The CPS and CSC Connection: Buffalo, NY: A Founder's View

John Sharkey and Ralph Januale, 1999

• Brainstorming: the unrestrained offering of ideas by individuals using the principles of deferring judgment, striving for quantity, freewheeling, and seeking combinations to seek solutions to a problem.
• Center for Studies in Creativity (CSC): this is the educational program for creativity and creative problem solving. It is located at SUNY College at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY. The Center's purpose is to promote and improve our understanding of creativity and its many applications.
• Creative Education Foundation (CEF): is a not-for-profit organization based in Buffalo NY that is committed to nurturing creativity, innovation, problem solving in order to help individuals and organizations reach their creative potential.
• Creative Problem Solving (CPS): refers to the general efforts made by any individuals or groups to think creativity in order to solve a problem.
• Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI): is an international institute hosted by the CEF in Buffalo NY annually. Various workshops are conducted on current problem solving, facilitation, and leadership trends.

The rationale behind this paper is to make the connection between some of the historical CPS events that occurred in Buffalo NY and the Center for Studies in Creativity, which is also located in Buffalo NY. Both of these have had a lasting impression on the field of creativity and creativity-based research.

Introduction

Often when one reads an article on creativity or any other subject the reader can only see the printed word, and nothing more. Certainly one can interpret what the author is saying and maybe even be able to get into his or her mind, but what can't be experienced is the passion and commitment that an author has for a cause, this is one such paper. The selection of this topic was a result of our attendance at the Creative Problem Solving Institute (1999) held in Buffalo NY.

This topic was a natural fit after experiencing a true leader, mentor, pioneer, and founder in the field of creativity and creativity research, his name is Sidney Parnes. This paper is based primarily on a thirty minute taped interview with Sid Parnes that occurred on June 23, 1999 with additional support from several recent published articles. This paper is segmented into four primary sections; the first, entitled Background of CPS, is an introductory look at the early formation of CPS and its heritage. Section two, Breaking New Ground will cover the early beginnings of CPS and the development of a creativity curriculum at various places of higher learning in Buffalo NY. The third section; the Parnes Era, deals with Sid's time while at Buffalo State College and discusses the development of the Creative Studies program and the Center. The final section; Keeping it Going, addresses what Sid feels is the future direction that creativity and creativity research needs to take.

Background of CPS

The field of Creativity and Creative Problem Solving has a relatively young life as compared to other sciences, such as biology and psychology. In 1950 J. P. Guilford as president of the American Psychological Association delivered a classic speech in which he called for immediate action in the neglected field of creativity research.

A direct result of this speech was the Aptitudes Research Project at the University of Southern California. This projects primary goal was to understand human intelligence and the cognitive processes of individuals when they are in the act of creative production. The results of this project seem to suggest that an educated individual's mental function of creativity is basically shared by most of humankind.

Another driving force during this time period was that of the Utah Conferences, the first of which was held in 1955 under the direction of Calvin W. Taylor. This event was followed by a series of creativity conferences in Utah. These conferences were funded by the National Science Foundation to help cultivate the best and the brightest individuals in the field of creativity and creativity research.

Sid Parnes had mentioned that there was a great need for creativity at this time due to the Russian's monumental launch of sputnik, which was the catalyst for the great space race of the era.

Perhaps the most ground breaking event of this era was the book "Applied Imagination" by Alex Osborn in 1953. This publication described the Creative Problem Solving process. It also described the tool brainstorming and its associated guidelines of deferment of judgment, striving for quantity, freewheeling, and seeking combinations. This technique is most effectively used in a group setting to generate numerous ideas when tackling a problem.

Breaking New Ground

Dr. Parnes (1992) stated in his Source Book for Creative Problem Solving "Creativity can be considered a function of knowledge, imagination, and evaluation. Without knowledge, there obviously can be no productive creativity" (p. 137). With this quote in mind Dr. Parnes began his journey to find a home for this creativity knowledge.

Sid Parnes first came to Buffalo NY in 1956 as an assistant professor in the retailing department at the University of Buffalo. Creativity was being taught at the university prior to Sid's arrival in an evening extension division known as Millard Filmore College. This single creativity course taught by the Retailing Department in the evening was offered from 1949 to 1953. The class sessions met weekly and were taught by account executives from the advertising company of BBD&O (Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn). These account executives would travel to Buffalo every week to instruct the students on various creativity topics and techniques.

In 1953 this course was finally offered during the day as an elective and according to Sid it received widespread student interest. Around this time 1954, to be specific, the Creative Education Foundation (CEF) was founded by Alex Osborn and hosted the first ever Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI) at the University of Buffalo.

This was a dream of Osborn, which to this day attracts thousands of people annually. Additionally the Creative Education Foundation established the Journal of Creative Behavior, the only periodical at the time devoted exclusively to creativity and creativity research.

As previously mentioned Sidney Parnes came to Buffalo in 1956 and developed numerous working relationships with a wide variety of professionals, including some faculty at Buffalo State College. Dr. Parnes began to invite several of the faculty from Buffalo State College to attend CPSI on a scholarship basis, and that was to be the beginning of a historic journey.

The Parnes Era

After twelve years of frustration and lack of enthusiastic support at the University of Buffalo, Sid Parnes went to Buffalo State College to launch an interdisciplinary creativity program at the graduate level. This program was under the guidance of the Education Department at the College and this pilot program was to be under evaluation for the first two years.

To further sell his idea of a creative studies curriculum, being only a faculty of one, Sid proposed to use the concept of traveling professors in the summer months. Some of these noteworthy professors included Morris Stein and J. P. Guilford. With this approval to proceed in 1967 the Interdisciplinary Center for Creative Studies was formed at Buffalo State College with Sidney Parnes as its founding director.

Despite the death of Alex Osborn in 1966, Sid Parnes continued to develop and modify Osborn's original seven stage CPS model. After numerous adaptations the Osborn-Parnes Five Stage CPS model was born. This model's stages were: Fact Finding, Problem Finding, Idea Finding, Solution Finding, and Acceptance Finding. The advantage of this model was the depiction of the alternating process known as divergent and convergent thinking. This notion of divergent and convergent thinking occurs in every stage of this model. Sidney Parnes began teaching various graduate level creativity courses at BSC for the next several years until the addition of Ruth Noller to the staff in 1970.

With Ruth now onboard they undertook a true pioneering initiative called the Creative Studies Project, which validated that, creative studies content could indeed be taught and learned effectively. A direct result of the creative studies project was four approved elective courses at the graduate level, including one course that facilitated the "application of creativity to (an individuals major)".

Because of this unique course offering the new interdisciplinary center had tremendous support from the rest of the college faculty. In 1975 the graduate program of creative studies was approved, but not without conflict. Originally the college senate rejected the notion of this new curriculum. Sid was out of town when he learned of the news and was not going to take this rejection without a fight. Immediately Sid returned to Buffalo and began to contact fellow faculty to assist him in the battle to establish the graduate program, obviously he was successful.

Sid and Ruth continued teaching creative studies and in 1981 Scott Isaksen joined the facility to assist in the now formalized Masters of Science degree in Creative Studies. In 1982 Sid turned over the directorship of the center to Scott Isaksen. With many fond memories and a tremendous sense of satisfaction Sid Parnes retired in 1984 as a Professor Emeritus from Buffalo State College.

Keeping it Going

Though not actively teaching as he once did Sid Parnes has his own philosophy on where the study of creativity and creativity research needs to go. As stated in Understanding and Recognizing Creativity: The Emergence of a Discipline (1993) Dr. Parnes feels that, "educational programs to develop creativity involved what I call a shotgun approach. What I would like to see in the next decade is the development of a rifle approach that aim at particular types of individuals (as the styles research has recently studied)" (p. 473).

Additionally, Sid has expressed an interest on studying the effects of training based on real-life criteria. These are all magnificent points for future creativity-based research that only a true pioneer, mentor, and visionary can articulate. We are all very grateful for the insight and knowledge that Sid has shown to all within this discipline and with this we simply say "carry on". As a footnote in 1985 the Interdisciplinary Center for Creative Studies was renamed the Center for Studies in Creativity.

Bibliography

Isaksen, S. G. , Murdock, M. C. , Firestien, R L. , & Treffinger, D. J. (Eds. ). (1993). Understanding and recognizing creativity: The emergence of a discipline. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing.

Parnes, S. J. (Ed. ) (1992). Source book for creative problem solving. Buffalo, NY: Creative Education Foundation Press.

Parnes, S. J. , (Speaker). (1999). History of the center for studies in creativity (cassette recording). Buffalo, NY: Center for Studies in Creativity.