Nathan Cofnas, the academic who exposed Cambridge University Sociology professor Jason Arday’s plagiarism, faced objections from fellow academics at Ghent University over his appointment to a postdoctoral research role.
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Cofnas joined the Belgian university in March for a project examining “the future of liberalism”. Soon after his appointment, professors of philosophy and moral sciences department raised questions about his suitability for the role, including his academic expertise and the process through which he was selected, The Guardian reported.
The department submitted a 19-page statement to the university’s rector and the dean of the relevant faculty on May 28, after its council approved the document as its official position on the appointment on May 27.
The academics questioned whether Cofnas had been the strongest candidate among 14 applicants. They said his background showed “very limited expertise” in political philosophy, liberalism and demography, which they identified as central to the research project.
They also said the job requirement for a “strong research interest in liberalism” was not reflected in his publication record or CV.
The concerns went beyond Cofnas's academic qualifications. The department said his appointment could hurt the university because of views associated with racial pseudoscience and what it described as a “far-right agenda”.
Academics also questioned his work on intelligence, saying Cofnas had not conducted research in the field himself even though he had publicly written about intelligence and racial differences.
“Cofnas himself has never conducted intelligence research, nor is such research envisaged within the project for which he was hired,” the department said.
It added that views expressed by Cofnas in blog posts were “not based on his own scientific research” and were “simply not based on sound research”.
Opposition to the appointment had emerged earlier. An email sent to Ghent's university leaders and governors in March was signed by 48 department staff, 73 students and 367 academics from Ghent and other universities. The signatories expressed “astonishment and indignation” over Cofnas's appointment.
The philosophy department's statement also alleged that there had been insufficient transparency in the hiring process. Academics said a “large majority” suspected the appointment was “an ideological choice … decided in advance”.
Cofnas has previously attracted attention for his views on race and intelligence. In a 2023 post on X (formerly Twitter), he wrote: “There are obviously personality differences between Jews and non-Jews … On average, Jews are better than gentiles at capitalising on their [general intelligence].”
