World-renowned creativity expert TERESA AMABILE (Harvard) delivers the 2025 Annual Torrance Lecture. 

This lecture is part of the 2025 Fall Signature Lecture Series of the University of Georgia (UGA). 

Talk Title: A Labor of Love - Insights from a Creativity Research Program

Talk Summary: I will begin this talk at the very beginning, my first encounter with the word “creativity” as a child. After discussing how my fascination with this field of study grew over time, I’ll briefly describe my creativity research program of 40+ years, the main insights it yielded, and the many revisions of my creativity theory over the years. I will highlight a few personal lessons and offer some thoughts on the future of creativity research.

Speaker Bio: Teresa M. Amabile is an internationally recognized researcher, writer, speaker, and emerita professor at Harvard Business School, most widely known for her pioneering research on creativity, everyday work life, and retirement. Her 45-year program of research on how the work environment can influence creativity and motivation yielded a theory of creativity and innovation; methods for assessing creativity, motivation, and the work environment; and a set of prescriptions for maintaining and stimulating innovation. Her books include (1) Growing Up Creative, (2) Creativity in Context, (3) The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work, and (4) Retiring: Creating a Life That Works for You. Her honors include being inducted into the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame (2024), being named within the top 50 scholars in business/management by the journal PLOS Biology (2020), receiving an Honorary Doctorate from the BI Norwegian School of Management in Oslo (2019), winning the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management, and receiving  the 2017 Distinguished Scholar Award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, a division of the American Psychological Association. 

• PLEASE REGISTER TO ATTEND THIS EVENT: https://forms.gle/h6yf42QWNFuYbGQ29
• There are many parking options near the UGA Chapel, including the North Campus Parking Deck (Lot N06) on Jackson Street. https://tps.uga.edu/parking/visitors/
• If you have any accommodations requests, please email (creative@uga.edu) the event organizer at least 7 days in advance (by September 23). 

Unit contact information: Tabatha Minish, Administrative Specialist, Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development (email: creative@uga.edu).