William Leon McBride

William (Bill) Leon McBride died on April 10 at the age of 88, surrounded by his family. Bill McBride was a devoted family man and professor at Purdue University for over 50 years.  He took great pride in his relationships with his students and colleagues. He knew the words to every Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, could carry on a conversation in Latin, savored Maker’s Mark bourbon, loved puns, and avidly followed Purdue football. He read everything, and, not surprisingly, he was often displeased by the news.

Bill is perhaps best described by the title of the book, Revolutionary Hope, consisting of 13 essays written by former students, colleagues, and friends to honor his work in social/political philosophy. Over his career, he explored what it means to be hopeful in the wake of contemporary political realities in which those ideals have become increasingly marginalized, and in his life, he blended a sense of high expectations with an appreciation of impossibilities, authoring or editing 19 books such as Social Theory at a Crossroads and From Yugoslav Praxis to Global Pathos.

Born in New York City in1938 to Irene May Choffin and William Joseph McBride, he completed his undergraduate studies at Georgetown University. He then had a Fulbright Fellowship at Lille University before earning his doctorate at Yale University, where he met his future wife, Angela. He joined the Yale Philosophy Department faculty in 1964 and taught there until 1973, during which time Bill Clinton took one of his courses on natural law.  In 1973, he moved to Purdue University where he eventually was named the Arthur G. Hansen Distinguished Professor. During his half century at Purdue, he co-founded the Sartre Society of North America, chaired the Purdue Senate and Purdue’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, was one of the founders of Women’s Studies at Purdue, and became the first and only American to serve as Secretary General then President of the International Federation of Philosophical Studies.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Angela Barron McBride, their children, Cammie McBride (Helmuth Aberer) and Kara McBride (Jahangir Alam); their grandchildren, Leeren Chang and Claire Chang; their step-grandchildren, Raphael Aberer (Ana), Pascal Aberer and Rochelle Aberer (Akos Pasztor); his sister-in-law Cecilia Barron; and his cousin Mary Jane Donohue.

Over the course of his career, he was honored in many countries—receiving a medal from the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences for Outstanding Contributions to Philosophy by a Foreign Philosopher, inducted into France’s Ordre des Palmes Acad miques, and awarded an honorary doctorate from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Indeed, it was his many travels to far-flung places that gave him the greatest pleasure.  Last year, the North American Society for Social Philosophy dedicated a session to his concept of global philosophy, and the four panelists were his former students born on four different continents.  Until recently he served on UNESCO’s International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (CIPSH).

Visitation will be from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Thursday, April 16, 2026, at Soller-Baker Lafayette Chapel, 400 Twyckenham Blvd., Lafayette, IN. A time of remembrance will begin at 7:30 pm on Thursday.  Graveside service will be at 10:00 am on Friday, April 17, 2026, at St. Mary Cemetery in Lafayette, Indiana.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that anyone seeking to honor his memory donate to Purdue University’s William L. McBride Graduate Student International Travel Fund (https://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/philosophy/students/graduate/prospective-students/funding.html) or the local chapter of Planned Parenthood.