As the MSU Texas centennial celebration approaches, the university continues to explore the vast possibilities to enhance the lives of students for tomorrow, next year and into the second century. This fall will mark an important milestone with the opening of a new 87,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art health sciences facility. The administration recommended the name Centennial Hall to the MSU Texas Board of Regents at its quarterly meeting in May.

"Given the timing of the building's completion and our commitment to serving as a premier provider of health services education, Centennial Hall is a fitting name for the new facility," said MSU Texas President Suzanne Shipley. "Centennial Hall will be the signature building leading into our next century."

The name came to the forefront after the administration received input from across campus including the very students who will benefit most from the state-of-the-art facility.

Centennial Hall will house academic programs from the Robert D. & Carol Gunn College of Health Sciences & Human Services. The open architecture of the new facility will display labs to promote collaborative learning and transparency between students and disciplines.

The main lobby of the building will feature floor to ceiling glass that will "display" work in the second floor laboratories. "The second floor is the hallmark of the building," said MSU Provost James Johnston. "Forward facing they look real and simulate the hospital or healthcare environment. Rearward facing will be space for students and others to observe those simulations."

The $34 million project is part of the $58.4 million in tuition revenue bond funds appropriated by the state in 2015, and marks the largest designation of capital construction funds the university has received in its history.

Since construction began on Centennial Hall in December 2017, two new corporate partnerships have emerged that will set apart the MSU Texas facility and academic programs in the health sciences.

As a national leader in radiologic sciences, the University has partnered with Shimadzu Medical Systems USA, an industry leader in X-ray technology. The Shimadzu School of Radiologic Sciences at MSU Texas will feature the latest X-ray equipment, which will provide faculty and students with opportunities and experiences that is rarely accessible in an educational setting.

Also a partnership with B-Line Medical LLC will benefit students and faculty in the Wilson School of Nursing and the Department of Respiratory Care with state-of-the art simulation by providing the equipment and software necessary to simulate and record scenarios in a realistic way. In recognition of the corporate sponsorship, the Board of Regents approved the renaming of the University's simulation center to the J.S. Bridwell Regional Simulation Center Powered by B-Line Medical.

The new equipment will be available to students with the opening of Centennial Hall. The first classes in the new facility will begin in August, and a grand opening celebration is scheduled for Friday, September 6.