A renowned sociologist who was unable to read or write until the age of 18, and was working part-time in Sainsbury’s less than eight years ago, is to become the youngest black professor ever appointed at the University of Cambridge.
Prof Jason Arday, 37, is a highly respected scholar of race, inequality and education, yet at three years old he was diagnosed with global development delay and autism spectrum disorder, and he did not learn to speak until he was 11.
Next month he will take up the role of professor of sociology of education at Cambridge, and he hopes his extraordinary story will inspire others from under-represented backgrounds to progress into higher education.
Arday will be building on his earlier work at the universities of Durham and Glasgow, addressing the paucity of black and minority ethnic people in higher education, their under-representation in academic careers, and the challenge of creating more equitable educational experiences and outcomes for all.
“My work focuses primarily on how we can open doors to more people from disadvantaged backgrounds and truly democratise higher education,” he said. “Hopefully being in a place like Cambridge will provide me with the leverage to lead that agenda nationally and globally.”
