Long flights can boost creativity, suggests expert

Sitting on a long national or international flight may may actually improve your creative thinking, suggests an expert on human creativity from Washington University in St. Louis. While reading a book or watching a movie may help fill up time on the plane, idle time can be a key ingredient to becoming more creative in your personal and professional lives, says R. Keith Sawyer, PhD, an associate professor of education and of psychology, both in Arts & Sciences.

Jason Echols: 2010 Outstanding Graduate in the Brown School

Jason Echols spent his time at the Brown School concentrating on gerontology — including helping to produce a contest-winning YouTube video on social work and aging. “We haven’t really done enough to talk about what happens when people grow older,” Echols says. Working with older adults is something he’s passionate about, and he’ll continue working toward that passion after he receives his master’s of social work from the Brown School May 21.

Deadline for entry into child-care center lottery May 27

The lottery for the first round of enrollment in the Family Learning Center at Washington University will be held Thursday, May 27. The Family Learning Center — scheduled to open Sept. 7, 2010 — will offer care for 156 children of faculty, staff and students from the ages of 6 weeks to 6 years.

Writing across generations

Jo Schnellmann (left), a Lifelong Learning Institute member, talks with writing partner Olivia Mozzi, a senior in Arts & Sciences, at the Skipped Generation Writers reading and reception April 30. The Skipped Generation Writers Project paired 11 undergraduate students with 11 senior Lifelong Learning Institute members on a nine-week collaborative nonfiction writing project.
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