Sheridan Creativity featured in Palgrave Handbook on Creativity Programs
Joel Lopata, along with co-authors Nathaniel Barr, Michael McNamara, Salwa Zahra, Genevieve Amaral, and Sean McNabney, has published a new book chapter documenting the development and impact of Creativity and Innovation programming at Sheridan College.
The chapter, “Tenets for Responding to Rapid Global Change via Creativity and Innovation Education at Sheridan College,” appears in The Palgrave Handbook of Applied Creativity in Global Higher Education, a comprehensive examination of courses and programs worldwide that foster creative skills to prepare students for successful careers in the 21st century. The handbook brings together international perspectives on how higher education institutions are integrating creativity and innovation training to address the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Joel and colleagues outline Sheridan’s unique approach to creativity education, which is built on three core pedagogical tenets: supporting both domain-general and domain-specific creativity skills, cultivating cognitive aptitudes across problem-solving paradigms, and leveraging ideation-based active learning methods. The chapter highlights the collaborative efforts of faculty and staff who have nurtured a culture of creativity and community at Sheridan since the program’s inception, and the partnership with Buffalo State University’s Centre for Applied Imagination.
Since 2015, more than 1,300 students have earned Sheridan’s Board Undergraduate Certificate in Creativity and Creative Problem-Solving—a unique credential that complements their degrees and equips them with essential skills for navigating volatility and driving innovation.
Sean McNabney, the former Dean of FHASS who was instrumental in launching the Board Undergraduate Certificate, had this to say:
“To see a chapter by Sheridan’s Creativity Studies team included in this new publication by the prestigious academic publisher Palgrave is both a celebration and affirmation of the uniquely innovative educational experience afforded to our students by our stellar faculty. Coming just after the 10th anniversary of the launch of our Board Undergraduate Certificate in Creativity and Creative Problem Solving, the inclusion of our collaborative article in this volume positions Sheridan amongst the select group of institutions committed to creativity worldwide; further, the article’s detailed account of the distinctly Sheridan approach to creativity programming clearly differentiates how novel (a key tenet of creativity itself) and institutionally integrated our approach is. Huge thanks and congratulations to the article’s writing team, to all who have supported creativity at Sheridan over the years, and to the creativity studies faculty team who daily bring their expertise, curiosity, and innovation to the classrooms for the benefit of our students.”
This chapter offered a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and share Sheridan’s distinctive approach to creativity and innovation education within an international academic forum. Fittingly, the work itself reflects the collaborative spirit of the program, bringing together faculty, administration, and students as co-authors, showcasing the work that continues to spark creative thinking in our students, colleagues, and community.
Congratulations to the Creativity Team!
Citation: Lopata, J.A., Barr, N., McNamara, M., Zahra, S., Amaral, G., & McNabney, S. (2025). Tenets for Responding to Rapid Global Change via Creativity and Innovation Education at Sheridan College. In G.J. Puccio, A. Lohiser, C.A. McKayle, & F. Hertel (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Applied Creativity in Global Higher Education (pp. [page numbers]). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-89816-7_7
