VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY soso tenn cous nine ‘October 31, 2014 RE: Letter of Recommendation —Dr. James Var Dear Sir or Madam: {tis with great pleasure that I submit this letter of recommendation on behalf of a most outstanding faculty member, Dr. James Var, for a faculty postion at your college/university. Accordingly, 1 ‘became acquainted with Dr. Varn during my tenure as a member of the President's Executive ‘Cabinet as Chief of Sta & Executive Assistant to the President and later Interim Viee President for University Advancement at Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU). In that capacity, I had the ‘opportunity to interact with Dr. Van personally and professionally as Dr, Vari served as the director of Faculty Development, university coordinator for textbook policy, and the director ofthe (Quality Enhancement Plan at MVSU. ‘Additionally, Dr. Varn was credited for having given the visionary leadership to begin the faculty {development program st MVSU as there was no office or director until he was hired. As director of faculty development, he provided excellent oversight of all grants related to faculty development, such as travel, research, and tuition assistance. Dr. Var is also a highly esteemed associate professor in the university's English department where he consistently gamers extremely high ratings from his students (as reflected in his tenure portfolio). In particular, among some of the student evaluations his students expressed his strong and fervent desire for them to be successful, his being always accessible and available to help, and his overall love for literature and ‘composition, ‘As a servant leader, Dr. Vam also displayed an exceptional commitment 1 overall student development and service to the university community both inside and outside of the classroom. More specifically, | fondly recall that Dr. Varn volunteered above and beyond his contractual duties by teaching English as Second Language (ESL) classes to members of our local Hispanic community. He also brought in namerous very effective conzultants to give workshops on such topics 26 Teaming communities, writing across the curriculum, writing assessment, and academic course design. Even more, Dr. Varn created enriching opportunities for his faculty colleague's faculty evelopment workshops twice monthly during the academic year. He is a member of the POD. Network and the Histrically Black College Faculty Development Network. During his tenure at MVSU Dr. Varn has led workshops at both the state and regional conferences, where he has presented workshops on ways to use Web 2.0 applications for teaching and learning.VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY Letter of Recommendation—Dr. James Van 2 AAs director of faculty development, Dr. Vam served as a member of the university's Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) committee and agreed to compose the literature review for the QEP as a part of the university's SACSCOC reaffirmation process. As a former member of the executive administrative team 1 can personally attest that the literature review was well received by the administration, and it played a significant role in SACS-COC accepting our university's QEP with ‘minimal changes. ARerward, Dr. Vam was asked to serve as the director of the QEP, and he accepted the postion, making him director of both faculty development and the QEP. Accordingly, Dr. Var was principally responsible for enhancing the curriculum in the composition courses and led a group of faculty members towards enhancing the English curriculum and improving writing instruction, As an English professor, e is imminently qualified in this area and regularly teaches ‘composition courses. Dr. Var is very well liked by his students and colleagues because he is able to work collaboratively with all university constituencies. As director of Faculty Development, he served campus wide faculty and he demonstrated a high ability to effectively work in a diverse multicultural environment and setting. He possesses strong verbal and written communication skills and has spear hneaded a number of initiatives showing creativity and innovation to improve the leaming environment at MVSU. Dr. Var also led in the training of faculty in using lecture capture as an addtional resource for our students which has improved academic performance in classes where instructors have utilized the technology: ‘As such, I believe that Dr. James Vam’s addition to your institution as « member of its faculty andor staff administrator will undoubtedly have e profoundly positive effect on your university ‘community. Indeed, you are sure to benefit from his superlative work ethic, loyalty and dedication as a scholar and teacher-educator. In my experience as an executive higher education professional, 1 ‘ean truly say that Dr, Var is one of the most gifted, multi-sklled, passionate, energetic, and ‘committed higher education professionals that T have been privileged to observe and work alongside. As such, I am confident that Dr. Varn would be & tremendous asset to your institution and an invaluable member of your faclty department and/or administrative team, 1 implore you to {ive him that opportunity. Correspondingly, 1 fully recommend and endorse his candidacy at your institution without reservation. Please afford his applicaion your most serious consideration and do not hesitate to contact me at my personal e-mail at azfsison@vuu.edu or by phone at (678) 588-9634 if I can be of any further assistance inthis regard. Singerely, A. ZatharyFaison Je, .D. Vice President Division of Enrollment Management & Student Affairs ‘af