The MSU Board of Trustees meeting room inside Hannah Administration Building in East Lansing, Michigan on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025.
Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees will vote Friday, April 10, on whether to split a $330 million infrastructure project into two parts.
The board will also vote on creating a resource center for first-generation students housed within the university’s main administrative office and a land donation in the Upper Peninsula.
Campus energy projects separated
In June 2024, the board approved a singular project to install a heat and power unit at the T.B. Simon Power Plant and construct a chilled water plant, which would receive utilities from the unit. On Friday, the trustees will vote on separating the construction of the heat and power unit and the water plant.
The agenda item states that, as plans have become more defined, separating the infrastructure projects would allow for flexibility in securing federal tax credits and financing.
The water plant would provide water to the upcoming $180 million Engineering and Design Innovation Center which the board approved the funds for the fall, in addition to aging buildings on campus. The plant would cost $145 million and would be completed by the end of 2026.
The $185 million combined heat and power unit would generate electricity and replace roughly 80% of steam capacity that was lost when one boiler at the power plant was shut down in 2022.
Overall, the two projects will cost a combined $330 million. The projects will be funded through a mix of federal tax credits, university reserves and debt, with some costs expected to be offset by long-term energy savings.
New support center for students
Trustees will also vote on whether to proceed with the "Spartan Success Center," a development center for first-generation students. The board first approved plans for the center in June 2025. Costing $5.2 million, the center will offer academic advising, health and well-being services and tutoring among other benefits to first-generation students. The center will be located in the Hannah Administration Building.
The project would be funded by short-term debt and later paid through university resources, the agenda item states.
Other items on the agenda
The board is set to vote on housing and dining rates for the 2026-27 academic year. The rates are unavailable on the board’s website.
Last June, the board voted to increase tuition by 4.5%, roughly equivalent to $798 more per academic year for resident undergraduates.
The board will also vote on accepting a donation of 98 acres of land in Escanaba, Michigan. The land, located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, will be used for research and other academic purposes.
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