2005 Thatcher Hoffman Smith Prize winner Steven C. Levi accepts the award from founder Jeanne Hoffman Smith

April 29, 2005

Oklahoma City – Creativity can be taught and history can help leaders manage the future.  These two fundamental beliefs are the foundation of the 2005 Thatcher Hoffman Smith Creativity in Motion prize winner.

Steven C. Levi, a freelance writer, poet, teacher and historian who is developing an interactive software program that stresses the importance of history to solve problems creatively is the second recipient of the $40,000 prize.  Levi was honored April 10 at the Full Circle Bookstore in Oklahoma City.

Levi’s winning proposal, “Thinking Outside of the Box,” is a software tutorial and supplement to his book, Use History Like a Tool: An Unconventional Guide to Reading the Past and Managing the Future.  The software is designed to teach students how to solve problems creatively through the use of historical references.

“I developed my ‘Outside the Box’ concept because I felt my students were learning the wrong thing in history classes,” Levi said.

“Creative thinkers are not born; they are made.  The purpose of the project is based on the belief that everyone has the ability to become a creative thinker.  It’s just a matter of learning the techniques to turn problems into opportunities.”

Jeanne Hoffman Smith, Oklahoma City social worker, philanthropist and founder of the Creativity in Motion award, said she thought Levi’s project was a “wonderful tool.”

“There was something unique about our recipient’s project,” Smith said.  “We thought it had the possibility of making a difference in the way people understand history and make fuller use of their own creative processes.”

Paul B. Bell Jr., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oklahoma, which co-sponsors the prize, compared Levi’s software to the teaching approach taken in the college.

“We teach our students that they need to learn to think outside the box,” Bell said.  “We teach them how to think critically and continue learning throughout their lives.  Mr. Levi’s software is a tool with great potential to help students develop into life-long learners and creative thinkers.”

The $40,000 cash prize was established by Smith in 2002 to honor her father and mother, Grace Thatcher and Roy Hoffman Jr.

Smith said she created the award to honor individuals who are in the process of developing creative ideas, to encourage applicants who may not have received the recognition otherwise and to push applicants to continue in their future endeavors.

In describing how he felt when notified of receiving the award, Levi said he was “absolutely shocked.” 

“I am one guy with a laptop computer in Alaska.  I could not even get my friends to critique my Web site, and suddenly, here was this group of people who had not only gone into the Web site, but had given it a hearty vote of approval,” Levi said.

Levi, a 30-year resident of Anchorage, received his bachelor of arts degree in European history from the University of California, Davis, in 1970 and his master of arts degree in American history from California State College, San Jose, in 1973.  He has taught courses in Alaskan, Californian, American, European and ancient history as well as political science and economics at schools in California and Alaska.

In addition to his teaching, Levi has authored 20 books, written several hundred feature articles on business, economics, politics, history and travel for many magazines, published 11 books of poetry and currently has three movie scripts that are in consideration for production.  

As for his future plans, Levi believes this award is already changing his life.  In upcoming months, he will attend three educational conferences across the Unite States.  One of the conferences, a U.S. Military Command and Control Research Program, will feature the theme of “out of the box thinking,” where Levi will be presenting and discussing one of his papers.

“None of these conferences would have been possible without the Thatcher Hoffman Smith Prize,” Levi said.  “I am extremely grateful.”

For additional information on the Thatcher Hoffman Smith Prize and Creativity in Motion, please visit http://cim.ou.edu.