Iowa State’s new School of Education is slated to officially begin operation on July 1.

A forum Tuesday informed the public and answered any questions posed. One of the main topics discussed was the renovation of Lagomarcino Hall, where the school will be housed.

“We have $2.8 million to do some renovations to the School of Education,” said Pamela White, dean of the College of Human Sciences.

Samuel Stagg, an employee of Haila Architecture, explained the company is currently “at the end of the pre-design, and we will be entering the schematic design at the end of the month. We think the construction process will begin in January 2013.”

The project is scheduled to conclude at the end of 2013, with the renovations focusing on creating space for students and staff, as well as possibly expanding the current cafe.

“We intend to create space that brings people together and can be used to study,” said Dan Robinson, School of Education Implementation Committee co-chairman.

Due to the large cost of the renovation, the Board of Regents is involved, which may slow down the process.

The School of Education will absorb the University Teacher Education Program, which is to be renamed Teacher Education Services.

Academic programs and services currently offered by curriculum, instruction and educational leadership and policy studies departments will continue under the school, but without departmental divisions. Other research and teaching groups are to be included as well.

“People were finding it difficult to know who to go to with a problem,” White said.

White said the new structure of the school will create “enhanced visibility across campus, enhanced visibility across the state and enhanced visibility all across the United States” for the program.

The structure also will greatly improve the communication between faculty and staff, who are now separated between different departments.

The changes that will be made, however, will not affect current students much, if at all.

“Programs will remain as they are, faculty assignments will remain as they are,” said Carl Smith, School of Education Implementation Committee co-chairman.

Course names are to go unchanged as well.

“It would not be fair for students to transition mid-stream,” agreed Robinson.

White described it as a “soft opening” with no major changes taking place in the near future, but over the course of multiple years.

Currently, no director has been chosen for the school. Gaetane Jean-Marie, Ralph Reynolds and Carl Smith are vying for the position.

The school will offer multiple undergraduate degrees, including an early childhood education major, an elementary education major and multiple secondary education majors. An educational computing minor also will be offered.

Multiple graduate programs will be offered.

The school, which still will be run under the College of Human Sciences, will focus on leadership and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.