Europe · 27 August, 2026 · 2 min read
Bill White Says He Reinstated Nathan Cofnas at Ghent University After Jason Arday Suicide
Ghent University reinstated Nathan Cofnas to work after suspension following Jason Arday's death The university had him work remotely for three months and removed teaching duties
22 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on France Police Clash With Students as 564 Schools Face Disruptions and Fires →
6 of 8 outlets skipped it: ghent ordered Cofnas not to teach and to work remotely for three months.
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Cofnas reinstated after outcry
The US ambassador to Belgium, Bill White, said on social media that he brokered an “amicable agreement” to reinstate academic Nathan Cofnas at Ghent University after Cambridge sociology professor Jason Arday committed suicide.
White wrote that “I am – and the United States is – happy Nathan Cofnas is back to work doing what @ugent hired him to do,” in a post on X late Thursday (27 August).
White also said he had spoken with all parties and that “Ghent University and Nathan Cofnas have amicably reached an agreement to lift Mr. Cofnas' suspension, which will enable him to complete his one-year postdoctoral appointment.”
A Ghent university employee told EUobserver in an email that the investigation into Cofnas was still ongoing and that the ambassador had no real influence in lifting the suspension.
Peers question his expertise
At Ghent University, professors challenged Nathan Cofnas’s qualifications for a postdoctoral research role “on the future of liberalism,” saying they believed it was “improbable” he was the best candidate. The Guardian reported that a 19-page statement from Ghent’s department of philosophy and moral sciences said “We observe only very limited expertise regarding the subjects that are central to the project: political philosophy, liberalism and demography.”
The same statement said “The formulated requirement in the job posting of a ‘strong research interest in liberalism’ is not borne out by Cofnas’ publication record or the rest of his CV.” The Guardian also described Jason Arday as found dead on 14 August after weeks of intense media scrutiny following Cofnas’s plagiarism allegations, which “have not been formally proven.”
Disciplinary limits and debate
Ghent University imposed a three-month mandatory remote working order on Nathan Cofnas and removed his teaching duties, with the university stating that during the period he is not permitted to carry out any teaching activities. VRT reported that the university’s notice said all research activities must “remain strictly limited to the research topics for which he was appointed,” and that the measure followed Cofnas’s preventive suspension on 20 August.
VRT also quoted Ghent University’s rector Petra De Sutter defending the approach after international criticism, saying “It would be inconsistent to, on the one hand, guarantee the confidentiality of the proceedings and, on the other, to prejudge the arguments or the possible outcome through the media.” In parallel, the EUobserver account of Bill White’s intervention described Ghent University’s rector Petra De Sutter as having suspended Cofnas after events that led to Arday’s death, while a Ghent employee said the investigation remained ongoing.