Five mission statements for proposed National Institute of Education-supported research centers on postsecondary education are presented to the Director of the National Institute of Education (NIE). Mission statements are provided for the following proposed centers: Center for Research on Postsecondary Learning, Center on Investments in Education and Training for a Stronger Economy, Center for the Study of Finance and Governance in Postsecondary Education, Center on the Research Enterprise in Higher Education, and Center for Research on Postsecondary Education Facilities. Recommendations of the lab and center study group include: (1) regional laboratories should include all sectors of education within their scope and service; (2) NIE should consider sponsoring center research programs in five areas (postsecondary learning; education, the workforce, and productivity; postsecondary governance and finance; research; and facilities); (3) five principles should be followed in organizing the competition for labs and centers (quality of staff, flexibility, coherence and continuity, center cooperation, and dissemination); (4) NIE should conduct a series of staff studies, regional workshops, and conferences focusing on how colleges might evaluate and test products, services and technologies; and (5) parallel research activities that complement the work of the centers should be supported. (SW)