Prof. Mordechai Gordon Honored with James Marshall Award

Hamden - Quinnipiac University recently honored Mordechai Gordon, professor and chair of education, with its James Marshall Award. Gordon of New Haven joined Quinnipiac in 2001.

“I am truly humbled and honored by this award in the name of James Marshall, whom I knew personally and really admired,” Gordon said. “James and I started our tenure at Quinnipiac together in August of 2001.”

The James Marshall Award was created in 2002 to recognize faculty who exhibit qualities of unselfish service and dedication to the Quinnipiac community. The award was named after the late James Marshall, assistant professor of health management in the School of Business, who died in April 2002. Marshall was known for his community work, including serving as chairman of Quinnipiac’s Black History Month Committee.

“My desire to contribute and serve, like that of so many other faculty, comes from a sense of belonging to a close-knit community or an extended family, which Quinnipiac has provided me since 2001,” Gordon added. “As with any community or family, I have experienced my fair share of challenges, tensions, and disagreements over the years. Yet, in more than two decades of service, I have always felt that Quinnipiac was my extended family, my academic community and my home.”

Gordon earned the Quinnipiac Outstanding Faculty Scholar award in 2009 and 2013. He has also been a professor at Brooklyn College and Levinski College of Education in Tel-Aviv, Israel. Gordon earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Ohio University, a master's degree in psychology from Duquesne University and master's and doctorate degrees in philosophy of education from Columbia University.

Gordon’s eighth book, “Education in a Cultural War Era: Thinking Philosophically about the Practice of Cancelling,” came out in late April. In the past couple of years, much has been said and written in the media about the notion of "cancel culture" and the way in which various celebrities, journalists, politicians, idea and monuments have been cancelled. Gordon investigates the phenomenon of cancelling historically as well as how it became an issue recently. The book presents some compelling philosophical arguments against the practice of cancelling and highlights various educational dangers and risks that emerge from this practice and deserve our attention.

Gordon's previous books are: "Humor, Laughter and Human Flourishing: A Philosophical Exploration of the Laughing Animal;” "Hannah Arendt and Education: Renewing our Common World;" "Ten Common Myths in American Education;" "Bridging Theory and Practice in Teacher Education;" and "Reclaiming Dissent: Civics' Education for the 21st Century." "Renewing our Common World: Hannah Arendt and Education" and "Reclaiming Dissent: Civics' Education for the 21st Century" won Critics' Choice awards from the American Educational Studies Association in 2002 and 2009, respectively.