Creativity and Innovation Themes of Hancock Symposium

The entire Westminster community will gather September 11-12 for one of the College’s signature events, the 2018 Hancock Symposium.  

The theme for this year’s Symposium is Creativity and Innovation: Imagining Our Way Into the Future.  

“The political, economic, and environmental challenges that the world will face in coming decades will necessitate that we embrace innovation and creative thinking,” says Dr. Nate Leonard, Assistant Professor of English and Faculty Symposium Chair.  “These are two of the most defining components of our future.  In keeping with this, our Hancock Symposium will try to discover where the next great stroke of genius will come.”  

The three plenary speakers in Champ Auditorium for this year’s Symposium include:  

• Dr. Barbara Kerr, Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Kansas, on Bottled Lightning: The Psychology of Creative People at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 11; 

• Sarah Lench, Chief Curiosity Officer, Center for Innovation in Education on Beyond the Toothbrush Test: The 21st Century Imperative of Fostering the Creative Potential of Every Student in Every School at 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 11; and 
• David Wilson, Co-Founder of the True/False Film Festival in Columbia, MO on Film Festivals as Creative Placemaking, OR What Artists Can Learn from Disneyland at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 12.    

Since 2006, the Hancock Symposium has challenged students through intellectual discourse in two engaging days of lectures, panel discussions, and presentations on one particular subject of global interest.   

Classes are suspended for the day so the entire Westminster family can benefit from the distinguished speakers invited from across the country.   All sessions are free and open to the public.  

Visit wcmo.edu/symposium/ to learn about speakers, schedule of events and more.    

Follow #WCSymposium on social media for the latest updates and conversation about the event.