Michigan State University broke ground Friday, Oct. 9, on Packaging 2.0, marking the next chapter for a school that has shaped packaging education and the industry nearly 75 years.
The expansion will nearly double the size of the existing Packaging Building, providing new teaching environments, collaborative laboratories and research spaces designed to bring students, faculty, researchers and industry partners together. The project will build on the School of Packaging’s long history of preparing talent and advancing ideas that influence how products are protected, transported and delivered around the world.
Michigan State University’s School of
Packaging, part of the Packaging 2.0 project.
Rendering by TMP Architecture
Michigan State created the academic discipline of packaging. Since its beginnings in 1952, the school has conferred more than 10,000 degrees and is home to the nation’s only doctoral program in packaging. Today, MSU produces approximately 40% of the packaging engineers entering the workforce.
“For years, the packaging industry has looked to Michigan State for talent, for ideas and for innovation. Packaging 2.0 ensures it will continue looking here for what comes next,” said MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D. “Today, we break ground on a building, but what we are really building is opportunity for our students, our faculty and for an industry and, ultimately, for a more sustainable world.”
“This is deeply personal for me today,” said Matt Daum, a three-time alumnus of the School of Packaging, as well as associate provost and dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “This school is a transformative place, and now it’s getting a transformation of its own.”
Packaging 2.0 is designed to support the work happening inside the school as the packaging industry continues to evolve. MSU graduates help determine how food reaches families safely, how medicine is protected and how products move around the world. Students and researchers are also working on one of the field’s defining challenges: creating packaging that meets people’s needs while reducing its impact on the planet.
spaces as part of the renovation and expansion
of Michigan State University’s School of
Packaging. Rendering by TMP Architecture
“I have already seen how much a change in space can change the student experience, and I cannot wait to see what this new chapter will make possible,” said Dangkamol Wongthanaroj, a doctoral candidate in the School of Packaging.
The groundbreaking event also celebrated the people and partners making Packaging 2.0 possible, including Chuck and Jackie Frasier. Earlier this year, the Frasiers made a $47 million commitment, the largest gift in the history of the School of Packaging, supporting the expansion as well as graduate students and endowed academic leadership.
Their connection to the building spans both of its major recent chapters. The Frasiers made the first gift that helped launch the school’s earlier renovation and later provided a momentum gift that helped bring that project across the finish line.
“Jackie and I are thrilled to be part of this,” said Chuck Frasier. “It’s something we never thought we’d have the opportunity to do, and seeing this project come to life means a great deal to us.”
Friday’s program included a ceremonial groundbreaking along with remarks from university leaders, a graduate student and project supporters. The event also highlighted Packaging 2.0 as part of MSU’s Uncommon Will, Far Better World campaign and its focus on people, collaboration and the spaces that make discovery possible.
About the MSU School of Packaging
Michigan State University pioneered packaging education and has prepared generations of leaders for the field since 1952. The School of Packaging has conferred more than 10,000 degrees and is home to the nation’s only doctoral program in packaging. Its students, faculty and alumni help advance packaging solutions that protect products, support global commerce and respond to changing needs across industries.
