Called to teach: While working with apprentices at The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, Jane L. Nichols realized she loved teaching design more than designing alone. “After 20 years of practice, I traded a professional career for the professoriate and have never looked back,” said Nichols, an assistant professor of art and design at Western Carolina University.

Creative chaos: A finalist for the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award at Western, Nichols says her teaching philosophy is to help students gain confidence solving ill-structured problems in an unpredictable environment. “I teach using real-world projects. Allowing the creative process to unfold is chaotic at the beginning, but students learn how to problem-solve and apply these skills to their own lives.”

Bringing the outside in: Nichols teaches green design concepts to prepare students to serve the growing number of environmentally conscious customers. In addition, she co-coordinated WCU activities for Focus the Nation – Solutions for Global Warming. More than 1,000 Western students participated in video presentations, music, roundtable discussions and debates on topics from growing their own food to eco-tourism. Nichols was mentioned in newspapers nationwide in stories about the national teach-in.

Teaching to learn: Nichols said she is inspired by what she learns as a teacher about how people process, conceptualize and innovate. “My students demonstrate how the creative process is highly personal, organic and life-changing – how it nurtures the soul and feeds the spirits in a way nothing else can,” said Nichols.