In Conversation with Jason Arday

As part of our Black History Month celebrations we are excited to welcome Jason Arday on to campus to talk about his personal story of becoming the youngest Black person ever appointed to a professorship at Cambridge; the challenges he has faced, how he overcame them and why it is so important for him to use his platform to inspire more people from underrepresented backgrounds into higher education. Jason will also talk about his work exploring the roots of structural racism in higher education.

Jason Arday is Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Cambridge, Faculty of Education. Previously, Jason was Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Glasgow in the School of Education, College of Social Sciences.

Professor Arday has also held the position of Associate Professor in Sociology at Durham University in the Department of Sociology and Deputy Executive Dean for People and Culture in the Faculty of Social Science and Health. He is a Visiting Professor at The Ohio State University in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, University of Glasgow in the School of Education and an Honorary Professor at Durham University in the Department of Sociology.

He is a Trustee of the Runnymede Trust, the UK’s leading Race Equality Thinktank and the British Sociological Association (BSA). Jason sits on the Centre for Labour and Social Studies (CLASS) National Advisory Panel, the NHS Race and Health Observatory Academic Reference Group and the ITV Cultural Advisory Council.

Professor Arday’s research focuses on the areas of race and higher education, intersectionality and education, mental health and education, neurodiversity and cultural studies.

In March 2023, at the age of 37, his historic appointment at Cambridge made him one of the youngest people ever appointed to a full Professorship at Oxbridge.