An internationally recognized creativity expert will be speaking on families and creativity tonight. Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi will address the connection between families and ingenuity. “I hope that [this will show] what parents can do to help their children be creative,” said Mary Jo Glanville, communication specialist in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Ann Marie Fiore, associate professor of textiles and clothing, said she also hopes it shows how parents can foster creativity in their children. “[I hope it helps people] to understand how parents influence the future success of their children, both educationally and professionally,” she said. Csikszentmihalyi is the 2000-2001 Dean Helen LeBaron Hilton Chair in the college. He is a professor of psychology at the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, Calif. Glanville said the Hilton Chair was established in 1995 to strengthen the college in different ways, with a different chair each year. Csikszentmihalyi was chosen as the Hilton Chair because he is an expert in creativity, she said. “The goal is to foster dialogue about creativity, how to use it for personal growth and strengthening programs within the college,” Glanville said. She said this lecture will be the second of three public lectures given by Csikszentmihalyi at Iowa State. He also will be giving seminars within the college and will be on campus until Oct. 20. Csikszentmihalyi will present his last lecture, “Creativity in Work and in Leisure,” at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union. “I [hope this lecture] motivates people to look into their own lives and to make better use of that capacity and their time,” Fiore said. Glanville said she hopes the lecture will give people new ways to meet challenges in the workplace. Csikszentmihalyi’s visit is part of the university’s yearlong “Strengthening families to become the best” Celebration, she said. Glanville said this theme relates to his final lecture because creativity helps give people satisfaction at work, which affects other parts of their life. “If you’re more satisfied with what you’re doing in your life, it makes your family stronger, it helps you deal with family relationships,” she said. “Everything is interrelated, and if one aspect of your life is strained, other aspects will be affected.” Fiore also said work and family are closely related. “What you find is that people who are happy with work also bring this joy and that creativity into the family,” she said.