Kennesaw State University history

In December 1964, Horace Sturgis was designated to serve as the future college's first president.

When the school opened in fall of 1966, it was named Kennesaw Junior College and had an initial enrollment of 1,014 students.

1967 — Science Building (original) opens (31,615 sq. ft.).

1970 — Doctor Herbert Davis becomes Chair of the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

Thirteen years later, in 1976, the former Kennesaw Junior College became a four-year college and was redesignated Kennesaw College.

Portrait of Betty L. Siegel, circa 1980 

Betty Siegel became the second president of Kennesaw College in 1981, and the first female university president in the University System of Georgia.

By 1985, KSU had initiated its first graduate degree programs, in business and education, and began a period of rapid growth, including building some residential housing.

1987 — Department of Computer Science and Information Systems created.

Finally, in 1988, the former Kennesaw College was renamed Kennesaw State College and associate degrees were discontinued, except in nursing.

1993 — Department of Chemistry and Physics becomes Department of Chemistry. — Department of Biology becomes Department of Biological and Physical Sciences.

1994 — School of Science and Allied Health becomes School of Science and Mathematics. — Department of Nursing becomes the School of Nursing.

1996 — New $15M (104,336 sq ft.) Science Building opens. — Original Science Building becomes Nursing Building. — Kennesaw State College becomes Kennesaw State University. — School of Science and Mathematics renamed College of Science and Mathematics (CSM). — Doctor Herb Davis becomes first CSM Dean.

1997 — Doctor Laurence Peterson becomes the second CSM Dean.

Image of Betty L. Siegel in the KSU Bookstore, 1998.

1999 — First CSM masters program offered: Master of Science in Information Systems.

Betty L. Siegel in front of 20th anniversary banner, circa 2001 

2002 — The Ann and John Clendenin Building (37,000 sq. ft.) opened.Complex for Applied Science Activities (CASA) and Center for Elections opens in House 57.

In 2004, KSU was recognized by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education.

2006 — Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T. - Mathematics) offered in collaboration with Bagwell College of Education. — Masters of Science in Applied Statistics (MSAS) program added to the curriculum. — Department of Mathematics renamed Department of Mathematics and Statistics.

2007 — Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T. - Science) first offered in collaboration with Bagwell College of Education. — Department of Biological and Physical Sciences renamed Department of Biology and Physics.

2011 — Groundbreaking of New Science Lab Addition. — Department of Computer Science and Information Systems becomes the Department of Computer Science; Information Systems moves to Coles College of Business.

Image of Betty L. Siegel at the Siegel Student Recreation Center groundbreaking, 2013.

In January of 2015, Kennesaw State University merged with Southern Polytechnic State University, making Kennesaw State University the third largest school in the University System of Georgia.

Papp announced his retirement on May 10, 2016, and the University System of Georgia's Chief Academic Officer, Doctor Houston Davis, was named interim president, effective July 1, 2016.

KSU's Computer Science and Information Systems department hosts the Center for Election Systems, which certified and monitored the direct recording electronic machines used in Georgia elections until June 2018 at the latest.

Doctor Akanmu Adebayo received the Madhuri and Jagdish N. Sheth Faculty Award for Distinguished International Achievement for 2019! Congratulations, Doctor Adebayo! #DivisionofGlobalAffairs