SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – Missouri State University is spending $1.6 million to buy 52 top-notch pianos by the end of the year.

The university’s Board of Governors recently signed off on the plan to purchase the pianos designed by Steinway & Sons. The 52 pianos will be delivered this fall and paid over a seven-year period.

The university’s push for the new pianos coincides with the overhaul of its music department facility. Music faculty emeritus Peter Collins says the projects will attract top students and instructors.

The university’s piano inventory upgrade will earn the university the designation of an “All-Steinway” school.

Shawn Wahl is interim dean of the College of Arts and Letters. Wahl says the “All-Steinway” label is coveted by music conservatories and universities. He says it’s a “profile-raiser.”