One of the world’s leading speakers will come to the University of Missouri in May. Sir Ken Robinson, PhD, will deliver the keynote address at the 2012 Celebration of Teaching.
Robinson is an internationally-recognized leader in the development of education, creativity and innovation. Videos of Robinson’s talks to the prestigious TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference in 2006 and 2010 have been seen by an estimated 200 million people in over 150 countries.
In 2005, he was named one of Time/Fortune/CNN’s ‘Principal Voices’ and in 2003, he received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the arts.
“We are very fortunate to have Sir Ken Robinson be part of our Celebration of Teaching at Mizzou,” said Jim Spain, MU’s vice provost for undergraduate studies. “Anyone who has heard him speak or watched his TED speeches can see why he is so highly regarded as a speaker. His speeches have a profound impact on audiences and we are excited to bring him to our campus.”
The Celebration of Teaching is a two-day event held at the University of Missouri, May 15-16. Robinson’s keynote address will take place at 1 p.m. May 15 in Bush Auditorium, Cornell Hall. His speech will be followed by a Q&A session and a book signing.
Robinson works with governments in Europe, Asia and the United States, along with international agencies, Fortune 500 companies and some of the world’s leading cultural organizations. In 1998, he led a national commission on creativity, education and the economy for the UK Government. All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education (The Robinson Report) was published to wide acclaim in 1999. He was the central figure in developing a strategy for creative and economic development as part of the Peace Process in Northern Ireland, working with the ministers for training, education enterprise and culture. The resulting blueprint for change, Unlocking Creativity, was adopted by politicians of all parties and by business, education and cultural leaders across the Province. He was one of four international advisors to the Singapore Government for its strategy to become the creative hub of South East Asia.
For 12 years, he was professor of education at the University of Warwick in the UK and is now professor emeritus. Robinson has received honorary degrees from the Rhode Island School of Design, Ringling College of Arts and Design, the Open University and the Central School of Speech and Drama, Birmingham City University and the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
Robinson has been honored with the Athena Award of the Rhode Island School of Design for services to the arts and education, the Peabody Medal for contributions to the arts and culture in the United States, the LEGO Prize for international achievement in education, and the Benjamin Franklin Medal of the Royal Society of Arts for outstanding contributions to cultural relations between the United Kingdom and the United States.
His book The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything (Penguin/Viking 2009) is a New York Times best seller and has been translated into 21 languages. His latest book is a 10th anniversary edition of his classic work on creativity and innovation, Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative (Capstone/Wiley).
In addition to Robinson’s keynote address, the Celebration of Teaching includes workshops, discussion sessions and recognition of campus authors. They two-day event is available to all faculty and staff at MU.
“The Celebration of Teaching continues to grow and is something that those who attend find great value in,” Spain said. “It is a chance for our campus to come together and discuss teaching and learning and how we can best serve our students.”
Registration is now open.
— Josh Murray