Bill Jordan, a university lecturer and prolific author whose work significantly influenced the training and professional development of social workers, has died aged 85. He wrote more than 30 books on social work practice, social policy, migration, and political and economic theory, many translated into multiple languages.
Early life and education
Born in Dublin, Bill was the eldest of four children of Rose (nee Gwynn), a teacher, and Radford, a solicitor. He spent his first five years in Ireland before moving to South Africa, his father's homeland. After his parents' divorce in 1955, he moved to England with his mother and siblings to Shaftesbury, Dorset. He attended Shaftesbury Grammar School and later studied philosophy, politics, and economics at Christ Church, Oxford (1959-62), earning a first-class degree.
Career in social work and academia
Bill began his career as a prison officer at Ley Hill, Gloucestershire, then moved to a probation service job in Devon. He gained a social work qualification at Exeter University and worked as a probation officer in Devon from 1965 to 1974. During this period, he wrote his first book, Client-Worker Transactions (1970). He then worked as a social worker for Devon County Council from 1975 to 1985.
From 1969, Bill worked as a part-time lecturer in social policy at Exeter University. In 1991, he moved into full-time academia as a lecturer at Huddersfield University, eventually becoming professor of social policy until 2007. He also served as professor of social policy at Exeter (1998-2004) and Plymouth University (from 2004 until his death).
Bill was a visiting professor at universities in Amsterdam, Aalborg, Bremen, Bratislava, Budapest, Cologne, and Prague. He held a European professorship of social policy at Comenius University in Bratislava, funded by the European Union.
Basic Income Earth Network
In 1986, Bill was a founding member of the Basic Income Earth Network, which advocates for all citizens worldwide to receive a regular, unconditional cash payment from their government, regardless of employment status or wealth. While no country has fully implemented such a scheme, some have introduced pilot programs.
Personal life and interests
Outside of work, Bill was a talented cricketer, playing as a bowler for Devon in the Minor Counties Championship from 1969 to 1971. He also enjoyed cross-country running well into his 60s, winning the Great West run for his age group and competing regularly in the annual Whimple Village Day run in east Devon.
His first marriage to Jane Laws, a secretary, in 1961 ended in divorce. He married his second wife, Jean Packman, a researcher, in 1982; she died in 2016. Bill is survived by three children from his first marriage: Tom, Henry, and the author of this obituary, as well as six grandchildren. Another son from his first marriage, Joe, died in 2007.
