Sneak Preview

It’s a thrill to explore new places and see how a building is born.  However, since it’s not safe for our community members to wander around a construction site, we thought we would take you inside the building and through various departments by way of a video tour. 

Please check back as the building progresses, and you will be able to view short clips of different areas.  Or, get connected and we’ll email you when new videos are posted to the site.

Michigan State University lures Parkinson's research team, $6.2 million grant, to Grand Rapids

After a two-year courtship, Michigan State University has lured an elite group of research scientists away from the University of Cincinnati and its $6.2 million federal grant for studying Parkinson's disease. The National Institutes of Health grant, expected to be transferred by next summer, would put MSU into an exclusive group of 14 universities with a Morris K. Udall Center of Excellence for Parkinson's Disease Research. ... "Science at this level is big business," says Jeffrey Dwyer, associate dean for research and community engagement at MSU. "They came to the conclusion this was the best place to come to continue their research to change the world."

View Grand Rapids Press Online Clip

View Wood TV Online Clip

Building Details

The Secchia Center will house 350 medical students, along with faculty and staff.  It will feature six stories of educational and administrative space, located atop a five-story parking lot.

The Secchia Center will be located at the intersection of Michigan and Division, right along the booming life sciences corridor.  This provides both students and faculty with easy access to many partner medical facilities, including Spectrum Health, the Van Andel Institute, and Saint Mary’s Health Care.

Building floors at a glance:

1. First floor: entryway, art and research gallery, community commons, a four-story glass atrium, ampitheatre and auditorium for lectures
2. Second floor: student lounge, cafeteria, seminar rooms, small ampitheatre
3. Third floor: seminar rooms, study areas, academic office space
4. Fourth floor: administrative space, departmental and clerical space
5. Fifth floor: Clinical Teaching Floor, including an operating and emergency room simulation suite, pediatric and geriatric simulation suites, exam rooms, task training rooms
6. Sixth floor: anatomy teaching suite.