Nathan Cofnas has been suspended from his postdoctoral philosophy position at Ghent University. In a July 21st post on his newsletter, Cofnas accused Jason Arday, professor of sociology of education at the University of Cambridge, of plagiarism and fraudulent scholarship, and accused the university of covering this up. Am international media blitz followed, with hundreds of articles reporting on Cofnas’s accusations and investigating Arday’s work and his autobiographical claims. Eventually, on August 5th, Cambridge announced it had decided to investigate Arday. Arday resigned shortly thereafter. The worldwide pile-on continued. On August 14th, Arday was found dead, presumably by suicide. This past Thursday, Cofnas stated on X.com that he had been suspended from Ghent University and is being investigated. Many had objected to his being hired there in the first place. Most of the text of the suspension letter can be found here. Among the main reasons for the suspension, according to the letter, are the following: Cofnas’s continued work on “race realism” and the “hereditarian revolution” at Ghent “are fundamentally inconsistent with the contractual scope of your employment and constitute a manifest violation of your professional obligations towards this University”. Apparently, when he applied for the position, Cofnas had described the research he’d be engaging in as being about “the future of liberalism” and “liberalism as a political doctrine emphasizing individual liberty and equality,” not about “race realism” and “hereditarianism”. Cofnas’s ideas conflict with the Ghent University Code of Ethics, which “prohibits spreading ideas of racial superiority or inciting racial segregation.” “The current situation poses a risk to the proper functioning of the university and to the psychosocial wellbeing of members of its community” Meanwhile, a Trump administration official has called for Cofnas to be reinstated, and others are defending him as a “whistleblower.” Since Arday’s tragic death, Cofnas has defended himself in assorted public writings and appearances (for example). Cofnas’s current suspension is until August 28th. UPDATE: I’ve been asked by a couple of readers to share my thoughts about this case. Here are some of them: 1. In Which I First Make It All About Me The other week, some person on the internet who has never met or conversed with me (though he has commented here at Daily..

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