Spalding family gift fuels cross-collaborative innovation  

Michigan State University alumnus David F. Spalding, a 1967 mechanical engineering graduate, has made a transformative $10 million leadership gift to accelerate the Leinweber Center for Engineering and Digital Innovation, a facility designed to prepare Spartans to lead at the intersection of technology, creativity and impact.

“Michigan State continued to build on the foundation of hard work, integrity and innovation instilled by my parents,” said Spalding. “Both of my parents graduated from Michigan State — my father from engineering and my mother from library science — so for me this is a family gift and my way of saying thank you — to the professors who challenged me, to my family who inspired me and to the university that believed in what I could become. My hope is that future Spartans will stand on that same foundation and use it to make the world a little better, a little stronger and a little more connected.

Spalding earned his mechanical engineering degree from MSU and went on to found American Hydrotech, Inc., a leader in building and waterproofing technology. His lifelong connection to MSU has included the establishment of endowed scholarships in his family’s name and decades of engagement with the College of Engineering.

“We are profoundly grateful to David — not only for his extraordinary gift, but for his enduring love for this university and the students whose dreams he continues to champion,” said MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D. “His belief in the power of education — and in the potential of students to use that education for good — is profoundly inspiring. Through this extraordinary act of generosity, David is helping us build a place where imagination meets purpose and where the next generation of Spartan engineers will tackle the challenges that define our time.”

Naming of the Spalding Family Atrium is pending approval by the Michigan State University Board of Trustees at the Feb. 6, 2026, board meeting.

The Leinweber Center for Engineering and Digital Innovation will be a collaborative, technology-rich hub where students and faculty across disciplines — engineering, science, business and the arts — will learn side by side. It will foster innovation in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, cybersecurity, space electronics, game design and advanced manufacturing.

John Papapolymerou, interim dean of the College of Engineering, said the gift provides vital momentum to the project’s planning phase. “David’s gift gives our students a home for bold ideas — a place where creativity and collaboration can thrive. The Leinweber Center for Engineering and Digital Innovation will bring together students, faculty and industry partners in a way that mirrors real-world problem-solving for the benefit of our society. We are deeply thankful for his belief in our vision and in what Spartans can achieve together.”

Kim Tobin, vice president for University Advancement, expressed both admiration and personal gratitude. “Philanthropy like the Spalding family’s doesn’t just move projects forward — it moves people,” Tobin said. “Their generosity will ripple through this university for decades, shaping how Spartans learn, lead and serve. I’m personally grateful to the Spaldings for their trust, passion and the example they set for what it means to invest in possibility.”

Spalding’s $10 million commitment represents a cornerstone gift to the “Uncommon Will, Far Better World” campaign, MSU’s most ambitious fundraising effort in its history, which seeks to raise $4 billion. To date, $1.8 billion has been raised — matching the total raised in MSU’s previous campaign in half the time — to activate MSU’s talent on campus and worldwide, address the grand challenges of our time through synergistic problem-solving, and build a future where Spartans lead industries not yet imagined.