Students expected a regular lecture from alumna Cheryl Strauss Einhorn ’91 during a Jan. 30-31 visit, but what they got was quite different.

First, the Robert S. Harrison College Scholar Program students were challenged to form small groups to create a completely new language. Then they speed-brainstormed their way to solve another problem – allowing pets on campus, planning a 24-hour event to raise money for charity or eliminating plastic water bottles on campus.

Einhorn’s talk, “Solving Problems You’ve Never Tackled Before,” was based on the AREA Method she’s developed to help individuals, companies and nonprofits to solve complex problems. Einhorn is an adjunct professor at the SC Johnson School of Business and founder of the leadership training and professional development company Decisive.

Einhorn’s decision-making strategies are also featured in resources offered to students by the Arts & Sciences Career Development office. Her module “What type of decision-maker are you?” helps students to understand which problem-solver profile matches their personality and how to use that information when searching for a job.

The talk took place during the spring College Scholar banquet at the A.D. White House. The College Scholar program offers students in the College of Arts & Sciences the opportunity to design their own interdisciplinary major, organized around a question or issue of interest, and pursue a course of study that cannot be found in an established major. 

“Each spring, we bring in a speaker to engage the students in activities that foster creative and critical thinking skills” said Michael Goldstein, professor pf psychology in the College of Arts & Sciences and director of the College Scholar Program.

Read the full story on The College of Arts & Sciences website.