Among the largest of the 29 members of the University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State University (KSU) is a public, coeducational university with campuses in Kennesaw and Marietta, Georgia.
KSU was established in 1963 as the Kennesaw Junior College with an initial enrolment of just over 1,000 students. In the years that followed the university underwent massive growth, becoming Kennesaw State University in 1996, the same year that the KSU baseball and softball teams won the NCAA Division II national championships.
In 2015, the Southern Polytechnic State University and KSU merged under the guidance of the Georgia University System, taking the latter’s name and bringing two of the state’s most respected institutions together. Following the merger there are now 13 academic colleges offering a combined total of more than 150 undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as a growing number of doctoral qualifications.
The 240-acre main campus features some particularly notable buildings, including the Social Sciences building which is home to a 302-seat auditorium, 40 classrooms, and a cinema classroom. There is also the Dr. Bobbie Bailey & Family Performance Center, which houses a 630-seat auditorium and a rehearsal hall.
The KSU Athletic teams, known as the Kennesaw State Owls, participate in the NCAA Division I in a large range of sports including basketball, golf, cross country and tennis. The university only moved to the Division I in 2006 and have already finished as a runner-up in a baseball championship, in 2012.
Notable former graduates include golfer Larry Nelson, TV host Ty Pennington, radio personality and TV host Ryan Seacrest, and former Senator of Colombia Arturo Char Chaljub.
