MSU Packaging alumnus Charles (Chuck) Frasier and his wife, Jacqueline (Jackie), have made multiple gifts to the Packaging Building renovation to complete the fundraising goal and allow construction to begin, as well as to establish an endowed faculty position in packaging.
Charles (Chuck) L. and Jacqueline (Jackie) C. Frasier of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, have made more than $3.8 million in gifts to the Michigan State University School of Packaging Building renovation to complete the fundraising goal and allow construction to begin, as well as to establish an endowed faculty position in packaging.
“It was time to give back. The School of Packaging was where I started, and I felt that so many others should have that ticket. The school is high caliber and very well respected in the industry,” Chuck Frasier said. “The building needs some touching up. It’s pretty much identical to the way I left it at graduation. The renderings got us excited, but ultimately, we really want to see it completed before we’re no longer here.
“We wanted MSU to break ground, so we decided to give again.”
The Frasiers made both the first gift to launch the renovation campaign and the last gift needed for the first phase of renovations. Their gifts, totaling $2.3 million, will name the Charles L. and Jacqueline C. Frasier Sustainability Lab and the Charles L. and Jacqueline C. Frasier Atrium in the School of Packaging Building. Additionally, they committed $1.5 million to endow a professorship through an estate gift.
MSU President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D., offered thanks on behalf of the university.
“We are grateful for Chuck and Jackie’s support for the building renovation and their foresight to endow a professorship to help prepare the next generation of packaging leaders,” Stanley said. “I am pleased that MSU will be able to honor their generosity with critical spaces in the School of Packaging Building and an important faculty position.”
The Frasier Sustainability Lab will help advance the school’s research and data-driven approach to finding sustainable solutions that help society harness the benefits of packaging materials while simultaneously finding responsible end-of-life packaging solutions.
“The School of Packaging has several talented faculty members making important advances in packaging sustainability,” said Matt Daum, School of Packaging director. “By upgrading and enlarging one of our core labs dedicated to sustainability, the Frasiers demonstrate commitment to our program and ensure world-class research continues to be carried out.”
Last updated in 1986, the facility upgrades will help MSU remain a leader in the packaging field. The Packaging Building renovation will help modernize teaching, learning and research. This includes flexible classrooms that encourage collaboration and integrate technology seamlessly, spaces that invite industry to engage and enhance the student experience and attract faculty with the proper space, and tools to conduct world-class research. Learn more about the Packaging Building renovation.
Although Jackie Frasier didn’t attend MSU, she feels strongly about the importance of supporting the next generation of packaging Spartans.
“I want to see the School of Packaging updated. I want to see more room for people to work,” she said. “It is so old-school. It needs to be opened up; classrooms need to be updated so students can learn in a new sophisticated way. Chuck’s love for the school is why I want to support it.”
Thanks to the recent gift from the Frasiers, construction has begun on the Packaging Building. The first phase of renovations should be completed by summer 2023. Watch the live video feed of the construction progress provided by Christman Construction.
Chuck Frasier attributes much of his success to his time at Michigan State. A 1970 School of Packaging alumnus, Frasier started taking courses at a community college and later transferred to MSU as a civil engineering major. He took one packaging class and found his true passion in packaging.
“The School of Packaging is a stepping stone for opportunities that leads to other things — it’s an opportunity. It made such a difference in my career. One opportunity after another arose, but it all started with the School of Packaging at Michigan State,” Chuck Frasier said. “I was going to school for one thing, and packaging caught my eye. It’s all because of packaging — packaging got my career going.”
Following graduation, Frasier accepted a packaging engineer offer from General Electric International in Manhattan. After 10 years, he moved into sales. In 1981, he established Dixie Box and Crating in Charleston, a company he owned and operated until 2005. After just a few years, the company expanded to 11 divisions coast to coast. In 2010, he and a partner founded American Packing and Crating, a full-service export packing, shipping and project consolidation company based in Norfolk, Virginia. Over the years, the company grew to seven locations. Now semi-retired, Frasier has been involved with the Boys and Girls Club of South Florida, the Salvation Army and local food pantries.
The top-ranked MSU School of Packaging, housed within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, is the first school of packaging in the United States and the largest packaging program in the country, with more than 600 undergraduate and graduate students. It is the only school that offers a doctoral program in packaging and boasts 10,000 alumni worldwide.