EAST LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan State University honors its centennial anniversary this week of the MSU Union Excavation, commemorating the groundbreaking for the student center. 

According to Francisco E. Velazquez, Associate Director of Communications Michigan State University Student Life & Engagement (SLE), the project followed a trend of other universities making unions in the early 1900s. 

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“Right at the beginning of the 20th century, union buildings around U.S. [campuses] were an exciting trend and Michigan State University — then the Michigan Agricultural College (MAC) — developed plans for a union of its own in 1905,” Velazquez said in an email to Michigan News Source. “A committee was formed to oversee the project, but funds for a building were very scarce.” 

After a series of delays, including a funding shortage and World War 1, the MAC Memorial Union opened in June 1925. According to Velazquez, the building has always served as a place for “students to study and certainly socialize.” 

“The initial building originally had 16 private guest rooms for alumni and friends, both men’s and women’s lounges, multiple dining rooms and more,” he said in the email. “For soon-to-be graduates, the Union has virtually been the official place to grab one’s cap and gown. The building offered events, like dances and more. So, along with other events that have been intimately connected with the collegiate experience, it’s also been an important venue for the community. Meetings, social events, performances and even weddings have all been opportunities since the start.”

The Union has served as a place for and by the students of the university, as they have contributed funding and labor at various points in the project. 

“Students have contributed at every step, in every decade since,” according to Velazquez, “Essentially since its start, the University Activities Board (UAB)—then called the Union Board—has held events for students in the building. A large variety of student organizations have utilized the building as a space for a multitude of things including their advocacy for different causes through the years. One fact of note is that the MSU Union was the location of campus’ first Multicultural Center, for instance. Alumni always seem to have a story about being in the Union.”

While MSU was founded in 1855, the building can still be considered a foundational project of the university. 

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“But I think it’s safe to argue that it perhaps was one of the early staples or, at least, in the time since it was built,” Velazquez said in an email. “A big reason it has become a staple is because of its dependability. It’s been able to be whatever the students have needed the building to be. There’s a charm and trust in that.”

The university will continue to remember aspects of the union, culminating in the acknowledgement of its centennial completion in the summer of 2025.  

“The anniversary of Excavation Week is an important symbol of the persistence and ingenuity of Spartans,” Velazquez said in the email. “That said, it’s a beginning to a much larger centennial celebration and, beyond that, a larger narrative of the MSU student experience. We look forward to recognizing and honoring that history in depth.”

The Union was also home to the tragic shooting that resulted in the death of three students with another five injured in February 2023.