San Diego—Oct. 29, 2012—NewSchool of Architecture and Design (NSAD) President Steve Altman, speaking at the school’s convocation ceremony on Oct. 19 at Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego, encouraged students and faculty to take advantage of global education and learning opportunities in design and architecture fields. He also recognized NSAD’s contributions over the past year to environmental sustainability, urban engagement and preparing students for practice.

“We continue to improve and grow NewSchool of Architecture and Design into a global leader in higher education. We are building on a comprehensive program to internationalize the campus by bringing more international students to our campus, and encouraging more of our students to study abroad,” said Altman during the event that marked the start of the school year for almost 600 students at NSAD.

Altman reminded attendees that students can spend a term studying abroad at other institutions in the Laureate International Universities (LIU) network. He also highlighted the participation of NSAD in the tri-continental architecture master’s program offered through Universidad Europea de Madrid—which includes study opportunities at NSAD and schools in Spain and China. Additional collaborative opportunities are being developed with Media Design School in New Zealand and Domus Academy in Italy—all part of the LIU network.

The convocation ceremony also included a presentation by guest speaker Rob Wellington Quigley, FAIA, a well-known designer and architect of San Diego’s new downtown public library. Quigley emphasized the value of a global education, remarking that one of the values of studying abroad is in how the experience impacts students and their work when they return home with a different perspective.

During the event, Altman announced the hiring of NSAD’s new provost, Henri T. de Hahn, who is currently department head of the architecture program at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Altman thanked Acting Provost Kurt Hunker and announced that Hunker will become NSAD director of graduate programs and graduate architecture program chair. In other faculty news, NSAD Construction Management Program Chair Linda Thomas-Mobley will step into the newly created post of dean of academic and student affairs, while George Welch takes on the role of acting construction management program chair.

In addition to the school’s global education initiatives, Altman also emphasized the school’s three other “pillars”—environmental sustainability, urban engagement and preparation for practice—and a number of students and faculty members were recognized for their achievements during convocation. The NSAD Staff Member of the Year Award went to Laura Wilson, academic advising manager, and the Faculty Member of the Year Award went to Bruce Matthes, chair of general education. Student awards for academic and/or design excellence went to: Kasi Schnell, Tara Avery, Scott Hook, Quinn McCarron, Philip Auchettl, Liz Marie Oyas, Miguel Esobar-Evans, Morgan Blaydes, Anthony Salamone, Ramiro Martinez, Alexander Pisch, Brenda Licea, Gary Lewis, Robert Smith and Ba Le.

 About NewSchool of Architecture and Design
NewSchool of Architecture and Design (NSAD), founded in 1980, is located in San Diego, California. NSAD is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS). ACICS is listed as a nationally recognized accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. NSAD’s Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Architecture and Executive Master of Architecture programs are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). NSAD also offers a pre-professional Bachelor of Arts in Architecture, a Bachelor of Science in Digital Media Arts, a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management, a Master of Construction Management and a Master of Science in Architecture. NSAD was ranked among the top 10 undergraduate architecture schools in the western United States, according to the DesignIntelligence report “America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools 2012.” For more information, visit www.NewSchoolArch.edu.

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