Arday Accuser Nathan Cofnas Says He Will Not Be Fired

Nathan Cofnas, the American postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University in Belgium who accused the late Cambridge professor Jason Arday of plagiarism, will not be fired, he announced on X Thursday.

“I am grateful to Rector Petra De Sutter for allowing me to stay at Ghent University,” Cofnas wrote. “I look forward to continuing to work on the project, ‘The Future of Liberalism,’ for 60% of my working time for the remainder of my one-year postdoc.”

Cofnas had been on administrative leave for about a week while the university investigated whether he discriminated against Arday and whether his work on “race realism” and the “hereditarian revolution” is “fundamentally inconsistent with the contractual scope of your employment,” according to the disciplinary notice shared online. During that time, more than 930 academics worldwide signed an open letter calling on Ghent not to punish Cofnas.

U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White publicly condemned Cofnas’s suspension last week and noted that the Trump administration would review “any relationships we have with Ghent University.” The university has received two ongoing grants from the Department of Defense worth a combined $869,000, Politico reported. White also posted on X Thursday about the university’s decision to lift Cofnas’s suspension. 

“After speaking with all parties, I am pleased to see that Ghent University and Nathan Cofnas have amicably reached an agreement to lift Mr. Cofnas’ suspension, which will enable him to complete his one-year postdoctoral appointment,” White wrote. “I look forward to working with Ghent University rector Petra De Sutter to continue the relationship between the university and the United States. I am grateful for her willingness to listen to voices calling for protecting academic freedom.” 

Cofnas thanked White in his post, writing, “It was beyond my imagination that such a person would take an interest in the fate of a postdoc. The Ambassador responded with great support which helped to bring about a just outcome.”

While the university may have lifted Cofnas’s suspension, it said in a web post that his disciplinary case is “ongoing.”

“Ghent University confirms that it has been in contact with the US Ambassador. The Ambassador provided further context regarding his statements on X. Ghent University informed him about the preliminary disciplinary inquiry, the confidentiality of the procedure and the measures that have been taken,” it said on its information page about the investigation.