Cambridge college cuts ties with philosophy fellow who sparked race row

A college at the University of Cambridge has cut ties with a philosophy fellow who sparked a race row.

Nathan Cofnas, an early career research fellow in the Faculty of Philosophy, is reported to have had his research affiliation with Emmanuel College terminated.

The lecturer had said that in a meritocracy, “blacks would disappear from almost all high-profile positions outside of sports and entertainment” and dismissed racial equality as “based on lies”.

In a controversial blog post, he added: “In a meritocracy, Harvard faculty would be recruited from the best of the best students, which means the number of black professors would approach 0 per cent.”

According to Varsity, Cambridge’s student newspaper, Emmanuel’s Faculty of Philosophy told Mr Cofnas in a letter on April 5 that it had decided to end its relationship with him.

“The committee first considered the meaning of the blog and concluded that it amounted to, or could reasonably be construed as amounting to, a rejection of diversity, equality, and inclusion policies,” the newspaper quoted the letter as saying.

“The committee concluded that the core mission of the college was to achieve educational excellence and that diversity and inclusion were inseparable from that. The ideas promoted by the blog therefore represented a challenge to the college’s core values and mission.”

‘Commitment to freedom’

When the blog posts emerged in February, Doug Chalmers, master of the college, told students that “we retain our commitment to freedom of thought and expression” and accepted Mr Cofnas’s “academic right, as enshrined by law, to write about his views”.

The master added: “Were the University of Cambridge to dismiss Cofnas, it would sound a warning to students and academics everywhere: when it comes to controversial topics, even the world’s most renowned universities can no longer be relied upon to stand by their commitment to defend freedom of thought and discussion.”

But Lord Woolley, the principal of Cambridge’s Homerton College, told students: “I see it for what it is. Abhorrent racism, masquerading as pseudo-intellect... There is no place for bigots in institutions like this.”

Students protested against the fellow remaining on the college payroll and 1,200 people signed a petition in 2022, when he was first appointed, to sack him from his post, which is funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

That came after a separate row over a 2019 article by Mr Cofnas claiming that there were “gaps” in IQ between different racial groups.

Prof Bhaskar Vira, Cambridge’s pro-vice-chancellor for education, said in February that “everyone at Cambridge has earned their place on merit”, in response to the row.

Founded in 1584, Emmanuel College counts the novelist Hugh Walpole, the mathematician John Wallis and John Harvard, one of the founders of Harvard College, among its alumni.

The Telegraph has contacted Emmanuel College and Mr Cofnas for comment.