Philip Harding Jordan
From KCpedia
Sixteenth President of Kenyon College: 1975-1995
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Early Years
Philip Harding Jordan, Jr. was born June 2, 1931 in New York City. Jordan's father was a stockbroker, and he moved the family to New Jersey when Jordan was eight years old. There, Jordan graduated as valedictorian from Lawrenceville School, and went on to attend Princeton University. He graduated from Princeton summa cum laude in 1954 with a B.A. in philosophy. Jordan then enrolled at Yale University, where he received an M.A. and Ph.D in history. During his time at Yale, Jordan was an assistant in instruction and held University and Connecticut Society of Colonial Dames fellowships.
Road to Kenyon
After leaving Yale, Jordan accepted a position in the history department of Connecticut College, where he taught American and Modern European history. He was awarded the Salgo-Noren prize for excellence in teaching in 1965, and he entered the admistration of the college in 1968 as associate dean of academic affairs. After holding this position for a year, Jordan became dean of the faculty at Connecticut College until 1974.
Years at Kenyon
"Kenyon College's powers of self-renewal, our firm sense of tradition, our commitment to academic excellence, the quality of our residential life, the loyal service of our constituencies, the beauty of our setting - all these assure a bright future of accomplishment for the college in the tenure of a new president," spoke Jordan in his inaugural address. Certainly, Jordan's tenure was one of great accomplishment, due not only to Kenyon's powers, but to the powers of its president. Kenyon asked Jordan to become its sixteenth president in February, 1975 with the hope that his dedication to excellence in teaching and administration would bring Kenyon into a thriving new age. John P. Craine, chairman of Kenyon's Board of Trustees, described Jordan to the Kenyon community as "eminently well qualified to carry forward Kenyon's strong academic tradition." Just two months after officially becoming Kenyon's president, Jordan was named an Outstanding Educator of America and was nationally honored for his "talent as a teacher, his contributions to research, administrative abilities, civic service, and professional recognition." Early in his presidency, Jordan worked to expand the College fully to integrate women. In an article he wrote for the New York times in 1977, Jordan explained that "the leaders in the education of women must be the coeducational colleges, where women can play an active part in working out new roles, aspire to previously closed careers and assert themselves properly in the company of men." By that time, Kenyon's student body was 40% women. Jordan also oversaw the construction of Bolton Theater and Ernst Center, as well as the reconstruction of Rosse Hall. In the 1980s, Jordan began "The Campaign for Kenyon," raising over $36 million to expand Kenyon's faculty and build a new library. Through a $5.5 million grant from the Olin Foundation, at the time the largest gift ever given to Kenyon, Olin Library was completed in 1986. Of the buildings constructed in his tenure, Jordan has said: "I hope they harmonize. That was our whole purpose in doing this. The campus has a very strong and distinctive character, and any building that you consider has got to be in appropriate harmony with that character." The time of Jordan's administration also saw the increase of diversity of Kenyon's faculty and students, as well as the doubling of applicants, raising Kenyon's standards and giving it its high academic reputation. "If I were to say one thing about what I am most proud of, it would be the College's ability to adapt to change," said Jordan. The last years of Jordan's administration brought with them a focus on residential life and the construction of the Taft Cottages and renovation of Bexley Apartments. Jordan retired in 1995, after twenty years as Kenyon's president. At the time of Jordan's retirement, John. B. McCoy, chairman of Kenyon's Board of Trustees said of him: "Phil Jordan has demonstrated on a daily basis the characteristics of a great college president, as well as an intense affection for the institution he so ably led."
Life After Kenyon
When Jordan retired, he first resided in off-campus Gambier. He served as the interim headmaster of his alma mater, Lawrenceville School, for the 1995-6 school year, and in the summer of 2000, he and his wife Sheila moved from Gambier to Maine, where they currently live.
Resources
- Jordan, Philip Harding--Collected materials
- Barth, Christopher. The Kenyon Presidency: Profiles of Leadership 1824-2002. Gambier, Ohio: Greenslade Special Collections and Archives, 2002.
