75th Anniversary

Jul 12, 2023

Landscape Architecture: An Early History

The landscape architecture program saw many successes in the early years as part of the School of Design. The program, accredited in 1951, was one of the first two accredited programs in the American South. Landscape art and gardening have been taught at NC State since the 180s, but the formal program wasn't developed until 1911.

Jul 6, 2023

Ready for the Turning Point

In the century since the term was coined, graphic design has continued to redefine itself in the face of both technological and cultural changes – whether that’s the birth of the desktop computer in the early nineties or the emergence of artificial intelligence image generators like DALL-E in the early 2020s. As such, graphic design at NC State has also been one of continual redefinition, at the forefront of emerging practices.

Jun 29, 2023

Sifting Through the Past

Associate Professor of Architecture Kristen Schaffer shares her experience of sorting through the archives as part of the research related to the College of Design's 75th anniversary.

Jun 23, 2023

A Driving Force

From its founding in 1948 to the present day, each dean of the College of Design has left a mark.

Jun 21, 2023

Architecture: Then and Now

Dean Kamphoefner displayed a clear vision to establish in only a few years an institution of national and international prominence. He used all means available to him, including the curriculum, faculty and student selections and negotiations for university resources, to achieve this goal. Explore the history of the architecture program to see how Kamphoefner implemented his vision.

Jun 13, 2023

Exploring our Spaces

Explore the history of the buildings that have housed students from the College of Design since its inception.

Jun 6, 2023

Trees of Design

As the College of Design faces the social, environmental and economic challenges of the 21st century in its 75th anniversary, the Tree of Design stares out from the pages of this early bulletin to capture our imagination on what interdisciplinary thinking might look like in the 21st century.

May 30, 2023

Celebrating Our 75th Birthday Through Community and Collaboration

The online 75th birthday celebration for the NC State College of Design was filled with nostalgia, joy and connection with the institution's rich legacy. Throughout the day, alumni and community partners took to social media to share their recollections of the college.

May 26, 2023

From Tragedy, a New School Found Its Voice

The first issue of The Student Publication of the School of Design paid tribute to the school’s first head of architecture, Matthew Nowicki, after his untimely death. Uplifted by his pioneering spirit, his students chose to carry it forward.

May 25, 2023

Art2Wear: A Tradition of Showcasing Wearable Art

Art2Wear — one of the largest student-run productions of its kind in the Southeast — has become a highly anticipated annual wearable art showcase. But the first one was a small, grassroots production.  It started in a fibers and surface design studio in 2002, where Vita Plume — then an assistant professor of art + design, who retired as an associate professor in 2012 — taught textile techniques such as weaving, knitting and dyeing cloth.

May 24, 2023

College of Design’s First African American Graduate Offers Perspective, Wisdom

Art Clement decided he would be an architect in the sixth grade, after learning about Frank Lloyd Wright and his Guggenheim Museum. Seven years later, he enrolled in NC State in 1966, part of the first wave of African American students attending the university. He began studying architecture in what was then called the School of Design. No one in the school looked like him, but he was committed to completing the five-year program.

May 22, 2023

Shattering Glass Ceilings To Shape a Modern World

Under a new dean and a new curriculum, Elizabeth Bobbit Lee thrived as the sole female graduate in a class full of men, even as she set the mold for a life well lived.

May 20, 2023

The Class That Started It All

The students who graduated from the School of Design in the spring of 1953 were the first to complete the new school’s five-year course load. Their commitment set the pace for everything that came after.