Michigan State University’s board has approved an expansion of the university’s partnership with Henry Ford Health, or HFH. In a unanimously approved motion at Friday’s meeting, the construction of a research building in HFH’s recently unveiled Detroit campus was set into motion.

Executive Vice President for Health Sciences Norm Beauchamp, the MSU administrator charged with coordinating the partnership, told the board Friday that the expansion is part of a broader effort by MSU and HFH to address inequity in healthcare by bringing high-quality services to medically underserved communities in Detroit.

“The color of your skin or the zip code in which you live can determine how long you will live if you have cancer, or the health of your baby,” Beauchamp said. “If we're not going to continue to repeat that it requires us to plan to do and to act.”

The resolution promises to “solicit input” from the campus community as the research center is planned.

The center will sit in HFH’s planned $2.5 billion Detroit campus, which will surround their new 1 million-square-foot tower. Aside from the research facility, the surrounding area is set to include commercial, residential and hotel developments.