Contact: Christie McNeal

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State’s Interior Design program is receiving a grant from the Nuckolls Fund for Lighting Education.

Assistant Professor Robin Carroll, principal investigator for the $30,000 grant, said the money will be put toward a new course, “Historic Lighting Environments,” that will broaden the outreach for the lighting design minor and be offered as part of the Master of Fine Arts in Historic Preservation curriculum.

A certified lighting consultant for 35 years, Carroll will serve as the primary instructor for the course that will cover design process, understanding light quality, energy and maintenance, conservation and exterior lighting. Assistant Professor G. Jeff Fulton, MFA historic preservation degree coordinator, will support the class with historical research.

“This course will really help students understand the importance of lighting in regards to historic structures,” Carroll said. “A lot of times, people—not wanting to take away from the historic nature of a building—will simply re-wire existing lighting. This can cause issues with the space not having enough lumens, which can have a visual effect and also pose a safety hazard. LED technology has provided smaller lamping, allowing for more lighting that can be hidden for a better, safer lighting experience.”

Carroll said the grant not only provides instruction and research for this new course but also helps create more hands-on learning opportunities through the purchase of lamps and lighting equipment and support for field trips to historical sites.

This is the third grant Carroll has received from the Nuckolls Fund—the first was in 2015 to start the lighting certificate, and the second was in 2019.

“I am so pleased and proud of the effort and dedication Professor Carroll has shown in her work to grow and improve this important area of lighting design for our college,” said Angi Elsea Bourgeois, dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Design. “The recognition of the Nuckolls Foundation is a great accomplishment, and more importantly, it will allow us to provide our students new and innovative curricula to expand their opportunities in the future.” 

The Nuckolls Fund for Lighting Education, established in 1988, supports college-level programs that inspire students to learn, appreciate and apply the basics of lighting and design in architecture. For more, visit https://nuckollsfund.org.

Learn more about MSU’s College of Architecture, Art and Design and its Interior Design program at www.caad.msstate.edu.

 MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.