Morrill Plaza Faculty Collection

Watch the Introductory Video: Morrill Plaza Faculty

Michigan State University proudly honors the faculty whose visionary teaching, groundbreaking research, and steadfast commitment to outreach and service have shaped generations of students and advanced the common good worldwide. These distinguished individuals played a vital role in transforming MSU into the world-class, land-grant research university it is today.

This website serves as a digital archive of a now-retired kiosk that once stood at the southeast end of Morrill Plaza—the former site of historic Morrill Hall on MSU's East Lansing campus. Morrill Hall holds deep significance in MSU's history, symbolizing the university’s land-grant mission and serving as its first women's dormitory.

The concept for Morrill Plaza was developed in 2011 by a team of MSU landscape architecture students. Their design thoughtfully incorporated salvaged materials from the original building, including the distinctive Jacobsville red sandstone, quarried from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. MSU Engineering and Architectural Services refined the student vision to include seat walls, historic marker columns, and a kiosk constructed from reclaimed stone and brick. The central brick plaza reflects the circular window motif of Morrill Hall, while a concrete jointing pattern to the south evokes the building's former porch steps. Brick "welcome mats" mark the original entrances, and intricately carved red stone rosettes—once high on the south façade—now adorn the kiosk, welcoming visitors from Circle Drive.

Plaques throughout the plaza offer deeper insights into MSU's land-grant heritage, the Morrill Act, and the legacy of old Morrill Hall. This digital collection preserves and extends that tribute, ensuring the stories of MSU's faculty pioneers—originally featured on the kiosk's video screens—continue to educate and inspire.