A $10.8 million gift from global packaging innovator Amcor to the Michigan State University School of Packaging will establish an endowed faculty position focused on sustainability and support renovations to the School of Packaging building.
The contribution is the largest corporate gift to the School of Packaging, housed within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
“We are grateful to Amcor for its support and recognition of MSU’s leadership in packaging education,” MSU President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D., said. “Sustainability presents tremendous challenges and opportunities to the packaging industry, and this gift will help equip the MSU School of Packaging to be a vital contributor to those efforts.”
Funding for an endowed faculty position in sustainability provides the resources to advance significant research, build innovative collaborations and create opportunities for promising students to gain real-life research experience important to their futures and the field.
“The endowment for a faculty position for sustainability and the circular economy, represents Amcor’s shared commitment with MSU to excellence and innovation in the future of packaging,” said Matt Daum, director of the MSU School of Packaging.
“This investment in the School of Packaging is not only exciting for Amcor, it’s important to the future of the industry and to responsible packaging in the U.S.,” said Amcor CEO Ron Delia. “We’re making significant progress in how we design and how we recycle packaging. The students at MSU’s School of Packaging today will be the packaging leaders that will lead this ongoing push for responsible packaging tomorrow.”
The Packaging Building renovation is a multimillion-dollar project. Last updated in 1986, the newly upgraded facility will help MSU remain a leader in the packaging field. Learn more about the Packaging Building Renovation.
“Amcor has a reputation for quality, excellence and innovation, and has best-in-class research capability with sustainability experts around the globe,” Daum said. “With Amcor, we are excited to create an unparalleled partnership that leverages and enhances the School of Packaging’s global reach and expertise in packaging sustainability research. Our alumni can feel confident we are poised to continue providing the packaging community with thought leadership and best-in-class packaging education.”
MSU Provost Teresa K. Woodruff, Ph.D., said that the partnership between Amcor and the School of Packaging will enhance research and education.
“As the first program of its kind, MSU’s School of Packaging has a longstanding track record of providing high-quality education for students in the discipline of packaging and conducting research that advances the science and technology of the packaging industry,” Woodruff said. “This gift will help MSU remain a leader in educating an innovative group of future packaging industry professionals and entrepreneurs.”
Amcor is a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home- and personal-care and other products. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, Amcor employs about 47,000 in 40 countries around the world. Amcor’s U.S. sales are around $12.5 billion.
The MSU School of Packaging is the first school of packaging in the United States and the largest packaging program in the country, with nearly 700 undergraduate and graduate students. It is the only school that offers a Ph.D. program in packaging and boasts 10,000 alumni worldwide.
To hear more about this partnership, listen to an MSU Today podcast with Daum and Amcor Presidents Eric Roegner and Fred Stephan.