Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Dr. Gerard Puccio Webinar

Dr. Gerard Puccio recently presented a webinar with Jonathan Vehar, cofounder of New & Improved, on the latest version of the Creative Problem Solving process. To download this webinar for free, click on this link.

Their discussion included :

  1. Creative leadership in the 21st century
  2. The latest version of Creative Process/Creative Problem Solving, which Puccio and his colleagues call the Thinking Skills Model
  3. Improvements in the new model and why we need a new model
  4. What skills are necessary to be an proficient creative change leader
  5. How can you acquire these skills

Thursday, January 6, 2011

In Honor of our dear friend and colleague: Dr. Mary Murdock



Today, January 7th, 2011, is the first anniversary of the passing of our dear friend, Dr. Mary Murdock.

Mary was known for her creative spirit, southern accent, passion for life, and love of learning. Although she started her professional life as a school teacher, academia proved to be her natural home. She excelled in writing, researching, and presenting, but as any of her students will tell you, her real forte was teaching. In fact, many former students have said that she was the best teacher they ever had.

Mary’s teaching was not limited to just the classroom. Every interaction with her provided an opportunity to learn. Sometimes the lessons were obvious, and at other times it took days or weeks for the key points to sink in. In many ways, Mary is still teaching us right now.

In honor of this extraordinary teacher, we would like you to share something that you learned from Mary. To start the process, this is what the faculty and staff of ICSC learned from Mary:

“I learned from Mary that life can be a fascinating process. Even the most difficult experiences bring some aspect of joy when you are curious about the process”- Dr. Sue Keller Mathers

“Having worked on many projects and products with my dear friend Mary, one of the most profound things I learned from her is that the creative process is rarely a straight line. I also learned that one should never stop living life to its fullest” –Dr. Gerard Puccio

“Mary's favorite quote from Torrance always reminds me of her, 'Don't be afraid to fall in love with something and pursue it with intensity'. And, my Mary favorite word – ‘Dawg’” Dr. Roger Firestien

“In Mary I saw the picture of grace under fire”- Dr. Jo Yudess

“Don’t let others steal your joy”- Debi Johnson

“There is nothing wrong with being emotional. Emotions make you feel alive!”- Dr. Cyndi Burnett

“I learned a lot about grace. When I witnessed Mary learn for the first time that she had a year to live, I witnessed her resign with a good grace all that should could not be but instead, and I quote Shakespeare here, ‘...translate the stubbornness of fortune into so quiet and so sweet a style’”. –Dr. John Cabra

In the comment box below, please share with us what you learned from Dr. Mary Murdock.

For more information on the Mary Murdock Creative Spirit Scholarship Award, please visit our website.