Daniel Jordan

Daniel Jordan
Born	June 2, 1932 Alliance, Nebraska
Died	October 15 or 16, 1982 Connecticut
NSA member	United States 1963 - 1982
Spouse(s)	Nancy C. Blair
Parent(s)	Edward Davis Jordan Hattie Melissa Hartman
Works •  Media

Dr. Daniel Clyde Jordan (June 2, 1932 - 1982) was an American Bahá'í who served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’í­ of the United States, often as Vice-Chair from 1963 until 1982 when he was found stabbed to death in Connecticut. His murder occurred in the evening of October 15th or early morning of October 16th and no arrests were ever made. In his career he was a Rhodes scholar and Dean at the School of Education at National University in San Diego. He was a frequent guest lecturer at many universities and appeared on television and radio on programs such as the Dinah Shore Show and Mike Douglas Show.

Biography

Daniel was born in 1932 in Alliance, Nebraska. He was a child musical prodigy and began studying the organ at the University of Nebraska when he was thirteen, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts at the age of seventeen and being awarded the first Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University awarded to an American to study music. He completed a Bachelor and Master of Arts degree in composition, theory and history of music at Oxford, and performed doctoral studies in musicology, which were interrupted by service in the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1958. He returned to the US in 1959 after turning down a position with the Oslo Symphony and studied at the University of Chicago, completing a Masters in human development in 1960 and a PhD in the field specializing in anthropology and psychology in 1964.

In 1963 Daniel was first elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States. In June 1965 he appeared on a radio panel program on the Bahá'í Faith on ABC Network with Firuz Kazemzadeh, William Sears, and Florence Mayberry. In 1966 he was elected as Chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly, succeeding Firuz Kazemzadeh who retired from the body in order to conduct research abroad. When World Order, a Bahá'í magazine, resumed publication in 1966 Daniel was a contributing writer. In 1967 he taught at the Southeastern Winter School in Covington, Georgia, drawing parallels between musical theory and the Faith. In 1968 Firuz Kazemzadeh was re-elected as Chair of the National Assembly and Daniel was elected as Vice-Chairman. In 1968 he chaired a National Conference on Human Rights sponsored by the North American Bahá'í Office for Human Rights. In 1977 he was guest speaker at the National Haziratu'l-Quds in Hawaii.

In the early 1970s he was the project supervisor and participating author for the Bahá'í Comprehensive Deepening Program; a series of 8.5 x 11 volumes that were pre-drilled to fit matching ring binders. The volumes varied in length up to the 216 page book, The Dynamic Force of Example (1974). This format was also used for other deepening projects such as Guidelines For Local Spiritual Assemblies. The best-known volume in this series was Marriage: A Fortress For Well-Being, which was later redesigned in softback format and is available via various online vendors.

In addition to his service to the Faith he was successful in his academic career. In 1965 he was appointed Director of the Institute for Research in Human Behaviour at Indiana State University and served in the position until 1968 when he moved to the University of Massachusetts, where he served as Director of the Center for the Study of Human Potential from 1971 to 1975. He became a licensed Psychologist in 1975. In 1978 he became Chair of the Department of Education at California American University in Escondido, but moved to National University in San Diego in 1979 where he founded a School of Education and became Dean.

He missed a speaking engagement to the Association for the World's Universities at the New York University Club during a professional trip to New York in October 1982 and his body, stabbed in the neck with his spinal column severed, was discovered on October 16. The reason for the murder is unknown, although fellow National Spiritual Assembly member Firuz Kazemzadeh noted that his trip to New York was unrelated to the Faith. The coroner reportedly expressed that the murder bore resemblance to a professional assassination. Firuz Kazemzadeh expressed at the time that speculation of a link to Iran and the murder without proof would be harmful to the Bahá'í community in Iran.

He was survived by his wife, Nancy, and three daughters who came to live in the United Kingdom after his passing.

Publications

Bahai.works has a related page: Author:Daniel C. Jordan

Bahai.media has a related page: Category:Daniel Jordan

• 1967 - The Dilemma of the Modern Intellectual, published in World Order, 2:1, pages 3-9
• 1968 - Becoming Your True Self, published in World Order, 3:1, pages 43-51.
• 1973 - Being and Becoming: The ANISA Theory of Development, published in World Order, 7:4, pages 17-26.

Talks

• 1974 - The Philosophical Basis of the ANISA Model
• Undated - Your True Self

References

• http://bahaiteachings.org/dan-jordans-untimely-death
• http://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/21/nyregion/victim-in-stamford-murder-identified-as-missing-dean.html

External Links

• Dr. Daniel C. Jordan on WikiTree - family tree