Jason Arday: Youngest black person becomes Professor at University of Cambridge

Jason Arday is about to become the youngest black person to hold a professorship at the University of Cambridge at the age of 37. He has been appointed as a Professor of the Sociology of Education. There are only five other black professors at this University.

The UK resident Jason Arday was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and global development delay in his younger days. He did not learn to speak until the age of 11 and did not learn to read or write until 18.

Arday was informed eight years ago that he would probably need to live in an assisted living facility. That was something the man refused to do. 

Arday was raised in Clapham, a neighbourhood in southwest London. He used to write his long-term goals on the wall of his mother’s bedroom. He said he would like to “work at Oxford or Cambridge.”

After receiving multiple rejections, he earned two master’s qualifications. He got a degree in actual training and schooling review from the College of Surrey. In 2016, he graduated with a PhD from Liverpool John Moores University. 

After securing employment at the University of Glasgow’s School of Education, he became the youngest professor in the United Kingdom and published his first academic paper in 2018. Since then, he has authored several books and chapters of academic works. He admitted that he never received instruction in academic writing from a mentor.

Arday is also a charitable individual. At the age of 17, he began raising funds for various charities. As a fundraiser for a children’s hospice program, Arday ran thirty marathons in 35 days in 2010. 

In Cambridge, England, the University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university. Cambridge is the third oldest University, established in 1209 and received a royal charter in 1231 from King Henry III. The main aim of the University of Cambridge is to contribute to society through education, learning and research at the highest international level.