The ways building designs can affect the learning process, student motivation, and safety are the focus of a new Mississippi State research and service collaboration.

The Educational Design Institute, a joint project of the College of Education and the School of Architecture, is working with students, parents, educators and communities to plan for Mississippi's schools of the future, said director Jeff Lackney.

"Our goal is to provide services that help raise the level of awareness about educational facilities planning," the assistant professor of educational leadership said.

The Adequate Education Act of 1997 provided resources to modernize and expand classrooms around Mississippi. Lackney said the EDI "is here to support these and other design efforts in the state."

With assistance from assistant professor John Poros of architecture's Small Town Center, Lackney is working on a variety of research and outreach projects with state school districts. Both emphasize that the institute is not intended as a substitute for professional architecture services.

By collaborating with communities on ways school design supports educational goals, the center will work to encourage creation of safe, accessible, innovative, and learner-centered environments, Lackney said.