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World Renown Creativity Expert to be Honored
May 8 -9 at Daemen College Conference
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Creativity experts, scholars, and practitioners from across the country and around the world are coming to Buffalo May 8 and 9 to honor Sidney J. Parnes, a pioneer and teacher in the fields of creativity and innovation, or, as one colleague noted, “A man whose legacy deserves to be recognized as a national treasure.”
The Creative Education Foundation, the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State College, and Daemen College are supporting the event honoring Parnes, who for the past 50 years, has produced seminal research, written numerous books and articles, influenced world leaders, and taught and mentored thousands of students.
“Sid’s sense of wonder and curiosity is so genuine that every person he touches has experienced tremendous insight into his or her own creative spirit,” said Mary Ellyn Vicksta, Creative Innovation Pioneer at Kimberly-Clark Corp. “He revolutionized creative learning by embracing and emphasizing experiential learning, sharing creative problem solving and unlocking the magic of the mind, such that he made creativity practices doable within a corporate environment.”
Parnes and the late Alex F. Osborn, widely considered the father of brainstorming, developed a research-based process for creative problem solving now called the Osborn-Parnes Creative Problem Solving Process (CPS).
Teresa M. Amabile, the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration at Harvard University, calls Parnes an idea revolutionary: “Sid Parnes democratized creativity, removing it from the exclusive realm of genius, and bringing it within everyone’s grasp. By learning the Creative Problem Solving process, people around the globe have been empowered to come up with new and better ideas for improving their lives, their work, and their societies.”
Businesses, organizations and individuals continue to use this process when seeking greater productivity in idea generation, breakthrough innovation, or a better understanding of social change.
“As co-author of the TV series Creating a Miracle, Parnes was able to pinpoint the reasons why South Africa did not have a revolution or bloodbath but an amazingly peaceful transformation,” said Kobus Neethling, president of South African Creativity Foundation, who worked with Parnes on the series. “He looked at the transformation from a CPS perspective and explained the creation of democracy and peace as no one had ever done before him.”
Many in education also adopted Parnes ideas. Student development programs such as ‘Future Problem Solving Program,’ ‘Odyssey of the Mind,’ and ‘Destination Imagination’ all use creative problem solving approaches based on CPS. In addition, Parnes founded the first Masters of Science program in Creative Studies at Buffalo State College, helped establish the Creative Education Foundation, and expanded the reach of the Creative Problem Solving Institute, a longstanding annual conference that attracts participants from more than 30 countries worldwide.
Recognized in the field, Parnes has won several awards for his teaching and service to the field, including Hall of Fame inductions by the Creative Education Foundation, the American Creativity Association and the Innovation Network. The weekend event, hosted by Daemen College http://www.daemen.edu/ and coordinated by volunteers, A Tribute and Celebration with Sidney J. Parnes will include workshops and sessions that demonstrate how Parnes work is the foundation for much that is happening now and for the future in the fields of creativity and innovation.
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