EAST LANSING - At a reception with Michigan State University officials held Thursday, Jan. 18, Mid-Michigan Construction Alliance (MMCA) members thanked the University for its utilization of the union construction industry and celebrated MMCA's ongoing partnership with the university.

MSU officials in attendance were President Lou Anna K. Simon and Board of Trustees Colleen M. McNamara, Dorothy V. Gonzales, Faylene Owen and George Perles.

Thousands of union construction trades men and women have worked on MSU projects over the years, including the University's College of Law and Business Library, Biomedical and Physical Sciences building, Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health, upgrades to the T.B. Simon Power Plant, the luxury boxes at Spartan Stadium, and many more.

MSU has one of the top four labor and industrial relations schools in the country, and has an exceptional Planning, Design and Construction Management School, producing the next generation of construction industry leaders.

Officials of the MMCA, a consortium of organized construction contractors and their union building trades organizations located in the greater Lansing tri-county area, thanked university officials for their utilization of the union construction industry and educating the construction leaders of the future. MMCA officials also touted its own worker training and scholarship programs.

"I'd like to thank MSU for letting us build your facilities," said Mike Crawford, MMCA president and National Electrical Contractors Association Michigan Chapter director. "We are proud to have an excellent relationship with the university, and we greatly support your work educating the next generation of construction leaders and for the leadership MSU is showing on economic development in the region."

"Michigan State University and the unions affiliated with the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council have enjoyed a long and mutually beneficial relationship, and it is entirely appropriate to say thank you," said Pat Devlin, Chief Elected Officer of the Michigan Building and Construction Trades Council.

"We know our future lies in the students of MSU and for more than 30 years, the AGC has provided many scholarships and summer internships to those in the Civil Engineering and Construction Management Departments," said Barbara Strachan, Director of Workforce Development for AGC of Michigan. "The AGC looks forward to continuing to provide financial support to MSU students. Likewise, as participants in the Mid-Michigan Construction Alliance, we will continue to do whatever we can to support the University."