Born Irving King Jordan and raised in the small Philadelphia suburb, Glen Riddle, I. King Jordan, Ph.D., is arguably one of the most influential people in changing the conventions formerly known about and by deaf culture. Dr. Jordan was not born deaf, but was injured in a motorcycle accident that left him near death and deaf when he was 21 years of age. At that time, Dr. Jordan was serving in the United States Navy and was consequently discharged and decided to pursue his early postsecondary education at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C., where he returned to make the biggest difference the institution or the United States has ever seen. I. King Jordan achieved his undergraduate degree in psychology from Gallaudet University in 1970. He went on to attend the University of Tennessee where he achieved his Master's Degree in 1971 and his Doctorate of Philosophy in 1973. "Upon earning his doctorate, he joined the Gallaudet faculty as a teacher in the psychology department. At the time he became president of Gallaudet, Dr. Jordan had been acting as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences." (Wikipedia, Jordan).
A few years ago, Dr. Jordan made a guest appearance on the fifth edition of the television program "To Tell the Truth," which ran from 2000-2002. He did quite well in fooling the panel and audience and he donated his winnings to Gallaudet University (he was also pleased to see Kitty Carlisle). (Wikipedia, Truth). Some time not long after his game show appearance, Dr. Jordan was interviewed by Ability Magazine's Chet Cooper where he shared that "Gallaudet opened my eyes to the fact that deafness should not be a barrier to education, should not be a barrier to occupation." (Ability, Cooper). Repeatedly, he relates to us that deaf are normal.
Dr. Jordan's journey to University President seems like a logical one; however immediately prior to being granted the position of the first deaf University President since the