Over the past 170 years, Michigan State University has steadily grown alongside its community in support of its academic mission. This includes adding sports fields, farms, student housing and state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities like the STEM Teaching and Learning Facility and the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams. To manage the growth and change in a university system that now encompasses nearly 26,300 acres, MSU conducts careful planning and stewardship of its lands, staying true to its original mission as the nation’s premier land-grant institution.  

Every 20 to 25 years, MSU commissions an integrated facilities and land use review, a multi-year process which comprises a thorough, enterprise-spanning effort that is comprehensive in nature looking across the institution's land and facilities across the state. This process is co-led by Institutional Space Planning and Management, or ISPM, and Infrastructure Planning and Facilities, or IPF, who collaborate with units across MSU during the process.  In December of 2023, the Board of Trustees approved the latest comprehensive framework plan, called Vision 2050: An Integrated Facilities and Land Use Plan for Michigan State University. 

“Our role is to make sure we focus on having the physical resources to carry out our mission,” said Barbara Kranz, assistant provost of ISPM. Having served the Spartan community for over 38 years, Kranz has quite possibly set foot in every room on campus. “In the MSU Strategic Plan, it called for a statewide update of the Land Use Plan, as well as a convergence with our regularly scheduled five-year review. We paired up with IPF to co-lead the effort, brought in a third party (Sasaki Associates) and had interactions with faculty, staff, students, alumni, neighboring communities,  senior university leadership and the Board of Trustees as we developed the future framework plan.” While Vision 2050 is a strategic, framework -based document, its influence is foundational to MSU, with suggested road and parking changes as well as the organization and placement of future buildings, such as the new Multicultural Center that is nearing completion. Kranz commented further, saying “We wanted to be very intentional and thoughtful. Spaces and places build and support community.” 

While planning the future community, campus planners like Steve Troost at IPF align the university's physical spaces toward the goals outlined in Vision 2050. Troost, who retired from IPF in September, served MSU for over 18 years, and his role as a campus planner saw him align construction projects with the Land Use Plan and sit on committees for public art installations. “Every change we make to campus has a ripple effect, the goal being to take the operational layers of the campus, including vehicle/pedestrian traffic, open spaces, buildings, utilities, etc., and understand the impacts of each of those. We engaged over 660 participants during our listening sessions, which is the beauty of this work. People come to campuses to be with people, and it’s their input, the people process, that is the most fun part.” 

As Vision 2050 is an integrated strategic document, the changes and programs recommended cover a wide variety of spaces, topics and possibilities. “One of the traditional college elements MSU lacks is a quadrangle. I would love to see the lifting and relocation of parking in the center of campus and build a central plaza where people can come together for events and offer campus a big change along Shaw Lane and Farm Lane,” said Troost.  

Michigan State's commitment to continuous development and stewardship is epitomized in the Vision 2050 framework plan, a tribute to nearly two centuries of hard work and progress. Spearheaded by dedicated talent like Kranz and Troost, this plan not only aligns with MSU's land-grant mission but also aims to enhance the Spartan community through careful stewardship. As MSU looks to the future, including transformative projects like the Multicultural Center and the possibility of a central campus plaza, it reaffirms its status as the premier land-grant institution. 

By completing the Vision 2050 plan, MSU has achieved Objective 2 of the Stewardship and Sustainability Strategic Plan: to create a new University Integrated Facilities and Land Use Plan that embeds diversity, equity and inclusion; student, faculty and staff success; and sustainable health in the physical environment of MSU’s campuses and facilities.