Agriculture industry groups and Michigan businesses donated more than $1 million to help MSU build a new 11,000-square-foot educational facility at the Saginaw Valley Research and Extension Center in Saginaw.
The new building will provide space for industry meetings and hands-on demonstrations, regularly hosted by the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, MSU Extension and MSU AgBioResearch. Construction will begin in June and conclude in August, with a public event on Aug. 26.
The center will comprise a 250-person meeting room, a 50-person classroom for hands-on learning activities, offices and a multipurpose reception space for events or educational displays. The center also will feature tours that showcase current research.
“We believe this new facility will empower us to engage more with agriculture groups and the Great Lakes Bay Region where we’ve historically had a positive impact,” said Doug Buhler, director of MSU AgBioResearch, which helps fund SVREC projects and operations. “Through their unwavering support, our industry and business partners continue to commit to the great work that’s being done through our research and extension programs.”
“MSU Extension has a long history of partnering with growers and industries through outreach and education at SVREC,” said Ray Hammerschmidt, interim director of MSU Extension.. “The expanded space will strengthen the partnership by allowing increased educational opportunities that will help industries in the Saginaw Valley region increase production and maximize efficiency.”.
The new center supports Empower Extraordinary, the Campaign for MSU, a $1.5 billion capital campaign publicly launched in October 2014. To date, more than $900 million has been raised.