On October 9, Michigan State University broke ground on Packaging 2.0. The act marked the next chapter for the university’s School of Packaging, which has been established for nearly 75 years.
The expansion will nearly double the size of the existing Packaging Building and provide new teaching environments, collaborative laboratories and research spaces designed to bring students, faculty, researchers and industry partners together. The project builds on the School of Packaging’s long history of preparing talent and advancing ideas that shape how products are protected, transported and delivered around the world, the school says.
“For years, the packaging industry has looked to Michigan State for talent, for ideas and for innovation,” said Kevin Guskiewicz, president of MSU, in a statement. “Today, we break ground on a building, but we are really building is opportunity for our students, our faculty and for an industry and, ultimately, for a more sustainable world.”
Michigan State created the academic discipline of packaging, it adds. Since its beginnings in 1952, the School of Packaging at MSU has conferred more than 10,000 degrees and is home to the nation’s only doctoral program in packaging, it notes. MSU produces approximately 40 percent of the packaging engineers entering the workforce today.
“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, in a statement. “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 environmental impact.
“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 ceremonial groundbreaking included remarks from university leaders, a graduate student and project supporters. The event highlighted Packaging 2.0 as part of MSU’s Uncommon Will, Far Better World campaign.
