The College of Architecture and Design presented its fifth speaker in the Robert B. Church III Memorial Lecture Series Monday. D.S. Friedman, dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Washington, spoke to students and presented "Ten Questions for NAAB." He discussed how architecture educators come together to decide how best to teach students.

Every year the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and The American Institute of Architects hosts a teacher's seminar at Cranbrook Academy of Art. In 2007, 30 participants discussed the professional curriculum of architecture, Friedman said. Instead of instructing other architecture educators on how to teach their students, they brought people together to explore alternative formulations of contemporary curricula, he said.

The 30 or so participants separated into various groups and created diagrams and ideas that formed an informative book.

"The requirements and conditions for practicing architecture have changed," he said. "Linguistic and symbolic structures have changed. However, curriculum and licensing requirements remain the same.

"We need to first understand what role the architect plays in the larger context of the trillion dollar (architect, engineering, construction) industry, and to do that we have to understand what we mean when we use this word 'architect'," Friedman said.

"If the NAAB is not the appropriate organization to introduce a useful fulcrum that permits teachers and educators to talk provost and state legislatures into a redistribution of these resources, who is?" Friedman asked.

The National Architectural Accrediting Board is the agency authorized to accredit professional degree programs in architecture around the United States. Obtaining a degree is essential in preparing for a profession in architecture. According to the NAAB, their mission is the leadership and establishment of educational quality standards to increase the value, relevance and effectiveness of the architectural profession.

Friedman discussed the proposition of the "fusion model." In June 2008, NAAB board members and other guests met to review five proposed models for accreditation. The next month, the board reviewed a proposed "fusion model" that aimed to incorporate the elements of each of the five models resulting in a stronger and more focused approach to accreditation.