At its most recent meeting, the Michigan State University Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the Business Pavilion project. This represents a critical milestone for the project and the Broad College community.
In an interview with the Lansing State Journal, Broad College Dean Sanjay Gupta explained that the pavilion would add approximately 100,000 square feet to the college’s campus footprint, including new classrooms, laboratories, team workrooms, and community spaces. The pavilion’s design reflects the Broad College’s emphasis on teamwork and preparing students for the workforce. “Collaboration is so critically important to businesses that we have to train students on how to be parts of those teams,” Gupta said. “It should be second nature to work collaboratively.”
The Business Pavilion will be completely funded by donations, including a $10 million matching grant from the Broad Foundation. To break ground, MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon must approve the project, and Broad must raise half of the $62 million project cost budget; as is stands, the college has raised just under half.
Gupta explained the urgency to begin construction as a necessity for student experience and success. “We need to be able to have classrooms where technology is seamlessly assimilated with collaborative spaces. All of that cannot be done retrofitting our existing facilities,” he said.
To read more about the Board of Trustees’ decision, you can review the meeting minutes on the board website.
Coverage of the pavilion approval included the Lansing State Journal, Crain’s Detroit Business (via Associated Press), and the Detroit News.
