New facilities and renovated spaces empower student success and research collaboration

Michigan State University’s campus is always evolving. As MSU expands its academic and research landscape with new buildings and renovated spaces, these facilities will accommodate a growing student population and research enterprise while providing spaces that put collaboration and future-thinking first.

Some facilities are already welcoming students and researchers, while others are still under construction. Take a look at what’s new and what’s coming next on MSU’s campus.

Michigan State University campus map highlighting four campus locations.

Getting ready to make an impact

Leinweber Center for Engineering and Digital Innovation

Group of people standing by a construction beam with signatures visible on the beam.
The Leinweber family poses with a ceremonial beam that will become part of the building. Photo courtesy of Chase Stanton

The Leinweber Center for Engineering and Digital Innovation is an interdisciplinary facility designed to bring together students, researchers and faculty across six colleges. Through collaborative learning environments, research laboratories and shared spaces, the center will help students gain experience in emerging fields while connecting university research with industry needs.

The center is supported by the largest gift ever to a facility at MSU, a $50 million commitment from the Leinweber Foundation as well as $30 million in state funding. Construction on the new building began in early 2026, with completion expected during the 2029 spring semester.

Spartan Success Center

Finding the right support will soon be easier for MSU students. Slated to open in January 2027, the Spartan Success Center will connect students with a wide range of resources that include advising, success coaching, career services, academic support and more — all in one welcoming space.

Open, modern study space with floor-to-ceiling windows and wooden work counters. Several people sit at tables and lounge chairs using laptops, with natural light and trees visible outside.
Study and lounge spaces in the Spartan Success Center. Rendering by The Collaborative

Located on the first floor of the Hannah Administration Building, the center also will be home to the Transfer Student Success Center and First-Generation Student Success Center. President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., identified advancing first-generation student success as a presidential priority, and the Spartan Success Center grew out of that work.

The Spartan Success Center is designed to support the whole student — academically, personally and professionally — while fostering a sense of belonging and community that contributes to student retention, persistence and graduation.

The center is across from Spartan One-Stop, which provides support for the registrar, financial aid and student accounts. Both spaces will help create a more seamless student experience through coordinated referrals and support.

Packaging Building

Rendering of the new interior of the Packaging Building showing light through a glass roof, people stilling in gathering spaces and a staircase to the new second floor.
The addition includes a second floor to maximize the building’s footprint. Rendering by TMP Architecture

Since opening in 1964, the Packaging Building on Wilson Road has prepared generations of Spartans to lead and innovate in their industry. Today, the school is home to the largest program of its kind in the country, and renovations are creating new opportunities for students, researchers and industry partners.

The first phase of renovation was completed in spring 2023 and focused on modernizing teaching and learning by adding flexible classrooms that seamlessly integrate technology. In addition, collaboration-friendly spaces now allow industry partners to engage with students.

Construction on the second phase began in fall 2026. A new building addition and renovations will increase capacity and quality of space for research as well as teaching and learning. The project will also include lab space critical for meeting the demand for industry collaboration, growing grant-funded research and winning competitive grants in medical, food and fiber-based packaging.

Wilson Hall

Rendering of a classroom space in the Wilson Hall renovation for the Technology Engineering degree program.
The Technology Engineering program includes student collaboration spaces including this area for the senior design project course. Rendering by SSOE

Former kitchen and dining spaces in Wilson Hall are being repurposed and renovated to house the labs for the Technology Engineering degree program, known as TechE. This will further expand the College of Engineering’s undergraduate living and learning presence in the south residential neighborhood.

The program combines mechanical and electrical engineering with computer science to develop engineers who meet the challenges at the intersection of hardware and software, which are increasing in a more interconnected world. In addition, it directly responds to increasing industry interest in a more robust workforce in technology and engineering sectors and meets the high demand from students who are looking for hands-on learning and technical options in an engineering degree program.

The renovations will create modern instructional laboratory space as well as project-based learning environments. Construction is expected to be completed by the start of 2027 fall semester.

Now open on campus 

Student Recreation and Wellness Center

Designed with input from students, the Student Recreation and Wellness Center represents a significant investment by MSU in student well-being. It is the largest of MSU’s four Recreational Sports and Fitness Services facilities, totaling 280,784 square feet. The center includes six basketball and six volleyball courts as well as judo rooms and an all-purpose turf arena.

Research at MSU has shown that participation in recreational sports is linked to improved retention and academic progress, underscoring the critical role that wellness and community play in helping students thrive.

Take a fly-through of the building.

Agriculture and food production

These spaces expand research capacity for MSU scientists in the colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Natural Science and Veterinary Medicine, including research funded by MSU AgBioResearch. The state of Michigan provided $53 million for partial funding of the greenhouses and dairy research center.

Plant Science Research Greenhouse Complex 

The newly renovated MSU Plant Science Research Greenhouse Complex opened in spring 2026, giving Spartan scientists and students enhanced tools to study how plants grow and respond under a variety of growth, environmental and stress conditions.  

Officials and stakeholders listen and learn during a tour of a new upgraded greenhouse facility.
MSU leaders tour the upgraded facility made possible by state funding. Photo by Derrick L. Turner

Upgraded environmental controls and energy-efficient LED lighting allow researchers to create a range of growing environments, supporting experiments that can advance plant science and agricultural innovation.

Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center

MSU’s new Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center began operations during the summer of 2025, creating expanded opportunities for hands-on student learning and research that supports Michigan’s dairy industry.

The facility brings together teaching, research and outreach, allowing students and scientists to explore new approaches to dairy production and agricultural innovation. It also strengthens MSU’s longstanding partnerships with farmers and the agricultural communities it serves.

Graphic by Deon Foster

Story courtesy of MSUToday.

MSU College of Engineering Media and Public Relations page

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