Prof Jason Arday’s accuser Nathan Cofnas has been barred from teaching on Ghent University campus for three months but has been allowed to continue his research position.
Earlier this month Cofnas, an American academic, was suspended from his postdoctoral research position at the Belgian institution pending a “preliminary investigation” launched after Arday’s death.
Ghent did not name Cofnas but has since confirmed it has “imposed a disciplinary measure” on a staff member for three months, under which they were “required to work remotely and may not carry out any teaching”. Cofnas’s research activities in the role have been “strictly limited to the research topics for which the appointment was made”.
In a post on X, Cofnas said he was grateful to Ghent’s rector, Petra De Sutter, “for allowing me to stay”.
The US ambassador to Belgium, Bill White, who had criticised Cofnas’s suspension, claimed on his official X account that the university and Cofnas had “amicably reached an agreement” to lift the suspension, enabling the academic to complete his one-year appointment.
In a statement, Ghent said an inquiry was under way “to determine if further disciplinary action is warranted”. The university later confirmed it had been in contact with the US ambassador, who “provided further context regarding his statements on X”.
Cofnas’s role at Ghent has been mired in controversy. In May, Ghent’s philosophy department alleged to university leaders that Cofnas had “very limited expertise” for his role researching “the future of liberalism”, alleging he had a “far-right agenda”.
In July Cofnas accused Arday, a Cambridge sociologist, of plagiarism, alleging there were “serious questions” about his biographical claims. Arday was found dead on ۱۴ August. His family paid tribute to him as an “amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son”.
White, a Donald Trump supporter, donor and fundraiser, had called Cofnas’s suspension “truly unacceptable”, calling for De Sutter to immediately rescind it earlier this month.
On Friday, White wrote on his personal X account: “I just saved Belgium from a complete global media meltdown and well deserved spanking by @elonmusk and everyone by resolving the UGHENT Cofnas matter – quite quickly.”
The night before, Cofnas thanked White and the US state department for “defending American values” on X, adding: “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.”
“Anti-woke” Cofnas has been accused of promoting pseudoscientific ideas of racial difference in his online writings, and was reportedly among bloggers recommended to the Palantir founder, Peter Thiel, by a “race science” researcher.
Cofnas has also hit out at Trump and Maga in his writing, while claiming the US president’s executive orders against diversity, equity and inclusion in the US were a “cause for celebration”.
In a piece in April last year he said the Republican party had “degenerated into a low-IQ cult of personality”.
Hitting out at Trump’s tariffs, he said the effect “will be to halt the American economic juggernaut, discredit the anti-woke movement, pave the way for a leftwing populist … (and) stop the right’s momentum in other countries”.
In October, he wrote: “The right simply does not have the human capital to retake the institutions and run them effectively. The vast majority of intelligent, psychologically stable, and public-spirited Americans remain left and woke. The Trump administration’s war on universities, science, and data has only reinforced smart people’s identity as leftists.”
Asked by the Guardian if he stood by previous criticisms of Trump and Maga, Cofnas said: “I voted for Trump three times and I am still a registered Republican. I strongly criticised some Maga policies, particularly tariffs. There are other Maga policies that I support, such as interventions on behalf of free speech.”
Ghent University said it did “not wish to comment further on the controversy surrounding this matter … ongoing preliminary disciplinary inquiries must be allowed to proceed calmly, independently and with full respect for the rights of all those involved”.
