King Jordan Case

I King Jordan

I King Jordan, formerly known as Irving King Jordan was born June 16, 1943 in Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania, a small city near Philadelphia. Jordan was born hearing to hearing parents, with an absence of any known deaf or hard-of-hearing relatives. With parents that both worked in mills and had no higher education or even high school diplomas, Jordan was raised with his 3 brothers and sisters and lived a relatively average childhood. Like most children, he spent a good amount of time outdoors, and sang in the local Episcopal Church choir. Jordan attended Penncrest High School, where he has been described as "...an average student..." In fact, Jordan took 5 years to graduate from high school; one more year than necessary. Without the desire to continue his studies, Jordan joined the United States Navy in 1962, and served four years working on aircraft carriers such as the Enterprise. After losing his hearing, he was promoted to Aircraft Assistant to help the ship's Legal Officer.

In 1965, while still in the Navy and only 21 years old, Jordan lost his hearing. A serious motorcycle accident which left Jordan crashing into the windshield of a car without a helmet resulted in his severe hearing loss. The accident was so bad that Jordan woke up in the hospital and remained there for nearly 14 months. Initially, his doctors informed him his hearing loss was only temporary. For several months, Jordan held onto the hope that his hearing would return. After frustration and high hopes, Jordan came to accept his new fate as a Deaf man. Every year on August 23, Jordan celebrates the anniversary of his motorcycle accident, as his "Deaf Birthday".

In 1969 Jordan met and married the love of his life, wife Linda Marie Kephart, who is both hearing and fluent in ASL. They had two children, I. King III and Heidi. Today, both are grown and highly successful. I King III is an associate professor of bioinformatics at Georgia Institute of Technology, and Heidi is an assistant principal at the Florida School for the Deaf.

In an interview with the publication The Washingtonian, Jordan stated that after his accident, he realized "...that I'd better get an education if I was ever to do anything with my life." In the navy, Jordan recognized how easily promotions to officer positions came to those with no more criteria than a college degree. Thus, his next course of action was decided; a 4-year degree. Jordan enrolled at Gallaudet University in 1966, the only university in the country with all programs and services solely and specifically designated to accommodate the education of Deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Jordan did this without any prior knowledge of sign language or Deaf culture. He even claims that he was a "hearing person that couldn't hear". In an interview in Ability Magazine Editor-in-Chief Chet Cooper, Jordan stated that "Gallaudet opened my eyes to the fact that deafness should not be a barrier to education...not be a barrier to occupation" Jordan applied himself like never before and graduated with a Bachelor's of Arts in Psychology in 1970. Following, he obtained a post-graduate education at the University of Tennessee. Jordan soon became an "honor student" and received his MA of Psychology in 1971 and PhD in Psychology in 1973. He spent these three post-undergrad years of education without an interpreter. In his Washingtonian interview, Jordan states with an undesirable tone, "I'd have to arrange for an interpreter to meet me in each class", implying that a lack of an interpreter was a challenge.

After obtaining his BA, MA, and PhD, Jordan returned to Gallaudet in 1973 to be a professor of psychology. In his interview with Ability Magazine, Jordan stated "Now, that's my mission in life--to help other people...helps me recognize that it's not just hearing people but deaf people who have allowed [us] limitations on what we can do.", referring to his new passion of the education of Deaf people. Soon after, Jordan was given the position of Chairman/administrator of the Psychology department. Years after this he was given the position of Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1986.

Two years later, in the spring of 1988, an uproar took place at Gallaudet University. Deaf President Now, commonly known as DPN, was a week-long protest by students and alumni of the university to receive the first Deaf president of the school. This protest is nationally and perhaps both internationally known as the largest Deaf protest in history. On August 24, 1987, the 6th president of Gallaudet University, Jerry Lee, came to the end of his presiding