Bill Jordan Wins Horace Kidger Award
By: Leela Gandhi, Jenna Wang
Earlier this month, History Instructor Bill Jordan joined the growing list of Academy faculty as a recipient of the prestigious Horace Kidger Award.
The Horace Kidger Award is given to individuals who show excellence in teaching, research, writing and commitment to the history profession, according to the awarding body of New England History Teachers Association (NEHTA). The award has been granted since 1952 and previous recipients include former Exeter teachers such as Henry Bragdon, William G. Saltonstall and Don Cole. This March, Jordan was awarded the prestigious award for the 2020 year after being nominated by his students. “It's a huge affirmation,” Jordan said. “It's an inspiration that renews my enthusiasm for teaching.”
According to fellow Exeter teachers, Jordan has exemplified the ideals of the award. “Dr. Jordan puts hours into his teaching and assessments and this award is a reflection of all this behind-the-scenes hard work,” History Department Chair Kent McConnell said. “He is most deserving of this award.”
Jordan has taught at Exeter since 1997 and his passion for history started at a young age. “I grew up in Massachusetts and my family were ardent Kennedy lovers,” Jordan described. “My father was really kind of addicted to the newspaper.”
After college, Jordan found himself drawn to journalism, writing as a newspaper reporter for The Beacon in Acton, MA, and the Malden Evening News in Malden, MA. He then decided to pursue graduate studies to further his passion for history. “Journalism and history are related. It's not unusual because journalists are looking at history as it unfolds,” Jordan said.
In graduate school, Jordan developed an interest in Black history. “I was really interested in how people got what they wanted through the political system and gained power. And so I thought of all the people in this country who have been able to do that and African-Americans are the most prominent and the most inspiring example.”
Seeking inspiration from his dissertation advisor who had participated in the civil rights movement, Jordan researched how the Black press “educated America about the need for racial justice while resisting persistent threats of censorship” and later published his own book: Black Newspapers and America's War for Democracy, 1914-1920.
At the Academy, however, Jordan teaches a variety of history courses, including a Classical Greece course in the fall. Former student and prep Tenley Nelson was a student in the class. “It was my first ever history course at Exeter, so I had no idea what to expect. He immediately clearly laid out the guidelines for the course, which helped me personally to see the big picture.” Nelson said. “As the term progressed, he would nudge the discussion in various directions, but never forced it. Looking back on it now, I feel like it remains to be the class in which I had the most meaningful and conscientious discussions.”
According to Jordan, fostering a positive Harkness experience is a key tenet of his teaching method. “My approach to teaching is to just embrace Harkness and try my best to create an atmosphere of trust in the classroom where students feel comfortable at ease and safe and they're not being judged all the time,” Jordan said.
Many students enjoyed Mr. Jordan’s approach to relating material to outside the classroom. “I felt like for the first time I was thinking about our lessons from a real-world perspective first and a classroom perspective afterwards,” Grace Gray ’19 said.
Going into history his upper year, Senior Hojun Choi was “nervous especially considering how notorious and rigorous the ‘331-333’ courses were rumored to be.” However, Choi remarked, “Mr. Jordan immediately put me at ease with his calming and relaxed demeanor.” he continued, “The relaxed but focused environment that he fostered in his classroom inspired me to bring my A game and I was always excited to do so.”
“He had a very down to earth, relaxed personality that was very approachable, but that by no means took away from the rigor of his teaching style and his expectations,” Emmett Shell ’18 said. “He really has a good understanding of letting, letting students start the discussion and take control of it, but also being there to point us in the right direction or to jump in in moments where you might need a little help or a little clarity. And I think his down-to-earth personality fit really well with that.”
Senior Maggie Wainwright reflected on her Politics and Public Policy course this fall. “He was always ready to challenge the class’s liberal assumptions and always ready to be a neutral party and a neutral participant,” she said. “He was really excellent as a mentor, but also someone who was really interested in getting us to see every single side of an argument.”
Gray described learning about the economy in the same course. “Mr. Jordan knew how to hit on very serious and pertinent American issues while mixing them with just this love for history and this excitement for creativity as well. I remember sitting around and he would go up to the board and draw these amazing cartoons,” Gray said.
Beyond the realm of his classroom, Jordan serves as an assistant coach to the Boys Cross Country team and dorm faculty in Peabody Hall. Prep Ayaan Akhtar and member of the cross country team commented, “Personally, he was one of the reasons I looked forward to cross country every day in the fall. The stories he would tell us while running made the experience much more enjoyable than it already was. There were plenty of instances where I would feel like stopping, but Coach Jordan was always there to encourage me and keep me going.”
According to Choi, this encouragement was also present during meetings while Jordan was on duty in the dorm. “[Jordan’s] willingness to take the time out of his already busy schedule to help us even more spoke to his commitment to help and really inspired me.” Choi added. “I remember times where I would just come to the Peabody common room when he was on duty to first get help on a paper. Eventually our conversation branched out to conversations about modern politics and what not.”
Fellow History Instructor Leah Merrill commented on Jordan’s appreciation for history. “[Jordan] is passionate about civics and keeps the Department focused on how best to prepare students to be engaged citizens.” Merill said. “A lifelong learner, Bill is always reading. I love talking to Bill about books, politics, current events, and we exchange articles and ideas regularly.”
Jordan will undoubtedly leave a lasting impact on Exonians and the Exeter community, according to former students of his. “[My class] was two and a half years ago. And our class still regularly texts about political things that come up. We have Zoom meetings with Mr. Jordan to catch up on American political happenings,” Gray spoke of her Politics and Public Policy class with Jordan her senior fall.
Juliana Merullo ’19 reflected on how Jordan’s class inspired her as well. “The things I learned in class, the different lenses through which I view our country's political discourse, none of that would be possible without his efforts as a teacher,” she said. “I can think of nobody more deserving of this award. The mark of a great teacher should be someone who takes their passion for the material and finds new ways to get their students engaged in it, not just during the trimester, but for the rest of their lives. I think my experiences with his class are proof of just that,” Merullo added.
Shell commented on this lasting impact during a visit back to Exeter his first year of college. “[Jordan] said, ‘Oh hey, how's it going?’ And we just started chatting. And then we took a walk and we went to a coffee shop and he bought me a drink and we kept talking, I think we talked for like over an hour. It was really fun,” Shell recalled. “I could always count on Mr. Jordan, to be there to talk to and to hang out with.”
“We have this problem where people are at each other's throats all the time and just try to win debates and cut down their opponents, but Exeter has such a great ethos,” Jordan commented. “The goal is to work collaboratively towards a greater understanding of the truth. And we can have our disagreements, but we can also be in search of common ground all the time.”