Listen HereBy: Olivia Wile
Email: wileo@findlay.edu
Twitter: o_wile
The University of Findlay Honors Program is getting a face lift with a new class offering.
Dr. Marie Louden-Hanes and Dr. Nathan Tice are offering a new honors class about Leonardo Da Vinci, the infamous artist, scientist, musician, engineer and architect.
“It’s an opportunity for individuals to learn through the arts, through the images that Leonardo produced,” explained Louden-Hanes, “and through the artist, Leonardo, as he was also a scientist.”
UF’s honors program concentrate of four areas of learning: diversity, creativity, logic and problem-solving, critical thinking and evidence-based practice.
Students who are eligible for the honors program have a high school cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.80 or above or an ACT composite score of 27 or higher or equivalent SAT score of 1300, or one semester of full-time enrollment or 12 hours of credit at The University of Findlay with a total cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher, or one semester of full-time enrollment and a total cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher earned from another regionally accredited institution.
Honors requirements include a cumulative GPA at least 3.25, Honors GPA is at least 3.0, Attend two honors events/year, and 16 Semester Hours of Honors Coursework
This new honors course, which will be offered next semester, requires no prerequisites and is categorized under the Scholarship of Creativity. Despite its honors title, any student is able to take it.
As for why the two picked Da Vinci as subject matter, Tice believes that his art, and the craft as a whole, is very important to other subject areas.
“We need to go beyond just appreciation of art,” said Tice. “How can we learn from artists to actually be better scientists or better engineers or better mathematicians? I think you see that when you start studying Da Vinci.”
The class is cross-disciplinary, meaning it incorporates subject matter from different colleges at UF. As a result, several different experts from the University will be featured during the semester.
“We’d like to bring in Dr. Wild to talk about optics and sound, we want to bring in Professor Jung to talk about music from that time period, we’re going to bring in hopefully a faculty member from the equine program and things like that,” said Tice.
“We have other people who are experts in other areas just like he was an expert in many areas,” added Louden-Hanes. “We’re relying on our colleagues to add to what we know.”
As for how Tice and Louden-Hanes hope to impact campus, the answer is by inspiring such collaboration in future classes.
“If we provide an honors course that’s interdisciplinary, then it may be a standard that others say, ‘look they did it, an artist and a chemist, who knew?’” said Louden-Hanes. “There are so many possibilities.”
So, if you’re looking for a multi-dimensional course to fill your schedule on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 to 4:45, consider HNRS 373-01, Scholarship of Creativity, The Interface of Art and Science: The Legacy of Da Vinci.
