Gwen Jordan Ph.D. University of Illinois at Chicago
Dr. Gwen Hoerr Jordan grew up in Peoria, Illinois. She received her B.A. in English and Political Science from the University of Illinois (Urbana), her J.D. from the University of Denver College of Law, her M.A. in Criminal Justice and her Ph.D. in History from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She received the Dean’s Scholar Award at UIC. She worked as a Deputy District Attorney in Colorado for five years. Before coming to NIU, Jordan was the J. Willard Hurst Legal History Fellow at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Professor Jordan teaches Criminology, Women and the Law, and Law and Society here at NIU.
Jordan’s scholarship interests center on issues of race, gender, the law, and the legal profession. Her current projects include a study of the Protective Agency for Women and Children, the precursor to the Legal Aid Society of Chicago. She examines the Agency’s role in the historical development of rape law reform, rape shield laws, and domestic violence laws. A second project focuses on the intersection of race and gender within the legal profession. She uses critical race theory to examine the first two black women lawyers in Illinois.
Professor Jordan is married with two children, both currently attending Belvidere North High School. She also has a dog and a cat. In her spare time she enjoys being outdoors: running, gardening, and skiing (in water and on snow).
Recent NIU Courses Taught: Criminology, Woman and Law
Phone: 815-753-2554
Office: Zulauf 805