creative collaboration at lesley

From: Bill Barowy (wbarowy@yahoo.com)
Date: Thu Sep 06 2001 - 18:25:40 PDT


Hi Folks,

Vera was our keynote speaker for Lesley U.'s fall faculty development day, and
I thought I'd share a bit of what transpired. Vera has a calm and deliberate
manner about her on center stage. She is not at all like those speakers who
project their energy at the audience, raising adrenalin levels. Rather, you
find yourself listening carefully, and being glad that you did, because she is
speaking in long and thoughtfully phrased sentences. Pauses seemed perfectly
placed in time to mull over the ideas she has conjured. From my sense of
those around me, many others in Vera's audience found themselves thinking
carefully and deeply about what it means for people to be creative together.

And then there was a subtle shift when she offered the opportunity for
discussion and questions. Vera's big message was to think of creativity from a
joint developmental perspective, and with the web of consequences this
fundamentally different view poses from how we are enculturated as U.S.
academics, for some there seemed to be a bit of mystery about what all of this
meant. Yet Vera's quiet charisma accompanied the mystery and when one of the
audience presented a challenge to her, it was neither put nor received as
adversarial. Yet for many others I noted a strong sense of resonance, of
reflective, deliberate, and calm thought in a warm atmosphere with our
presenter, and with a flowing discussion becoming bigger than all of us.
Vera's response to the final question concerning global collaborative and human
rights issues brought a spontaneous ovation.

Vera, it was a wonderful pleasure. From what other faculty intimated to me
after your talk, many agree.

bb

=====
"One of life's quiet excitements is to stand somewhat apart from yourself and watch yourself softly become the author of something beautiful."
[Norman Maclean in "A river runs through it."]

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