小蝌蚪APP

'Learning Should be a Lifelong Activity'

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Posted on May 9, 2017

Alice Jackson

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During Saturday鈥檚  spring commencement at the 小蝌蚪APP, Dr. Doug Haywick, a retiring faculty member after 26 years, walked across the Mitchell Center stage to receive his bachelor of fine arts degree.

Haywick, an associate professor of geology, has definite plans to use his second bachelor鈥檚 degree during the next stage of his life.

鈥淚鈥檓 retiring, but I hope to remain connected to South through teaching some classes while concentrating on additional research in my field,鈥� he said. 鈥淟earning should be a lifelong activity.鈥�

Haywick began working on the degree in 2002 鈥渂ecause I just wanted to learn to paint.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檇 tried some painting when I was younger, but it was very amateurish, very primitive,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 envisioned getting the degree as an opportunity to learn something on the side and to have a chance to mesh my scientific interests with the artistic.鈥�

In the intervening years, he took a variety of art courses, as well as several basic undergraduate courses because his undergraduate degree in geology/chemistry was earned in his native Canada, which has different accreditation requirements.

鈥淚 took American History I and II, and I learned some interesting things I didn鈥檛 know. I also took courses in sociology and English literature,鈥� Haywick said. 鈥淓very course I鈥檝e taken, I鈥檝e learned something from it.鈥�

His art degree focused on ceramics and kiln-fired glass, and his classes included sculpture, art history, drawing and color theory. Gradually, he learned the basics, then expanded both his creativity and knowledge of creating art under the direction of skilled teachers. He tells the story of one professor who told him his ceramic vase 鈥渨as flat鈥� but didn鈥檛 tell him to re-work it.

鈥淚t was through critiques like that I learned what I needed to do rather than being told what to do,鈥� Haywick said. 鈥淭he art program here at South has the best teachers I鈥檝e experienced anywhere.鈥�

He said the critiquing by his fellow students, who were much younger, was equally as valuable.

鈥淚 got on very well with them,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was never Dr. Haywick with them.鈥�

In April, his works were exhibited as part of the BFA Senior Thesis Exhibition in the Visual Arts Gallery. He is especially proud of two works displayed there, wall hangings that depicted the 鈥淎rt of Science鈥� and the 鈥淪cience of Art.鈥� One is a kiln-fired glass piece of bright colors. The other is a ceramic piece of highly detailed fossils.

鈥淥ne of the pieces will be my donation to the department of earth sciences,鈥� Haywick said. 鈥淚 have papers I want to write, and there are grants I plan to apply for that will mix my science background with the art side. I will be busy.鈥�

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