A Belgian university suspended an American scholar on Thursday who initiated plagiarism accusations against Jason Ardey, a former Cambridge University professor who died last week after resigning due to the scandal.
Researcher Nathan Kofnas stated on social media platform X: 'I have just been suspended at Ghent University. I will almost certainly be fired.'
Ghent University, without naming Kofnas, announced in an official statement that it had launched a 'preliminary disciplinary investigation' into the postdoc involved in the turmoil and suspended him 'as a precautionary measure.'
The decision was made by Rector Petra De Sutter, a former leader of the Green Party.
AFP previously reported that the accusations against Ardey, who was 41 at the time, received wide coverage in the British press. Kofnas, who was dismissed from his Cambridge position in 2024, stated in July that he had discovered numerous instances of plagiarism in the professor's work.
British media and right-wing commentators seized upon this dispute, claiming that Ardey, who disputed these allegations, unfairly benefited from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
Ardey resigned on August 5 after the plagiarism allegations concerning parts of his doctoral dissertation were widely reported in the media. The scholar stated that he had 'reached the limit of what any person should reasonably expect to endure.'
Ardey was found dead at his home in London, which Mayor Andy Burnham, a Cambridge alumnus, called a 'tragedy on many levels.' Ardey's family blames a 'disinformation campaign.'