Athens, Ga. – Joseph S. Renzulli, Distinguished Professor of educational psychology at the University of Connecticut and director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, will deliver the 2007 E. Paul Torrance Lecture on Wednesday, March 7.
Renzulli will deliver a lecture titled, “Where Did These Ideas Come From? Personal Reflections on the Creative Process,” at 5:30 p.m. in Masters Hall at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel.
Much of Renzulli’s four decades of research has focused on the identification and development of creativity and giftedness in young people and on organizational models and curricular strategies for total school improvement. His research has sought to apply strategies of gifted education to the improvement of learning for all students. He is a Fellow in the American Psychological Association and was a consultant to the White House Task Force on Education of the Gifted and Talented.
Although he has obtained more than $20 million in research grants, he lists as his proudest professional accomplishments the UConn Mentor Connection program for gifted young students and the summer Confratute program at UConn, which began in 1978 and has served thousands of teachers and administrators from around the world.
The lecture is open to all UGA faculty, students and the general public. A welcoming reception will be held at 5 p.m. and a closing reception at about 6:30 p.m. If interested in attending, please RSVP at creative@uga.edu or 706/542-5104.
The E. Paul Torrance Lecture Series annually brings scholars to UGA to discuss research and issues concerned with creativity. It was established in 1985 in honor of Torrance, a native Georgian and a pioneer in research on the identification and development of creative potential. He is most noted for the development of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, which today are used worldwide.
The lecture is sponsored by The Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development, which was established in 1984 by the late UGA professor of educational psychology Mary Frasier to continue the tradition of scholarship and excellence exemplified in Torrance’s work.
For more information on the Torrance Center visit http://www.coe.uga.edu/torrance/.