The model of design education established at NewSchool — with its global mindset, sustainably minded classroom instruction, and innovative offerings adapted to reflect the shifting design landscape — represents innovation in higher education. As an intimate school with tight-knit faculty and student connections, NewSchool has the agility of a much larger university. At the core is our commitment to design thinking.
NewSchool is committed to connecting students to today’s practitioners, serving as their champions and mentors, and we offer our students strong relationships with top companies in our communities and around the world. Through internships and relevant job experiences, we prepare individuals for the practice of design, architecture and construction management.
The Right of Inquiry was first written by Dean Marvin J. Malecha as a guide for the development of a learning culture at the College of Environmental Design at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona. It was later modified by Dean Malecha for a second implementation with the College of Design at North Carolina State University. It is again being modified by President Malecha for a third implementation at the NewSchool of Architecture & Design in San Diego.
The Right to Explore an Individual Identity
Each person is unique with the reasonable expectation that creative expression is the hallmark of a life in design. No path of inquiry should ever be denied to an individual willing to undertake learning as a personal search.
The Right to Learn in an Environment Free of Prejudice
It is the right of an individual to experience the diversity of philosophical and cultural lessons in the world today. Each individual has the right to learn without fear.
The Right to Access Information without any form of Censorship
Knowledge must never be withheld from the learning experience because of the judgment of another individual on the basis of religious, social or political opinions. The free exploration of knowledge in all of its forms is essential to a vital design experience.
The Right to Mature in the Pursuit of Knowledge and Skill
The individual must be permitted to fail and therefore to mature in a supportive learning context as a fundamental opportunity to enhance the ability to address challenges without a known outcome. No one comes to a learning experience fully prepared for what will be either be discovered or needed.
The Right to Flourish in a Mutually Supportive Community
The creative process is nurtured in an environment of trust and dependent upon the relationships that develop between a student and a teacher fueled by advising and mentorship within and beyond the classroom. The need for a mutually supportive community extends to the relationship between students. The path of learning related to design must be pursued as a fragile journey.
The Right to Study in a Quality Learning Environment
There is a demonstrable connection between the quality of the learning place and the memorable learning experience. In this fashion, the facility itself becomes a learning tool.
The Right to Learn Perspectives Derived from Integrated Disciplines
Design must not become a silo of behaviors and knowledge. A singular disciplinary approach trivializes the possibilities of the design approach to society. Design is best understood in the context of many perspectives. It is dependent on joining disparate sources of information and the expertise of a diverse community into new configurations.
The Right to Experience Human Supremacy Over Technology
Education is directed at the well-being of the individual. Technology, in whatever form, is to serve this mission. People must always come first in the learning experience.
The Right to Expect Preparation for a Productive Life
The experiences of education must be centered on the power of thinking and the evolution of knowledge through time, preparing the individual for intellectual agility in a culture of reconfiguration. Professional preparation must be given due attention as the essence of the readying the individual for a life as a citizen design professional committed to the health, safety and welfare of people.
Download the Rights of Inquiry here.
“It’s a golden moment when you begin to see things that don’t yet exist.”— Marvin J. Malecha, President & Chief Academic Officer