24 February 2014

Dear Members of the Search Committee,

I am writing this letter in full support of Dr. Jim Nashs application for a faculty position. I
have known Jim since October 2006, having met him shortly after I joined Ferris State
University in August 2006. Since then, Jim and I have developed a personal friendship that
grew out of early conversations we had about our shared interests in teaching and student
development.
I have had opportunities to observe Jims teaching and interactions with his students. Based
on this, I believe Jim is a talented teacher who uses a variety of teaching methodologies to
both build positive rapport with his students and create engaging and supportive learning
environments for them. Among Jims teaching skills is his effective use of small lectures to
complement problem-based and team-based learning activities. Jim also integrates activities
into his lectures and labs that help students develop awareness of their own progress as
learners. In short, I think Jim has found the sweet spot, so to speak, between creating a
structured learning environment and one that enables students to explore ideas and interact
with each other in dynamic ways to deepen their understanding of and ability to apply course
content.
Jim has a deep commitment to his students that reaches well beyond an interest in their
academic success. Jim believes that his role as an educator involves enabling students to
develop as whole persons. Jim has a long history of a commitment to diversity, and has
been a leader in Ferris States College of Optometry to engage students in in-class and outof-class discussions and activities that heighten their understanding of and experience with
diverse populations. Jim also implemented a highly successful summer program that gave
underrepresented pre-college students an opportunity to explore science in general and
optometric science in particular. In short, Jim has successfully found ways to use both class
time and his out-of-class interactions with diverse groups of students to help them grow
intellectually, socially, professionally, and personally.

I have found Jim to be the consummate colleague. He is extraordinarily generous with his
time, personable, respectful, sincere, and ultimately interested in students success and that
of the institution. While this may seem hyperbolic, it is not intended to be so. In my nearly
20 years in higher education both as a tenured faculty member and now a faculty
developer I consider Jim to be one of a handful of colleagues with whom Ive worked who
consistently demonstrates a commitment to others and the institution.
Last, our Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, for which I serve as the Director, offers a
service called the Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID). A similar service is offered at
many institutions, sometimes with different names [e.g., Teaching Analysis Poll (TAP) at
James Madison University; Mid-Semester Interview About Teaching (MIT) at Grand Valley
State University]. Faculty at Ferris who utilize the SGID do so voluntary, unlike the standard
end-of- semester Student Assessment of Instruction. Jim has utilized the SGID for more
than one class on different occasions. Jim gives careful consideration to the students
feedback and is willing and able to accommodate, as appropriate, the suggestions that can
improve both teaching his teaching and students learning. That Jim does this is further
evidence of the reflective, continuous-improvement perspective he has of his teaching.
I hope you have an opportunity to meet Jim in person. I have full confidence in Jims ability
to be a contributing and successful member of your faculty.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact
me.
Respectfully,
Todd Stanislav, Ph.D.
Director, Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning
Ferris State University
t: 231.591.3541
e: stanist@ferris.edu