April 21, 2023
(press release)
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Michigan State University celebrated the opening of the newly renovated MSU School of Packaging building on April 20, following a fundraising campaign that raised more than $10 million. “This significant expansion of our facilities, enabled by the generosity of donors and stakeholders, will reinforce MSU’s longstanding leadership in packaging education,” said MSU Interim President Teresa K. Woodruff, Ph.D. “These improvements anchor our commitment to the excellence of our School of Packaging and will help us prepare the next generation of leaders in packaging science.” Established in 1952, the MSU School of Packaging was the first school of packaging in the United States and now is the largest packaging program in the country, with over 600 undergraduate and graduate students. Housed within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources or CANR, the School of Packaging consistently earns top rankings in its field across a wide range of rating platforms. It is the only school that offers a Ph.D. program in packaging and boasts 10,000 alumni worldwide. “Each year our program graduates a large portion of all packaging engineers in the U.S.,” said Matthew Daum, MSU School of Packaging director and CANR assistant dean of corporate relations and strategy. “We have a long history of successful packaging alumni, and this renovated facility honors our legacy and positions us for continued excellence. The remodel was designed with collaboration in mind, not only for our students but with industry and nongovernmental organizations.” Upgrades to the facility, which was last updated in 1986, will help MSU remain a leader in the packaging field. The School of Packaging Building renovation helps to modernize teaching and learning by adding flexible classrooms that seamlessly integrate technology. Collaboration-friendly spaces invite industry partners to engage with students, and the modernized facilities will attract faculty by providing the proper space and tools to conduct world-class research. The Christman Company and TMP Architecture were selected as the construction and design firms, respectively. They worked collaboratively with the School of Packaging on making the vision for the new facility become reality. They were charged to redesign the building using the above goals, with natural light, accessibility, sustainability and durability at the forefront of the design. Construction began last spring and was commemorated with a groundbreaking ceremony. The renovations were supported by commitments to the project totaling over $10 million from alumni and donors, including lead gifts from Amcor, Charles and Jackie Frasier and Ring Container Technologies. Gifts-in-kind of equipment were also essential to provide modernized technology to teach students the packaging industry standards of today and to research packaging and sustainability options for the future. Additional gifts included: “Partnership is key for making a lasting impact in today’s society. I am very grateful for our individual and corporate donors who believe in the direction the School of Packaging is headed and joined us to make this remodel happen. Now we turn to the future and will continue to make progress for the packaging industry in the same manner that brought us to this point: through partnership,” Daum said.
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