In Jason Arday, Cambridge is discovering the dangers of DEIThe row over Jason Arday, Cambridge’s “youngest black professor”, raises serious questions about the corrosive role Diversity, Equality & Inclusion (DEI) has come to play in institutions, businesses and society at large, says Ike IjehPlagiarism is older than Ancient Greece but, unlike imitation, it is the least sincere form of flattery. However, until the Professor Jason Arday row at Cambridge, it was not necessarily considered to be a function of racism either. In 2023 Cambridge hailed Arday (then 37) as its “youngest black professor”, an appointment made on the basis of academic credentials whose authenticity has now been called into question. Delegitimising minority achievementThe second reaction has been to claim that Arday only acquired his position as a result of DEI. DEI’s original core intentions – to achieve equality throughout society by advancing the prospects of under-represented groups – were good ones.