The introduction was followed by remarks from president Stanley, MSU's Kelly Tebay, the Dean of the College of Engineering Leo Kempel, Jenahvive Morgan, a faculty specialist in the College of Engineering, mechanical engineering senior Spencer LaBuda and Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Teresa K. Woodruff.

The program concluded with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, reception and tour of the facility. 

Stanley said the new spaces benefit engineering students at MSU for the unique learning opportunities.

“For students, the opportunity for hands-on learning, the opportunity for experiential learning has never been more important than it is now and I think the more opportunities we find for this the better," Stanley said.

The new facility provides a significant mix of teaching and learning spaces, including the Engineering Student Innovation Center, a space focused on supporting the College of Engineering Cornerstone Engineering and Residential Experience, or CoRe.

Spencer LaBuda, and many engineering students alike, are very excited about the new area. 

“I think it is fantastic, our old space was not as innovative as this. We used to have to walk all the way across Wilson ... The fact that everything is combined now makes it much easier for us to do work," LaBuda said.

The facility provides early engineering students with a transformative opportunity to get hands-on experience across many different engineering disciplines, integrating ideas, working on lab-based projects and presentations. 

While many students are excited about the new spaces, they aren’t the only ones eager to start working there. 

“Because this facility has been created with soldering, we have a wet lab, we have a machine shop and we have a nice central workspace with a lecturing room, it gives us an opportunity to do so many different hands-on projects that we did not really have the capabilities to do before." Morgan said.

Along with the instruments Morgan spoke of, the renovation also created three modern, technology-enhanced active learning classrooms with capabilities ranging from 78-112 seats; as well as adjacent informal gathering/study areas, six collaboration/team rooms, two of which are testing rooms and a personal health room.

It also allowed the former first-floor classrooms to be repurposed for computer labs and tutoring/help space for the College of Engineering.

Woodruff also mentioned vertical learning and the importance of it when she was asked about the importance of developing these types of areas across MSU’s campus. 

“I think any way we can get students to start thinking at the beginning of their undergraduate career about vertical learning, not just about what is in the back of the book but how to approach problems," Woodruff said. "I think that is the exciting thing for our future.”