October 1, 2025

By Louis Huler 

This past August, School of Education professor Jennifer Katz-Buonincontro, PhD, was recognized as a fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA). This achievement is a significant recognition within the realm of psychology for her work studying and teaching about creativity development, with her nomination coming after years of contributions to the field.

For Dr. Katz-Buonincontro, this award is incredibly meaningful. On her journey to earning her PhD, she developed her interest for creativity in leadership and education, an interest she expanded throughout her career. In the past few years, she has worked with the APA extensively, initiating a grant program, a new mentoring program during covid, starting a diversity, equity and inclusion task force/committee. She is currently appointed to the organization’s Human Research committee in the Ethic Division. Officially receiving a fellowship marks a tangible benchmark in her work, particularly as it contributes to Division 10, The Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts.

“It was a little bit like going through a tenure or promotion, where an external body of experts evaluates the quality of your work, and then they make the determination,” Dr. Katz-Buonincontro recalled. “I just wrote up this statement that said how I've advanced psychological science with evidence of my work. It's really nice to be able to be recognized and to be able to say that I've been able to achieve it, especially if I want to apply for a grant.”

Above all, the fellowship is an honor indicative of the work she has already done. Her passion for the psychology behind creativity goes far beyond just personal interest- understanding creative processes has very broad connotations. “Creativity involves a cognitive process of thinking of new ideas, but also there's the other side, which is problem solving, ambiguous situations or ill-defined problems that don't have a clear or immediate answer,” she said.

Studying this has led her to make many connections with researchers and students around the globe, allowing her work to grow and interact with others saying, “In the arts, it's very common for people to feel like it’s a common language, that each person has their own personal version of artistic creativity.” It has also given her a unique way to connect not just with other professionals, but with her students here at Drexel.

Researching and teaching the field of creative development is part of the next steps in education, and is a subject that Dr. Katz-Buonincontro feels her students can use within their own eventual careers. In her teaching, she asks of herself, “How do we help people access and use creative thinking and problem solving when it's demanded of them unexpectedly?” or “How can they use it to develop something new that's never been conceived of before?”

Her philosophy is that creativity is more than just a process we possess as people, but a tool we can use and improve. “You can have a real effect on the world and you can make real change through developing and strengthening and flexing that muscle of creative thinking, creative problem solving,” she said.

This award is not only a professional milestone, but a personal one for the professor. “It's really nice to be able to work with them and have them say ‘hey, you did a good job,’” she said. “They’re people I look up to, I'll read something that they wrote and cite them. It feels really good to know that.”