The 2010 annual faculty retreat Friday focused on bringing creativity and collaboration into the classroom to prepare the next generation of thinkers

230 faculty members from different departments across campus gathered together in the Illini Union to learn how to apply these ideas to higher education, said Cheelan Bo-Linn, event coordinator and head of Instructional Development at the Center for Teaching Excellence on campus.

The event was sponsored by the Provost’s Office, the Center for Teaching Excellence and the Office of Continuing Education.

“The level of support and participation shows that this campus is committed to teaching and learning,” Bo-Linn said.

Keith Sawyer, professor at Washington University in St. Louis, served as the keynote speaker.

“We are all here because the world is changing,” Sawyer said. “We need students and graduates to come out of school being creative. They need to be able to solve global, pressing problems. Creativity is more important than ever before in history.”