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SRQ DAILY Nov 24, 2018

"I firmly believe we are entering a new era I call The Creative Age."

- Dr. Larry Thompson, Ringling College of Art and Design
 

[Under The Hood]  Pre-empting Paranoia
Jacob Ogles, jacob.ogles@srqme.com

“Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you.”

The line from Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 could as easily describe the chaos of tight election season as it does the mad bureaucracy of the military in time of war. That’s what makes it so difficult to solve problems with election systems at the precise moments when stakes are highest.

The thing about politics is there’s always someone after you. The nature of political races pits qualified people against one another, and it can be difficult to keep discourse respectful and based in fact.

You could see this in lawsuits filed around Florida’s statewide recounts, complaints justified with ideological arguments but driven quite clearly with strategic ends in mind. But as the Florida Legislature convened in Tallahassee this week, the topic turned to the future, meaning election reform. One hopes lawmakers put aside the legal arguments meant to justify particular ends and instead seek ways to make elections more certain.

The abundance of those watching the recount process closely in Florida feel the victors in the major races—Republican Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis, Relublican Sen.-elect Rick Scott and Democrat Agriculture Comm.-elect Nikki Fried—indeed won more legal votes than their opponents. But for those with the greatest stake in different outcomes, most obviously the opposing candidates, there remains room for doubt.

So what went wrong? When it comes to the creation of irrational paranoia, problems reached a critical mass about two days after the Nov. 6 election. That’s when thousands of votes still being counted in heavily Democratic Broward and Palm Beach counties shifted the Governor’s race into machine recount margins, the Senate race into hand recount range and actually flipped the victor in the extremely Agriculture race.

Speaking mid-recount to Republican Matt Caldwell, who lost the Agriculture race days after declaring victory, I got a sense he’d been made a fool by circumstances outside his control. He’d claimed victory based on bad information that showed fewer votes remaining to be counted than his margin of victory. Turns out, elections officials in many counties, not just those two, had far more vote-by-mail ballots waiting to be pumped through scanners. But nobody knew that, and but for a ridiculously close margin between candidates, that wouldn’t matter.

Forget for a moment the crazy theories flying around social media about boxes of Broward County votes materializing from secret back rooms. Honestly, after two recounts in less than a week, that type of fraud would have been sussed out had it actually occurred. Votes have audit trails. There’s multiple records tracking what voters come to polls and plenty of data on the precincts where votes come from.

But the paranoia came from a real place, one of helpless ignorance. Campaign officials, journalists and even elections office staffers felt a sense of freefall upon the realization a potentially limitless number of votes remained to be counted days after polls closed. That could have been solved easily if elections officials, before reporting the all-important results of a race, could first provide an accounting of ballots cast.

Had Caldwell known 80,000 Broward County votes still awaited tabulation, he likely would not have claimed a win for a race he ultimately lost. More importantly, nobody could speculate wildly about where ballots came from if we’d been told immediately how many ballots elections officials received. That simple step would not have changed the margins of victory in these races or stopped every legal fight, but it might have pre-empted many of accusations that fueled resentment throughout the recount process. 

[High Education]  Creativity Matters
Dr. Larry Thompson, lthompso@ringling.edu

If you know me or have been listening to my utterances over the past two decades at the helm of Ringling College of Art and Design, I have been repeating myself. Then again, what I have been saying bears repeating.

What I keep reiterating is that creativity matters.

Even though I lead an institution world-renowned for teaching art and design and the application of creative technologies, I can confidentially assert I am not being self-serving in taking the bully pulpit for creativity.

Why? I hope we all see that creativity matters. Every day we live in a world made more distinct, better and, yes, sometimes worse for the implementation of imagination that is creativity.

We are privileged to live in a community that values creativity as much as Sarasota does. It not only enriches our lives on a daily basis, but is crucial to solving the challenges and problems that face us now and in the future. Creativity matters, not just in the arts, but in business, government, the environment and our society.

Creative solution seeking is important to all aspects of our existence and livelihoods and is fast becoming one of the most valued skillsets of our time. It is one of the key drivers of our economy and is truly the “oil of the future.”

I have delineated the balance between right-brain and left-brain thinking and stressed the value in developing right-brained thinking skills as much as society has focused on left-brained skills. Our education system has focused on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) extensively; I promulgate that A for Art must be added to this concept. That addition results in “creating” the compelling acronym STEAM. While a STEM might grow, STEAM is an energy force that can move a stem, or even mountains.

What else can I say about the importance of creativity that you haven’t heard a dozen or more times already?

Ringling College is well established in your awareness for what we do. What I want to tell you now—if you have the patience and fortitude to continue reading—is why what we do is relevant and important.

I firmly believe we are entering a new era I call The Creative Age.

The Creative Age represents the evolution of our new reality. Humankind experienced the progression from hunter to farmer, from the Industrial Age to Technological Age. These progressions occur at faster and faster rates. The advancement into the Technological Age solidified the importance of STEM education with applied knowledge and left-brained thinking. Our schools evolved to meet the need for those skill sets, emphasizing analysis, numeracy, linear thinking, physics and logic.

In our current Creative Age, I see we need to expand those practical skillsets. We need to add strong right brain skills, including intuition and creative and holistic thinking both to achieve fruitful application of existing technologies and to create new approaches to provide future solutions to the challenges facing individuals, businesses and society.

Technology alone will not solve the world’s problems, and indeed has been responsible for many of them. How we creatively adapt, invent and utilize new and existing technologies is what will help us advance and make our collective futures.

How does Ringling College fit into this Creative Age construct?

By being at the leading edge of preparing young people for our future. By providing talented faculty and access to state-of-the-art technologies so crucial for fostering and developing Creative Age skillsets. By creating an environment that encourages students’ creativity and to discover and explore myriad solutions to challenges, today and in our future.

Life is not simply black and white, or shades of gray, but a wide spectrum of colorful possibilities. Ringling College is providing the groundwork so that solutions for the future can be drawn from this extended palette.

 

So, dear reader (and I thank you for staying with me this far), why is this important to you?

To get into the answer to that question is going to take more words and space than I have available today. I will be sharing with you in a series of upcoming columns why the Creative Age matters to you. And, specifically why Ringling College matters—to you, our community and the world.

Over the next several months, we are going to explore solid applications of creative thinking and design sensibility. We will discuss examples of creative problem solving in action. And we will seek to inspire you—to develop your personal curiosity and your own applied creativity.

It is my most fervent hope you will come along as we illuminate and draw you into the dawning of The Creative Age. Please join us.

Dr. Larry R. Thompson is president of Ringling College of Art and Design. 



[SCOOP]  SMH Achieves Magnet Recognition - Again

Sarasota Memorial Hospital received Magnet recognition again today, a testament to the health system’s nurses and organization’s continued dedication to top-notch care.  SMH has earned the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program® Magnet designation continuously since 2003, a four-time achievement attained by less than 1 percent of the nation’s 6,300-plus hospitals. SMH is among just 51 Magnet hospitals to earn the designation four times. Valid for four years, Magnet recognition is the highest national honor for nursing excellence and the gold standard for measuring quality of care and professionalism in nursing practice.  

To achieve Magnet recognition, organizations must pass a rigorous and lengthy application and review process that demands widespread participation from leadership and staff to demonstrate Magnet elements deemed essential to delivering superior patient care. These include nursing leadership and coordination and collaboration across specialties, as well as processes for measuring and improving the quality and delivery of care.  

“Magnet recognition reflects not only the hard work of our nurses, but also the support of our entire organization to create an environment that cultivates and promotes excellence in nursing,” said SMH Chief Nursing Officer Connie Andersen. “Achieving that recognition since 2003 demonstrates our health system’s ongoing commitment to providing the highest level of care to our patients and community.” 

[SCOOP]  Sarasota Opera Receives $50,000 Arts Appreciation Grant from the Gulf Coast Community Foundation

Sarasota Opera has been awarded a $50,000 Arts Appreciation Grant from the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. The grant offers unrestricted funding to area arts organizations in support of their artistic mission. This year’s Arts Appreciation Grant will help support Sarasota Opera’s 2018/2019 Season, which marks the company’s 60th year of presenting world-class opera on the Southwest Florida Gulf Coast.

“We are most appreciative of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation for their long-standing support of Sarasota Opera,” says Executive Director Richard Russell. “This grant will be used for production costs for our internationally recognized Opera Festival.”

Sarasota Opera is committed to producing opera as a living art form: offering a stage for American-trained artists, producing high-caliber training programs, owning, maintaining, and operating the Opera House as a year-round facility, and promoting and increasing public knowledge and appreciation of opera. In addition to striving for artistic excellence, Sarasota Opera directs itself toward becoming accessible to all of the greater community. Coordinated artistic, educational, informational, and social outreach programs help accomplish this. 

“We appreciate the Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s support which recognizes the impact that our opera has on all those in our community,” concludes Maestro Victor DeRenzi. 

[SOON]  JFCS Annual Gala: "It's a Jungle Out There," Dec. 16

Serving as one of two primary fundraising events for JFCS, this year’s annual December celebration, “It’s a Jungle Out There,” on Sunday, December 16th, is taking on a promise of hope and brighter futures, aligning JFCS’ commitment to guiding and supporting clients on their journeys through the jungle of life. This also includes a shift from black tie to more colorful cocktail attire.

Co-chaired by Margie and Chuck Barancik and Clare and Rich Segall, the JFCS Celebration also provides an important platform for the non-profit organization to share its mission by showcasing how JFCS works with the Sarasota community to change lives together.

For tickets and information, visit www.jfcs-cares.org, contact events@jfcs-cares.org or call 941-366-2224. 

SRQ Media Group

SRQ DAILY is produced by SRQ | The Magazine. Note: The views and opinions expressed in the Saturday Perspectives Edition and in the Letters department of SRQ DAILY are those of the author(s) and do not imply endorsement by SRQ Media. Senior Editor Jacob Ogles edits the Saturday Perspective Edition, Letters and Guest Contributor columns.In the CocoTele department, SRQ DAILY is providing excerpts from news releases as a public service. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by SRQ DAILY. The views expressed by individuals are their own and their appearance in this section does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. For rates on SRQ DAILY banner advertising and sponsored content opportunities, please contact Ashley Ryan Cannon at 941-365-7702 x211 or via email

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