment and his academic record. Arday resigned last Wednesday shortly after Cambridge announced an investigation into allegations that portions of his PhD thesis were plagiarized from another student. Critics have raised concerns that the university’s decision to hire Arday—its youngest-ever black professor—may have been influenced by a desire to bolster its diversity, equality, and inclusion efforts, amid questions about his qualifications and limited publication history.
In an account published on the news website UnHerd, the former student, who attended Roehampton University when Arday was a senior lecturer there beginning in late 2018, detailed what she described as unsatisfactory teaching practices. She said that Arday’s lectures often focused on discussions of song lyrics by artists such as Tinie Tempah, Eminem, and Beyoncé, including claims about the sexualization of black female artists by white men, without offering evidence or academic support.
She also criticized Arday’s classroom management, noting that he frequently arrived late or left early, and sometimes conducted only one hour of teaching despite a four-hour schedule. According to the student, Arday rarely used prepared materials such as PowerPoint slides and relied instead on broad personal opinions about racism, without connecting these to relevant academic theories or the curriculum for the "Youth Participation and Identities" module.
Regarding assessments, the student stated that Arday encouraged the class to select essay questions focused exclusively on ethnicity, despite multiple options being available. She received a mark of 70 percent on her essay—below her usual performance—and when she sought further feedback, she said Arday changed his demeanor and implied that her dissatisfaction stemmed from white privilege. The interaction reportedly ended with Arday departing shortly thereafter.
The student questioned why Arday’s previous academic institutions had not recognized what she termed a lack of substantive teaching ability before his Cambridge appointment. Arday was contacted for comment but had not responded at the time of publication.
The University of Cambridge has not publicly commented on the specific allegations from the former student but confirmed it was undertaking a formal investigation into Arday’s academic conduct.