March 27, 2025
Improving the Criminal Justice Field One Student at a Time
David White is an associate professor for the Criminal Justice program within the College of Business. He began his teaching career at Ferris State in 2018. Prior to Ferris, Dr. White had spent years on his own higher education journey. He first gained his bachelor’s degree in Police Administration from Eastern Kentucky University. He continued to Norwich University, where he gained his master's degree in justice administration. He also attended Southern Illinois University to pursue his PhD in Criminology and Criminal Justice. In 2014, after 10 weeks, he became a graduate of the 255th session of the FBI National Academy.
While he was furthering his education, he gained over 20 years of experience in the criminal justice field. He served as a patrol officer, did accident reconstruction, D.A.R.E. instructing, recruiting, and worked with internal affairs investigations. Along with that, at a senior executive level, he was a supervisor for the patrol division and support services. For a short period, he filled in as an interim 911 director.
Dr. White is a firm believer in leaving his profession better than he found it. So, when he retired from policing in his community, he helped with advancements in the professionalization of his police department[CA1] .
Teaching was always in the back of his mind; he came from a family of administrators with both his parents being teachers. But even as he was in the field furthering his education, he explained “folks who go back and get a master’s degree and especially those who go on and get a PhD...you're definitely committed to lifelong learning.”
As he transitioned to teaching, he said, “I can come into the classroom and encourage students...to remember to leave it better than they found it and give them some skills and knowledge they need to make it happen.” So, teaching gives him the outlet to share his ideology, and he explains, “As a teacher, you have the ability to make that impact with students over a much longer arch.” As a result of his teaching, Dr. White hopes to leave this positive impact on policing through his students for much longer than he can serve.
Dr. White teaches nine different classes within the criminal justice program at Ferris. His favorite is Ethics. He explains the importance of ethics, especially within the criminal justice field, and the fact that there is no shortage of ethical issues in the field. It requires students to think critically and brings a deeper understanding of what goes on in the field. Dr. White’s experience in the field enables him to give real-world examples of what goes on and how he may have handled a situation.
Dr. White has made an intentional effort to get students to focus on learning and helping them understand that good grades will come. He aims at intentionally diversifying how he presents his information to help students learn.
One of Dr. White’s favorite aspects of teaching is watching students become successful. He explains that nothing makes him happier than hearing students share their accomplishments with him. He also enjoys getting the opportunity to write reference letters and seeing the successes of past students makes him think “Well I had them as a student and look at them now...out there with their dream job.”