Michigan Technological University broke ground Friday on a new student wellness center funded by a transformative $55 million donation from Chang K. Park.
Park, who attended Michigan Tech in the 1960s, experienced the challenges many students face: relocating to a new community, navigating demanding coursework, and adjusting to college life. He hopes the new center will provide students with resources he and his peers lacked.
“Students always have a lot of stress, academic challenges, personal relationships, financial issues,” Park said. “I was interested and then on top of that at the time there were a number of students who came back from Vietnam. The thing I feel somewhat bad is that we did not know the meaning of PTSD at the time and I don’t think they are getting proper treatment. So they are left by their own.”
The Chang K. Park Center for Student Wellness will feature a health clinic on the first floor, counseling space for mental health services, a gymnasium to support physical health, and spaces for students to relax while building social connections.
Laura Bulleit, Vice President of Student Affairs, emphasized the importance of consolidating wellness services under one roof.
“And then that brings together our physical fitness and our mental health fitness staff,” Bulleit said. “So our mental health fitness staff right now, they are in the administration building in a very small and cramped space. And that’s both our clinical therapists and our health promotion and outreach staff. And so to have everybody under one roof really fits in well with our holistic well-being that is represented in our Be Well initiative.”
Construction will begin in the coming weeks, with crews working through winter and spring. The project is expected to conclude in 2028, allowing the center to open before students arrive for the fall academic year.
