I am pleased to inform you that Gerard Puccio, ’85, ’88, Buffalo State College professor and chair of the Creativity and Change Leadership Department, has been appointed Distinguished Professor by the State University of New York Board of Trustees.
The Distinguished Professorship is conferred upon faculty who have achieved national or international prominence and a distinguished reputation within their chosen field through significant contributions to research and scholarship or through artistic performance or achievement in the fine and performing arts. Appointment to Distinguished Professorship is a high honor. The selection criteria are rigorous and exacting, and Dr. Puccio is certainly deserving of this appointment.
Dr. Puccio joined the Creativity and Change Leadership Department in 1990 and has carved out an international reputation as an expert in creativity and creative studies. As a scholar, he models the research balance I applaud on our campus and in contemporary academia.
His scholarly publications include eight books, 19 chapters, and 26 refereed journal articles. He has provided training, facilitation, and consulting services to more than 100 organizations in more than 20 countries. Some of his recent clients include the BBC, Fisher-Price, Kraft Foods, and Rich Products.
He was awarded the Research and Scholarship Award from the Research Foundation for the State University of New York in 2005; the Buffalo State College President’s Medal for Excellence in Research, Scholarship, and Creativity in 2007; and the Tudor Rickards Best Paper Award in 2005 for an article in Creativity and Innovation Management.
Dr. Puccio made a major contribution to the field when he developed FourSight, an instrument used by more than 125,000 people around the world to gain insight into their own personal creativity.
It is not surprising that Professor Puccio ranks among the most sought-after speakers in his field. He is a highly engaged presenter, equally comfortable sharing his research on the global (International Conference on Creativity in Education), national (TEDx, Blue Cross Blue Shield), and local (Buffalo Public Schools, Erie County Department of Social Services) stages. In 2012, the Teaching Company invited him to design and deliver one of its Great Courses—The Creative Thinkers Toolbox—and named him “One of America’s Great Lecturers.”
One of the most important criteria to justify the Distinguished Professor appointment is evidence of leadership, an area in which Professor Puccio has again shone locally, nationally, and internationally.
At Buffalo State, he’s served as department chair for more than 20 years, a rare feat on any college campus. Under his leadership, creative studies has grown from a small college program to an internationally recognized headquarters for creativity, including developed partnerships with international campuses in Taiwan, Canada, and China.
Dr. Puccio’s leadership has put Buffalo State on the “creativity map.” This was clearly illustrated when our campus was recently chosen to host the annual meeting of the journal Creativity and Innovation Management.
On the national level, he’s served on prestigious advisory boards, such as the Academy of Creative Leadership, and editorial boards such as the Journal of Creative Behavior and Creativity and Innovation Management. In 2017, Dr. Puccio was included in the top 100 candidates in North America for the John C. Maxwell Transformational Leadership Award.
His tireless commitment, selfless leadership, and distinctive expertise make him a model scholar, mentor, leader, and example not only for Buffalo State but for the SUNY system as a whole. As a newly active member of the SUNY Distinguished Academy, Dr. Puccio will work with other distinguished faculty across SUNY to encourage a renewed commitment to quality instruction, service on our campuses, and leadership development for our newer faculty.
I’m extremely proud of Professor Puccio and hope you will join me in congratulating him on this remarkable achievement. We plan to formally honor him during our Faculty and Staff Recognition Ceremony in fall 2021.
