History

1954
Creative Education Foundation formed by Alex Osborn at the University of Buffalo.

1967                
Creative Education Foundation moved to Buffalo State, Creative Studies Center established. First graduate courses taught at Buffalo State. Creative Studies Collection started at E.H. Butler Library.

1969                
Creative Studies Project initiated; a comprehensive experimental study on the impact of a sequence of undergraduate creativity courses.

1974                
Undergraduate program approved.

1975                
Graduate program approved.

1990-91           
Department hosts major international research conference and working research meeting focusing on the disciplinary aspects of the domain of creativity.

1997                
Graduate courses offered via distance education. Our 125th student graduates with an M.S. in creativity.

1999                
Faculty initiates first overseas graduate course.

2001                
Faculty initiates 18-credit hour State University of New York Graduate Certificate for Professionals through distance education.

2002                
Name changed to the Creative Studies Department, which houses the International Center for Studies in Creativity.

2003               
Department begins to offer the M.S. in creativity to distance students. Our 200th student graduates with an M.S. in creativity.

2005                
Parnes & Noller scholarship endowed; an annual scholarship to support graduate students in financial need. Scholarship established to honor founding faculty.

2008                
Mary Murdock Creative Spirit Award endowed; a student scholarship in honor of late faculty member Dr. Mary Murdock.

2013                 
Entered into collaborative work with Sheridan College, Ontario, Canada. In support of Sheridan’s strategic plan, ICSC faculty provided professional development and participated in joint research. This collaboration eventually led to the creation of a board approved undergraduate certificate in Creativity and Creative Problem Solving at Sheridan. Curriculum and certificate endorsed by ICSC. Formal Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2015.

2014                
New York Times article on trends in higher education featured the work of ICSC (February 9, 2014, Education and Life Section).
            
Michele Marko Fairchild announces planned gift of $1.5 million to establish an endowed chair within the ICSC.
                
ICSC graduates its 500th graduate student.

2016                
Launch European based cohort of distance students in collaboration with the Academy for Creative Leadership and King Willem I College in The Netherlands.
              
Igniting Your Everyday Creativity MOOC (massive open online course) released. This MOOC, developed by Drs. Cabra and Burnett, was the third MOOC to be sponsored by SUNY. During the first semester of its availability, there were over 180,000 views, 43,000 enrollees, and 2200 individuals who paid to complete the certificate. Those who participated in the MOOC came from 158 different countries.
           
Sign Memorandum of Understanding with the University of the Virgin Islands. Through this cooperative program, ICSC provides the SUNY Graduate Certificate as one of three concentrations in the UVI Ph.D. program curriculum. Name of doctoral degree is Creative Leadership for Innovation and Change. First cohort of students begins August 2016. Through this MOU with UVI, ICSC alumni holding MS degree in Creativity can apply 18-credits from MS towards the UVI doctoral degree.
          
Buffalo State’s Creative Leadership program, in-house professional development program designed and supported by the ICSC faculty, receives the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ Excellence and Innovation Award for Leadership Development and Diversity.

2017                 
Department celebrates 50th anniversary and launches a fundraising campaign that eventually yields $113,000 in gifts over an eighteen-month period.
                
Enter into Memorandum of Cooperation with the Autonomous University of Bucaramanga (UNAB). Assist UNAB in establishing itself as the first creative campus in South America.

2018                
TIME Magazine releases special issue on the "Science of Creativity." Article within the special edition, "When Schools Get Creative," features description of the work carried out at ICSC.

2019                
ICSC enters into collaboration with Sichuan University, China. First recruitment trip conducted in April of that year. Goal is to recruit a cohort of 12 to 20 students each year to study in the United States and complete the MS in Creativity at Buffalo State.