As with most NCARB volunteers, I began serving on ARE committees, focusing on the grading side of the exam process. Following my election to the NCARB Board of Directors, one of my first committee assignments was the Internship Committee—and eight years later, it is one of my last committee assignments. In FY14, I have the privilege of co-chairing the new Internship Advisory Committee with AIA’s John Padilla. When I first became involved with IDP committee work, the program had seen little change since its inception in the 1970s. Since then, we have seen significant changes, including computer-based applications and experience reporting, a six-month reporting rule, simplified work settings, and a surge in NCARB outreach to schools and emerging professionals.

As an NCARB volunteer, I have had the opportunity to represent the Council’s perspective in the architectural education arena, serving on four accreditation teams and as a delegate to two Architectural Review Conferences (ARC). The most rewarding outcome of my NCARB involvement is having helped shape the NAAB requirement that all architectural programs must have a trained IDP education coordinator to guide students. This requirement was derived from a position we developed prior to the 2008 ARC to require a student to enroll in IDP at the first opportunity in school.

The two most important committees I chaired were related to the selection of NCARB’s new CEO in 2011. A thoughtful and focused two-year effort resulted in the hiring of Michael J. Armstrong, who in his short tenure as CEO has placed NCARB in the forefront of every important conversation about practice and regulation of the architectural profession.

Although not an initiative of the Council, I asked our new CEO Mike Armstrong to ask the Board and NCARB staff one question: Why? Not only was this an opportunity for our new CEO to learn why the Board did what it did, it also provided the Board and staff a reason to reconsider why we did what we did. This question led to a series of Board-led “blue-sky” discussions at each of the Board meetings in 2011-12. Many of the ideas that were first discussed in those meetings are now being addressed in conversations about future versions of the IDP, the possibility of licensure at graduation, and at the most recent NAAB Architectural Review Conference.

The Council also was focused on helping jurisdictions implement the new continuing education standard in NCARB’s Model Law. It has been adopted by almost 20 jurisdictions.

Committees and staff prepared and delivered the Practice Analysis of Architecture Survey, which is now complete, analyzed, and will guide NCARB’s work into the future.

IDP 2.0 was implemented in April 2012. It was the first major change to the program since its inception. After its release, we received some feedback about other opportunities from the other collateral organizations, and with NCARB’s new commitment to agility, we were able to make an adjustment within a few months.

Face-to-face meetings with our Canadian counterparts in 2011-12 led to a new agreement this past June that modifies the existing Inter-Recognition Agreement to address changes to internship and examination requirements in both countries. The previous agreement had been in place since 1995.

After years of anticipating a new drafting software for the computer-delivered ARE, it became apparent in April 2012 that the desired product hoped for was unobtainable. At the time, the Board paused the development of the software while giving direction to the staff to develop the options for going forward. Those efforts have led to the development of ARE 5.0, which is expected to launch in late 2016.

Quite simply, technology! When I first volunteered, it seemed like every process was paper and pencil. A decade ago, there was one person on staff working on information technology, and now there is a staff of 15. NCARB has computerized all of its core record keeping processes allowing the organization to be more responsive and agile for its many constituents. These improvements have allowed the Council to examine key data to make reasoned and sound regulatory decisions.

The greater outcome of  “entering a 21st century computer environment” is the organization’s ability to commit time and energy to “big ideas,” leading the practice of regulation rather than dealing with problems inherent to an antiquated “paper-and-pencil” business operation.

Beyond the changes brought about by the information technology revolution at NCARB, ARE 5.0 will be the most significant accomplishment since computer delivery of the examination some 20 years ago. Not only will candidates be tested using the most current methods of high stakes examination, NCARB will be on a sustainable financial path forward.

NCARB has devoted a great deal of creative energy, time, and money to put the ARE and the IDP on strategic paths forward. It is time to engage one of our collateral regulatory partners, the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), in a discussion on the future of architectural education. How experience, examination, and education might be integrated, coordinated, and enhanced to provide a future architect with the knowledge and skills necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public in a practice environment is much different than it was 10 years ago.

It is critical for NCARB to remain at the forefront and lead the discussions about the regulation of practice and inform those discussions with data.

The Past President’s Council was created as a means for people who have given so much time and thoughtful leadership to the Council to remain informed and current in their knowledge of NCARB’s initiatives and activities. Many of these past leaders continue to practice and participate in daily conversations about practice and regulation. It is my desire that the Past President’s Council will give us the opportunity to continue speaking as informed and knowledgeable NCARB leaders.

Participating in the Past President’s Council meetings at the Annual Meeting, along with communicating with the CEO and staff throughout the year, will serve to keep my enthusiasm for NCARB’s work at the heart of my volunteer effort.

I would encourage them to attend NCARB Annual Meetings, stay up-to-date on the latest regulatory issues, and volunteer for an NCARB committee. Then I would remind him or her that you never know where this opportunity may take you. You just might be the NCARB president one day!