This building had been vacant for 14 years but “it had so much potential,” said June Youatt, provost and executive vice president of academic affairs.

Though the building was newly renovated, the historical character of the building was maintained. They retained many historical elements of the building such as the wood flooring, wainscoting and blackboards.

This movement to Chittenden Hall pulls the staff together, as opposed to them being spread apart in three different locations in the past, and creates a home for all things related to graduate students.

“This is the last remaining building from lab row, and President Simon, then provost, specifically set it aside for the graduate school,” graduate school Dean Karen Klomparens said. “It feels like the heart of the campus.”

The newly renovated Chittenden Hall will dedicate its space to helping graduate students and postdoctorates gain professional, career and academic development.

“It’s going to be like a neighborhood for the graduate students,” Klomparens said. “Our graduate students make up close to 20 percent of MSU’s students body.”

“We are going to help develop the future of MSU — our graduate students are the future,” said Dean Klomparens.

“This renovation is going to give the graduate school a real identity,” said President Lou Anna K. Simon.

Council of Graduate Students President Emily Bank suggested that the graduate student support services will not only have more programs centered around COGS’s mission to promote academic excellence, but “it gives graduate and professional students a stronger sense of community.”

“It was a statement to make this move now — and to do it the way we have done it,” Simon said.