Glenn Griffin Joins the Department of Advertising

Dr. Glenn Griffin has recently joined the faculty of the Department of Advertising as an Assistant Professor. He is teaching Portfolio I in the Texas Creative program and an undergraduate seminar examining the connections between creativity and American culture. Griffin earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a Master of Arts in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of Alabama. He completed his Ph.D. in Advertising at The University of Texas and comes to the Advertising Department from a teaching post at Pennsylvania State University. A native Alabamian, he's pretty thrilled to be living in a warmer climate again.

Griffin says that he feels very fortunate to be part of "the best ad program in the country," citing the high caliber of the Texas students and the excellent preparation they receive at UT. In the courses he teaches, Griffin insists that personal creativity is something that everyone can access and develop; it's not a trait that only a few people possess. He encourages students not to fear creativity, but to be open to it and to realize it's just a different way of thinking.

Griffin's research interests are in the areas of creativity, cognitive and educational psychology and advertising education. His current research projects focus on advertising students' creative process and its implications for teaching and learning. While at the University of Texas, Griffin hopes to continue his research in the creative process and how people develop ideas. He plans to extend his research to studying creative professionals and how creativity training works in a variety of educational settings. He is experienced with qualitative research methods, including in-depth interviews, grounded theory analysis and ethnography.

Dr. Griffin's professional background includes creative positions in corporate marketing departments, and several years as lecturer/AAF team advisor at the University of Alabama. He has also done consulting work for a number of ad agencies and companies, including Mercedes-Benz U.S. International. If you ask him for advice on how to make great ads, he'll quote Jelly Helm, who reminds us that "it's not about what it's about." What does it mean? For Griffin, it's a powerful insight for teaching: The bravest, most brilliant creative work comes from ad students who aren't obsessed with context. It comes from the kind of bigger, broader, richer perspective that UT's Department of Advertising is uniquely equipped to provide. Dr. Griffin thinks that's "amazingly cool."

9/9/2003