Dr. Sarah Spangler, core curriculum director, and Father Oliver Doyle, vice president for mission integration lead the implementation of the new Lumen de Lumine (Light from Light) Core Curriculum at the University of Great Falls.
UGF Enhances Core Curriculum
UGF embraces a multidisciplinary approach rooted in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition
The new Lumen de Lumine (Latin for “light from light”) Core Curriculum at the University of Great Falls will be implemented this fall. With strong support from new president Dr. Anthony Aretz, the new core is expected to enhance the Catholic identity of the school and reinforce solid career paths for its graduates. “This new core provides a strong foundation for any major. Our faculty applies the wisdom of the past to prepare students to address complex issues today,” says Dr. Aretz.
But do students and professors need to be Catholic in order to appreciate the new core?
“We have a rich heritage, a deep well to pull from,” reminds Fr. Oliver Doyle, vice president for mission integration at the University of Great Falls. “Lumen de lumine – from the light of truth already given, we see light. Bring light to bear on today’s questions and struggles. We are inviting all students of all backgrounds to explore who we are as human beings. This is relevant to every person in every age.”
The new core is based on an interdisciplinary approach started nearly a decade ago with required core courses called integrated learning community (ILC) classes team taught by professors with different expertise. Theologian Dr. Sarah Spangler was thrilled to come home to Montana in 2011 to focus on ILC’s. Philosopher Dr. Brendan Palla was hired in 2012 for the same purpose; both are graduates of Fordham University in New York City.
The ILC courses focus on questions such as, “What is truth?” and “What is the common good?” The course titles are engaging but point to the serious content presented, such as, “Magical Mystical Universe” (biology and theology), “Religion as a Business and Business as a Religion” (theology and business), and “Fraud, Lies and Deceit” (law and accounting). The ILC courses provide a dynamic and creative venue for professors and students to interact and address real world concerns.
Sophomore Tanner Dodge loves the ILC approach. He says, “It’s interesting to compare how a theologian’s mind works in contrast to how a scientist’s mind works—and then be challenged to take on both roles for yourself. I will need to be able to do that in my career.”
Over the years, these collaborations prepared the UGF faculty for the task of revising the core curriculum this year. “The ILCs really broke it open for us,” says Spangler. “They started the conversation, helped us define what we mean by a Catholic liberal arts education.” A member of the core curriculum revision team, Spangler was named core curriculum director last month.
One of the thorniest challenges was to allow for the pre-professional requirements of majors like accounting and education, which are subject to external guidelines, and still ensure that students can graduate in four years. The core curriculum revision committee spent hours tallying requirements within each major to ensure that the new core would not impose a burden on students. The final count is a manageable 120 credit hours across the university. “I’ve been clear from day one that I need to finish on time in four years,” concurs Dodge. “I had solid advice from my advisor and, theoretically, I will graduate on time.”
The new core allows for double-dipping, allowing one core course to count toward requirements within a major. For many majors, the core commitment is now lower than it used to be. The core committee also designed distributions of objectives in Service Learning, Global Awareness, Sustainability & Stewardship, Writing, and Communication to allow each department to integrate these crucial competencies into existing major-specific courses.
Spangler emphasizes the integration of knowledge and experience in the new core. “The new service learning objective helps students integrate knowledge and experience in a personal way. Personal reflection helps us develop compassionate leaders.” In addition to the service learning requirement, a capstone class in moral theology was added, providing a forum for interdisciplinary ethical discussions among students from a variety of majors.
UGF’s new curriculum prepares students to engage in meaningful conversations and find solutions that can unify communities. Fr. Doyle puts it best. “Our objective would not be that our students know the light. Our objective would be that our students BE the light based on what they know.”
Jarett Larson, recipient of a Catholic Scholar’s tuition award, poses in Trinitas Chapel at UGF.
UGF supports Catholic Scholar Jarett Larson
Junior Jarett Larson wanted to attend college in Montana, but wasn’t excited about the “big city” feel of the campuses in Missoula and Bozeman. When his senior year began at Butte Central Catholic High School, he still hadn’t decided and was inclined to attend Montana Tech in Butte and live at home.
Julie Edstrom, vice president for enrollment management at the University of Great Falls, visited his school personally and met with him that fall. Larson was intrigued— and genuinely interested in a Catholic college. And the location was attractive to him. “Great Falls is big, but it still has that small town, Montana attitude,” he praises. As president of the Diocese of Helena Catholic Youth Council, active service to the Church was important to him. And, he could apply to receive a full tuition scholarship as a Catholic Scholar. “I figured I might as well try!”
Larson received a full tuition scholarship and is now a psychology major. He is active on the parish council for the chapel, and is a peer mentor for incoming freshmen. “They do a great job welcoming freshmen. You already feel you’ve come home the first week,” he encourages. “If you are Catholic, we definitely need you here at UGF!” he says. “This is a great place to work and grow and help others grow, too.”
For more information on the scholarships available to students at UGF, visit ugf.edu, or call the Admissions Office at 800-856-9544.
What’s the goal?
The Lumen de Lumine Core Curriculum outlines the following goals for all UGF graduates.
All students will:
• Explain and apply the methods of inquiry in the disciplines of the liberal arts (humanities, sciences, and social sciences);
• Demonstrate proficiency in active listening and communication to include oral, written, and technology;
• Understand how Judeo-Christian thought develops through dialogue with a variety of cultures and philosophies;
• Actively and respectfully engage with other persons, disciplines, cultures, religions and the environment;
• Identify, evaluate, and apply knowledge of major moral and ethical theories;
• Display skills and dispositions of “servant leadership.”
Students must take theology, philosophy, English, history, math, and two interdisciplinary courses on truth and the common good. One service learning course is required, as is a moral theology capstone course for seniors. In addition, other core objectives are integrated into major-specific courses. The revised core curriculum will be implemented this fall.
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