Jason Arday accuser given three-month teaching ban but can continue research

Nathan Cofnas told by Ghent University to work remotely as US ambassador claims credit for lifting of suspension 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. Cofnas, an American academic, was suspended from his postdoctoral research position at the Belgian institution earlier this month pending a “preliminary investigation” launched after Arday’s death. Ghent did not name Cofnas but has since confirmed that 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