The University of Cambridge is facing calls for an independent investigation into its recruitment of Professor Jason Arday, amid questions over whether concerns about the lack of diversity in elite universities influenced his appointment. However, Professor Priyamvada Gopal, a Cambridge professor of postcolonial studies and one of a group of academics calling for an independent investigation, said the university could not simply investigate itself. He rejected the suggestion that Black academics received preferential treatment had at any stage received preferential treatment from UK institutions. According to the latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, 14% of UK university professors are from an ethnic minority background. Black academics account for 1.13% of professors – about 240 to 270 people nationwide – while 26% of all UK academic staff are from an ethnic minority background.