Celebrating Alumni + Friends Weekend and the Designlife Gala

The College of Design celebrated Alumni + Friends Weekend and the Designlife Gala on April 21-22, 2023. The college was delighted to see so many friendly faces back on campus, touring our studios, and connecting with former classmates and colleagues at the reunions by the decade. 

Open House, Decade Reunions and Tours

Friday afternoon, there were over 100 people visiting the studios and spaces in the College of Design. Visitors interacted with the motion capture suit in the MADTech studio, saw presentations from our master of advanced architectural studies students, learned about Art2Wear and our K-12 programming, and more.  

On Friday night, over 220 people attended four reunion parties at firms and businesses across Raleigh. Special thanks to the event hosts: ColeJenest&Stone | Bolton & Menk, Inc., HagerSmith Design, rwl architecture + planning, Szostak Design, Cline Design, Clark Nexsen, Calico Studio, HH Architecture, Katherine Hogan Architects, Dash, Design Dimension, Little, J Davis, in situ studio and Surface 678. 

On Saturday, guests learned about the College of Design and Memorial Belltower through tours led by Jonas McCoy, Dr. Tom Stafford and Design Student Ambassadors. 

Designlife Gala 

On Saturday evening, under a tent on the Great Lawn of the JC Raulston Arboretum, 400 guests attended the Designlife Gala to honor award recipients Edwin F. “Abie” Harris and J. Stacy Utley. Guests mingled, learned about the history of the college, danced to Peter Lamb and the Wolves, and had fun using the photobooth provided by Endless Expressions.

Connect with us! 

Sign up to get involved! 
We hope this weekend reignited your passion for the College of Design. There are many ways to get involved, whether as a student mentor, guest lecturer, guest critic, or participant in a career fair. Share a little bit about your interests and expertise, and someone will be in touch with you to continue the conversation. 

Save the Date for Red and White Week! 
Please hold October 22-28 for NC State’s homecoming weekend, Red and White Week. We will have College of Design-specific events throughout the week.