Mr. Herndon
Mr. Herndon is the History Department chair and has been teaching history and moral philosophy courses at Ridgeview Classical Schools since 2004. A native of Jacksonville, Florida, he completed three degrees at the Florida State University in Tallahassee: a B.S. in government, a B.A. in history, and an M.A. in modern European history, with secondary emphasis on twentieth-century United States history and American foreign policy. He was an adjunct faculty member at the Florida State College at Jacksonville, teaching Western Civilization, United States history, and American Federal Government courses, as well as holding a full-time position teaching honors world history, Western Civilization, and Advanced Placement Modern European History at the Bolles School.
Mr. Herndon returned to graduate school in the doctoral program in history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where his fields of specialization include modern Europe and dependencies since 1815, history of science and technology, and military history. His dissertation topic and area of principal research is in modern Germany, specifically during the National Socialist period. Mr. Herndon's family came to Fort Collins from Illinois when his late wife Cheryl was hired as a software engineer at Hewlett-Packard. Here, he taught courses in humanities and history at the Front Range Community College, Larimer Campus, for four years immediately before coming to Ridgeview Classical Schools. At Ridgeview he has taught Modern European History, American History, Western Civilization II, and eighth grade core history, a series of electives including History of Science, the Holocaust, the era of the World Wars, as well as three Moral Philosophy courses. Mr. Herndon is a two-time recipient of the University of Chicago's Outstanding Teacher Award (1992 and 2021), a Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction, and since 2010 has been listed in the Who's Who in Education. With his wife Cheryl, Mr. Herndon raised two sons, Geoff who works in conceptual art and design, and Chris (a 2015 Ridgeview graduate) who, with his advanced degree in social psychology, works for the State of Texas’ Health and Human Services.
Q & A with Mr. Herndon
Where were you born and where have you lived?
I was born in Jacksonville, Florida. In addition to living there, I have also lived in: Tallahassee, Florida; Mahomet, Illinois; Fort Collins, Colorado.
Where did you attend university or college?
I attended Florida State College in Jacksonville; Florida State University in Tallahassee; the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
What kind of reading do you most enjoy doing?
I read: history, political philosophy, philosophy, history of science (and technology), military history, art and literary history, theology, classic science fiction (think Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury, Verne, Herbert), imaginative literature (think Tolkien, Lewis, MacDonald, le Guin).
What are the small essentials that make life more comfortable?
Tea; fountain pens; quiet neighbors; wood and tools with which to work.
What are your favorite snacks?
Dark chocolate, in moderation; edamame; pistachios.
What do you do to unwind?
(Unwind? I do not know if I "unwind?") When not at school, I enjoy long walks with my wife, including hikes; conversation; making things, oftimes out of wood; researching and building historical replicas (i.e., building "models"); puzzles; board games; good music.
