Jason Arday, who is 37 years old, is set to become the youngest black professor ever appointed at Cambridge University. Arday, who was diagnosed with autism and global development delay, was unable to speak until the age of 11 and unable to read or write until the age of 18. His formative experiences included witnessing Nelson Mandela’s release from prison and South Africa’s 1995 Rugby World Cup victory. He was born and raised in Clapham, south-west London.
This motivated him to pursue a career in acting, and his mother was instrumental in developing his self-confidence and skills. In his late teens, Arday learned to read and write with the assistance of his mentor and friend, Sandro Sandri. He then studied Physical Education and Education Studies at the University of Surrey before becoming a PE teacher.
At the age of 22, he decided to pursue postgraduate study, and despite having no practical training or guidance, Arday worked as a PE lecturer by day and pursued his PhD at night. Since receiving his PhD in educational studies from Liverpool John Moores University in 2016, he has published one paper, become a senior lecturer at Roehampton University, an associate professor of sociology at Durham University, and a professor of sociology of education at the School of Education at the University of Glasgow.
Now, Arday will be a sociology of education professor at Cambridge University. His work focuses on enhancing the representation of ethnic minorities in higher education, and he hopes that this position will allow him to lead the agenda on a national and international scale. Arday believes that solidarity, understanding, and love are the best tools for making education more inclusive, and he is collaborating with Dr. Chantelle Lewis from the University of Oxford on his current research project.
The appointment of Arday is a step forward in diversifying higher education institutions throughout the United Kingdom. Arday hopes that his appointment will pave the way for more people from disadvantaged backgrounds to gain access to higher education, as there are currently only 155 black university professors out of a total of 23,000.
