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Columns::July 21, 2003
Hire demands: Tuition hike pays for more faculty in high-demand majors
Self-study concludes with praise from accrediting agency
U. of Nebraska administrator gets diversity position at UGA
Larry Nackerud is named interim dean in School of Social Work
Free counseling services now offered for employees
Retirees
A proper introduction
Campus News
Paul Torrance, professor emeritus of educational psychology, dies
By Michael Childs
mchilds@coe.uga.edu
E. Paul Torrance, known around the world as the “Father of Creativity” for his nearly 60 years of research that became the framework for the field of gifted education, died July 12.
The 87-year-old professor emeritus of educational psychology invented the benchmark method for quantifying creativity, essentially creating the platform for research on the subject. The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking helped shatter the theory that IQ tests alone were sufficient to gauge intelligence. The tests solidified what had been only conceptual: that creative levels can be scaled and then increased through practice.
“E. Paul Torrance dedicated his life’s energies toward enhancing the recognition, acceptance and development of the creative personality in both education and the workplace. Already I miss his presence, and I know that the thousands whose lives he touched directly and indirectly must feel the same sense of emptiness,” said Richard Olenchak, director of the University of Houston’s Urban Talent Research Institute and president-elect of the National Association for Gifted Children.
In addition to developing the most widely used tests of creativity, Torrance created the Future Problem Solving Program and developed the Incubation Model of Teaching. He authored dozens of books and more than 2,000 published articles on creativity during the course of his career.
Torrance served as chair of the department of educational psychology at UGA from 1966 to 1978. He developed the Future Problem Solving program in 1974 as an academic activity for gifted students at Clarke Central High School in Athens.
By 1977, the activities had grown into a year-long program with interscholastic competitions and became international in scope. Today, an estimated 300,000 students in grades K-12 in 41 states and several foreign countries are involved in the FPSP.
The Torrance Center for Creative Studies, based in the College of Education’s department of educational psychology, was established after Torrance’s retirement in 1984 to continue his scholarly inquiry into the study, development and evaluation of gifted and creative abilities.
Born on a Milledgeville farm in 1915, Torrance earned his undergraduate degree from Mercer University, his master’s from the University of Minnesota and his doctorate from the University of Michigan.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers contributions be sent to support the programs at the Torrance Center through the Torrance Discretionary Fund or the Torrance Professorship. Contributions for either fund should be sent to the UGA Foundation. |
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