School of Planning, Design and Construction

In March of 2022, the university administration authorized development of a comprehensive University Facilities and Land Use Plan (Campus Plan).  This strategic document is grounded by and supportive of the university’s strategic plan entitled Empowering Excellence, Advancing Equity and Expanding Impact.  The Campus Plan takes a comprehensive look at the entire 5,200-acre East Lansing campus and provides overarching recommendations for statewide facilities.  Sasaki Associates was hired to lead the Campus Plan process that actively engaged the university community including students, faculty, staff, alumni, and neighbors.  Ongoing updates can be found at Https://campusplan.msu.edu.

The process was initiated with over 80 listening sessions that engaged approximately 660 individuals.  An interactive web-based survey leveraged additional input from 880 respondents who provided 2,300 comments and 8,500 individual icons placed on a state-wide GIS base map.  Town hall events also allowed personalized discussions from Spartans across the globe.  This investment of time and effort provided a solid foundation for developing preliminary recommendations targeted to the most important issues identified by the university community.

Campus Plan recommendations are centered around five strategic directives:

• Leveraging important education, research, and outreach facilities throughout the state.  Disposition or acquisition of land should be based on contributions to strategic academic, research and outreach needs, impacts to unique cultural resources, and with acknowledgement that the university occupies or uses ancestral traditional, and contemporary lands ceded by indigenous communities.
• Protecting the critical teaching and learning, and research assets within the Agricultural District and Campus Natural Areas including expansion of Baker Woodlot.
• Concentrating future academic and research facilities in the North, Central, and South Academic Districts.  Locate external partnerships on the west edge of campus (formerly Spartan Village).
• Contributing to student success through concentrated development with a mix of uses providing efficient access to academic resources and collaborative amenities that support the whole student.
• Developing an integrated mobility and open space network that enhances connectivity across the campus.  This includes re-envisioning the center of campus with fewer cars.

With over 20,000 acres across the state housing over 30 AgBioResearch stations and extension offices in each county, developing criteria to assess disposition of existing land holdings and acquisition of new lands across the state is fundamental.  Land is a critical asset for fulfilling our land grant mission; large land holdings and AgBioResearch Stations must be protected.  Land use strategies shall be aligned around academic success, research potential, outreach opportunities, strategic partnerships, and cultural resources.

In East Lansing, the 2,800 acres of contiguous agricultural land and 700- acres of natural areas provide unique teaching, research, and outreach opportunities that differentiate MSU from its peers.  Protection and expansion of these unique resources is a cornerstone of the Campus Plan including expanding the Baker Woodlot due to its teaching and research potential.  In addition, the district supports over $240 million in grants and contracts, serves 170 advanced degrees, supports 109 courses, provides resource for over 2,000 scholarly publications, and reaches over 4,200 stakeholders through annual training and events.

Concentrating future academic and research facilities within existing established districts fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, communication, and community, critical societal attributes in a post-pandemic world.  Compact land use supports student success and wellbeing by minimizing the stress associated with travel time between classes and providing easily accessible healthy nutritional dining options.  University land farther from the academic districts can be used to leverage public/private partnerships that will advance the translational aspect of the institution’s exceptional research activities.  Concentrated development also minimizes the costly extension and ongoing maintenance of required infrastructure.

Integrated mobility systems are necessary to interconnect people, goods, services, and ideas efficiently and effectively.  The highest and best use of land within the geographic center of campus must transition from parking to active academic, research, and community facilities.  Envisioning the center of campus with fewer cars will require redistributing parking to the edges of the academic districts, providing more direct point-to-point bus service, and enhancing the pedestrian realm through strategic road closures and open space development. 

The University Facilities and Land Use Plan provides a flexible framework for university leadership to make informed decisions on the highest and best use of facilities and land.  Following its principles and recommendations will enable optimal organization of the physical campus within the context of constant change.  While there are many ways to gain an education and to conduct research, institutions of higher learning and the campuses they occupy are here to stay.  They provide essential venues for collaboration, communication, and community building that do not exist in a virtual world.