Director Of The Imagination Institute To Be Next Distinguished Lecturer At Florida Southern College

Scott Barry Kaufman, who used his childhood experiences dealing with deafness to become one of America’s leading thinkers about intelligence and creativity, will be the next speaker in Florida Southern College’s new Child of the Sun Distinguished Speaker Series.

Dr. Kaufman, scientific director of The Imagination Institute and a researcher in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, will deliver the lecture at 7 p.m. on April 19 in the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel on the FSC campus. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Dr. Kaufman is a cognitive psychologist who studies the development of intelligence, creativity, and personality. Rendered nearly deaf as a 3-year-old child by severe ear infections, he was placed in a special education classroom because of his delay in processing information.

Dr. Kaufman investigates the measurement and development of imagination, debunks traditional methods of measuring intelligence, and encourages his audiences to move toward a culture of inspiration, in which we only compare people to their past and future selves. He is the author of the books Ungifted and Wired to Create and holds a doctorate in cognitive psychology from Yale University and a master’s degree in experimental psychology from Cambridge University, where he was a Gates Cambridge Scholar.

Dr. Kaufman’s lecture continues the theme of “The Year of Science” in the inaugural Child of the Sun Distinguished Speaker Series. Featuring highly regarded experts, the Series aims to provide a forum for members of the campus and greater Lakeland community to engage with a variety of world-class speakers on stimulating topics ranging from culture and politics to art and science, and to encourage deep, interdisciplinary thinking and conversation about complex problems and challenges.