Georgia Southern interior architecture and design professor earns $20K grant to advance lighting design education

Georgia Southern University’s Beth McGee, Ph.D., associate professor of interior architecture and design and assistant chair of the School of Human Ecology, was awarded $20,000 through The Nuckolls Fund for Lighting Education “Create Your Own Grant” program in 2026. 

“We are incredibly proud of Dr. McGee’s achievement,” said Trent Davis, Ph.D., interim dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. “Lighting is an important element of interior design, and this grant will allow our students to gain hands-on experience with the latest knowledge in a rapidly evolving field.”

The grant proposal was developed collaboratively with the Lighting Knowledge Network and led by Principal Investigator Stephanie McGoldrick, assistant professor of interior architecture and design at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. 

This funding will be used to create a curated open access educational resource aimed to improve the teaching and learning of lighting design. The team plans to use this online, evidence-based curriculum to foster interior design, architecture and engineering students. 

“Receiving the Nuckolls Grant is a huge win for our team,” said McGee. “It validates the hard work we’ve put into preliminary testing regarding identifying the current needs in lighting design education. We aim to provide an innovative curriculum that will continuously be updated within the Lighting Knowledge Network (LKN) which is one of several knowledge networks within the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC), an organization committed to advancing interior design education.  I am excited to see how bringing together a more up-to-date and evidence-based approach to teaching will inspire student creativity and technical proficiency.”

The interior architecture and design program continues to thrive as a center for learning, technology and craftsmanship. McGee looks forward to continuing to help graduates enter the workforce not just as generalists but as specialists in environmental behavior. 

“My goal is to change how our students see their role,” said McGee. “We aren’t just picking fixtures. We are manipulating the atmosphere to improve lives. The Nuckolls Grant is helping us provide a tool that will support making Georgia Southern a premier destination for innovative lighting-focused interior design.”