Renowned scholar teaches students to look at the present through the eyes of the past

WILLIAM CHESTER JORDAN ’69

Ripon College’s multifaceted approach allowed William Chester Jordan ’69 to study in numerous areas and ultimately major in history, Russian and mathematics. The determination to become an educator was paramount. “The truth is that the life of the mind that had always intrigued me and appealed to me — the idea of becoming a professor, trying to create new knowledge and impart it to young and supple minds in an academic atmosphere” was appealing, he says.

He received a Ph.D. in history from Princeton University and joined the faculty in 1973, where he currently serves as the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History.

Jordan is highly regarded in his field, and he specializes in medieval studies of the sixth through 14th centuries in Europe. He has published extensively on such topics as the Great Famine of northern Europe, the reign of Louis IX of France and the Crusades.

His work has been awarded the Haskins Medal by the Medieval Academy of America.

Leadership roles include serving as a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America, American Philosophical Society and American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and as president of the American Catholic Historical Association.

At Ripon College, he is a member of the Board of Trustees and has received the Distinguished Alumni Citation.

Jordan says his position at Princeton is a perfect fit for him. He enjoys teaching, doing research and publishing to leave his work for future generations. Dozens of his former Ph.D. students serve as researchers at eminent colleges and universities around the world.

“I love what I do, and that’s the bottom line,” he says.

Bill Jordan is a towering figure in international medieval studies, not just in the U.S. His research has been characterized by its range of subjects, originality of enquiry, forensic intensity of source criticism, subtlety of argument, objectivity of interpretation and grace of exposition. His scholarship has redefined whole areas of our understanding of high medieval politics, culture and society, especially in France, including interfaith relations. Throughout, his work is marked by quiet intellectual integrity, generosity of spirit and unsentimental human sympathy. He is one of the most admired historians of his generation.”

Christopher Tyerman, Professor of the History of the Crusades, University of Oxford