East Lansing’s Michigan State University officially opened the Edward J. Minskoff Pavilion at the Eli Broad College of Business on Friday.
The pavilion includes a glass-walled, open-air atrium that offers panoramic views of the Red Cedar River; an entrepreneurship lab; flexible classrooms; team rooms; a media studio; and an expanded career center.
“The Edward J. Minskoff Pavilion is a game-changer for the Broad College of Business – one that raises the bar for how we will prepare the business leaders of tomorrow,” says Sanjay Gupta, the Eli and Edythe L. Broad dean of the Broad College of Business.
“This building reflects the culture of our college with its spaces designed around collaboration, teamwork, and community. The Broad student experience will be forever changed, and we are enthusiastic about the opportunities that the Broad College and MSU will have going forward.”
The 100,000-square-foot facility was designed by LMN Architects and built by Clark Construction. It broke ground in September 2017.
“From our first conversations on the project, Dean Gupta expressed a clear vision for the building: a place that would not only foster learning, collaboration, and engagement with alumni and the business community, but also a facility that would weave the existing spaces to create a more cohesive campus within a campus,” says Rafael Viñoly-Menendez, design partner with LMN Architects.
The three-story pavilion is named after Edward J. Minskoff, an MSU alumnus and real estate developer whose $30 million gift in 2018 was the largest single-donor gift in MSU’s history.
“An education at Michigan State gave me the tools I needed to get my start in business, and it’s an honor to provide future generations of Spartans a place to prepare for their futures,” says Minskoff. “I am grateful to be a part of the school’s future and look forward to seeing the Broad College attract top students to its programs.”
The Minskoff Pavilion was one of the highest priorities of the Empower Extraordinary capital campaign and received 100 percent private support from more than 1,700 donors since fundraising began in 2014. The building had a fundraising goal of $62 million.
“Since I came to MSU, I have been inspired by the vision this university has for its future and the way its community has invested in making that vision a reality,” says Dr. Samuel L. Stanley, president of MSU. “This facility will be a magnet for employers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, scholars, and those eager to follow in their footsteps, and that will ensure MSU continues to make a difference in communities around the globe.”
Eli and Edythe Broad began fundraising for the pavilion and capital campaign with a $25 million challenge grant, bringing their total giving to MSU to nearly $100 million.
Construction was completed in August and classes began with the fall semester. The faculty has already hosted a professional guest lecture series, career fairs, networking sessions, and alumni events.
The official opening included a ribbon-cutting ceremony that the Broads and Minskoff and his family attended, along with more than 500 alumni, faculty, staff, and students.
