In December, Mattawan-based MPI Research donated a 330,000 square-foot facility at 300 Portage St. to the university.

WMU named the facility the W.E. Upjohn Campus in June, honoring the founder of the Upjohn Co. and the great grandfather of MPI's chairman and CEO William U. Parfet.The facility, widely known as Building 267, was once part of the Upjohn, Pharmacia and Pfizer downtown campuses.

A public ceremony is set for 11 a.m. at the building at 300 Portage St. Officials will unveil renderings and reveal details about the project, which is being built and renovated by engineering firm S/L/A/M Collaborative.

WMU will lease the building to the School of Medicine, which is a private 501 (c)(3) nonprofit corporation and a collaboration involving Kalamazoo's two teaching hospitals, Borgess Health and Bronson Healthcare. The medical school is expected to welcome its first class in fall 2014.

Over the past year, employees and staff at Michigan State Universitys Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies merged with the School of Medicine. The WMU Board of Trustees approved the university borrowing up to $30 million to renovate, furnish and equip the facility, which the university expects will cost $68 million.

WMU received a $100-million gift designated for the medical school from an anonymous donor in 2011.

In July, Western Michigan University School of Medicine Clinics earned approval from the Joint Commission for complying with national standards for health care quality and safety as a primary care medical provider and was also granted "candidate school status" this summer by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.

The school now hopes to achieve preliminary accreditation, which allows the medical school to begin recruiting students by the end of the year. The university plans to have the new school fully accredited before it graduates students, who would begin classes in 2014 and graduate in 2018.

Visit MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette later this week for an update on the WMed's curriculum and progress from founding dean Dr. Hal Jenson and for coverage of Friday's groundbreaking.

Original post:

Western Michigan University to break ground on medical school renovations Friday