WKU Liberal Arts by the Lake Lecture Series | Think You’re Not Creative? Think Again

On June 10, 2026, Dr. Chee-Seng Tan, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology of the College of Liberal Arts, delivered a lecture titled “Think You’re Not Creative? Think Again” as part of the WKU Liberal Arts by the Lake lecture series. The lecture welcomed faculty members, students, and representatives from CLA partner organizations, including Wenzhou Seventh People’s Hospital, to explore how creativity can be understood, practiced, and developed in everyday life.

WKU Liberal Arts by the Lake is a public lecture series co-organized by the College of Liberal Arts and WKU Library. Featuring distinguished faculty from fields such as history, media and creative industries, English, literature, philosophy, psychology, and other humanities and social sciences, the series invites the wider community to meet inspiring thinkers and explore the world from fresh perspectives.

During the lecture, Dr. Tan challenged the common belief that creativity is not a rare gift reserved for artists, inventors, or geniuses. Drawing on creativity research, he explained that everyone has creative potential and introduced the 4C Model of Creativity, which shows that creativity can appear in personal learning, daily problem-solving, professional practice, and major breakthroughs. He also introduced SCAMPER, a practical tool for generating new ideas through strategies such as substituting, combining, adapting, modifying, eliminating, and rearranging existing ideas.

The lecture encouraged participants to rethink creativity not as an inborn talent, but as a skill that can be developed through practice, curiosity, and flexible thinking. One of the key messages was that creativity often begins with seeing familiar things from a new angle and connecting existing ideas in unexpected ways. The active participation and lively discussion reflected the audience’s strong interest in applying creative thinking to their studies, work, and daily lives. Dr. Chee-Seng Tan’s lecture concluded the Spring 2026 lecture series. The series will continue in Fall 2026 with more inspiring speakers, and we look forward to your participation.

Introduction to WKU Liberal Arts by the Lake

Meet inspiring thinkers. Explore the world from fresh perspectives.The College of Liberal Arts at Wenzhou-Kean University invites the community to a dynamic public lecture series featuring distinguished faculty whose work spans history, media and creative industries, English, literature, philosophy, psychology, and other humanities and social sciences. These talks open a window into the vibrant intellectual life of WKU and showcase how liberal arts education shapes the leaders, creators, and problem-solvers of tomorrow.

Content Source | College of Liberal Arts

First Review | Zhu Haojing

Second Review | Tang Lianyi

Third Review | Ren Yuanyuan