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The National Conference on the Beginning Design Student (NCBDS) is a national peer review scholarly gathering dedicated to the study and practice of beginning design education.  For over 25 years, the NCBDS has provided a forum for design educators to present papers and projects and hold discussions related to introductory design issues. 

The NCBDS’s origins reside in a small gathering entitled Beginnings.  This gathering, held in 1972 at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and organized by Tim McGinty and Gerry Gast, brought together for the first time design educators to discuss introductory design education.  Just over a decade later, after a second gathering held in 1983 at Cranbrook Academy, the first Beginning Design Conference was held in 1984 at Arizona State University.  Since that conference in Arizona, the National Conference on the Beginning Design Student has been and continues to be the primary venue for discussion about the practice of and research into for beginning design. 

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the NCBDS’s longevity is that the conference has no formal organizational structure.  It has no president, no treasurer, and no dues.  Instead, the conference has a dedicated community of beginning design educators whose interest in the educational challenges and attendant pedagogies, projects, and curricular strategies associated with beginning design propel the conference. 

The Research Office for Novice Design Education is honored to host the National Conference on the Beginning Design Student website and past proceedings database.  The Research Office is also pleased to present Past Papers of the National Conference of the Beginning Design Student, published in Batture, The Louisiana State Univerity School of Architecture Journal.  The issue is available here.

History:

1972 - Beginnings, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, 1972.

1983 - Cranbrook Meeting, Cranbrook Academy, 1983. 

1984 - Drawing and Environmental Design, Arizona State University.  Tim McGinty, Chair.

1985 - 2nd Annual Basic Design Conference, Arizona State University. Tim McGinty, Chair.

1986 - 3rd Annual Basic Design Conference, Arizona State University. Tim McGinty, Chair.

1987 - 4th Annual Conference on the Beginning Design Student, Arizona State University. Tim McGinty, Chair.

1988 - 5th National Conference on the Beginning Design Student, University of New Mexico. Nicholas Markovich, Tim McGinty, Chairs.

1989 - 6th Conference on the Beginning Design Student, Tulane University. Michael Crosby, Donald Gatzke, Nicholas Markovich, Chairs.

1990 - 7th National Conference on the Beginning Design Student, Louisiana State University. Nicholas Markovich, Chair.

1991 - 8th Annual Conference on the Beginning Design Student, Arizona State University. Mary Hardin, Tim McGinty, Chairs.

1992 - 9th National Conference on the Beginning Design Student

1993 - 10th National Conference on the Beginning Design Student, Tulane University.  Donald Gatzke, Scott Wall, Chairs.

1994 - 11th National Conference on the Beginning Design Student, University of Arkansas.  Jeff Hartnett, Greg Herman, Murray Smart, Chairs

1995 - 12th National Conference on the Beginning Design Student, Virginia Tech.  Marie Wall, Chair.

1996 - 13th NCBDS: Into the Abyss, Louisiana State University. Tom Sofranko, Nicholas Markovich, Chairs.

1997 - 14th NCBDS: Not Only But Also, Carnegie Mellon University.  Bruce Lindsey, Laura Lee, Chairs.

1998 - 15th NCBDS, University of California, Los Angeles. Jose Gamez, Chair

1999 - 16th NCBDS: Quality, Origins, and Foundations, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Jeff Hartnett, , Chairs.

2000 - 17th NCBDS, University of Puerto Rico. Jorge Rigua, Chair.

2001 - 18th NCBDS. Portland State University. Rudy Burton, Clive Knights, Chairs

2003 - 19th NCBDS: Unstaked Territory, Oklahoma State University.  Eric Connell, Chair.

2004 - 20th NCBDS: Not White, Diversity in Beginning Design, Hampton University.  Shannon Chance, Theodore Sawruk, Chairs.

2005 - 21th NCBDS: The Beginner’s Mind, University of Texas, San Antonio.  Steve Temple, Chair.

2006 - 22nd NCBDS: Intersections, Iowa State University.  Igor Marjanovic, Clare Robinson, Chairs.

2007 - 23rd NCBDS: Translation, Savannah Colleg of Art and Design. Conrad Rathman, Chair.

2008 - 24th NCBDS: We Have Never Been Pre-Disciplinary, Georgia Institute of Technology.  Sabir Khan, Chair.

2009 - 25th NCBDS: But Also, We are a Discipline, Louisiana State University. Jim Sullivan, Matt Dunn, Chairs.

2010 - 26th NCBDS: Made: Design Education & The Art of Making, UNC - Charlotte. Jeffrey Balmer and Chris Beorkrem, Chairs.

2011 - 27th NCBDS: Beginning of/in the End - Sustainable (re)Started: PART 1, University of Nebraska. Peter Hind, Lindsey Ellsworth Bahe, Tim Hemsath, Chairs.

The Research Office for Novice Design Education is honored to host and maintain the NCBDS website. The Research Office also houses many past proceedings and an other NCBDS archival documents. Please send comments to Jim Sullivan at jsullivan@lsu.edu.

The NCBDS and the Research Office would like to thank Tim McGinty, Jeff Hartnet, and Tom Sofranko for their generous donations of past proceedings and other archive material.

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