MARIETTA, Ga. (April 18, 2019) – Kennesaw State University broke ground today on a new $5 million addition that will enable the College of Science and Mathematics to expand biology and chemistry course offerings to students on the University’s Marietta Campus. The new structure is scheduled to open in December 2019.
The Science Lab Annex, a 10,411-square-foot addition to the current Engineering Lab Building, is located on the west side of the campus across from the Engineering Technology Center. It will house four, 24-seat labs – two chemistry and two biology – two prep rooms and office space. Based on Fall 2018 enrollment figures, biology tops the list of popular undergraduate majors at the University.
“At Kennesaw State, our goal is to provide our students with expanded opportunities to engage in the type of hands-on learning that enables them to take what they learn in the classroom and apply it in the real world,” said Whitten. “This science lab addition is an example of how we are investing in the lives of our students and the long-term success of our university.”
This is the latest investment the University has made in the Marietta Campus since Kennesaw State consolidated with Southern Polytechnic State University in 2015. Through renovations, repairs, upgrades, and new construction, KSU has invested more than $23.4 million in the Marietta Campus over the past four years.
Three of Kennesaw State’s 13 colleges – College of Architecture and Construction Management, College of Computing and Software Engineering, Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology – offering 32 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, are housed at the Marietta Campus. Additionally, the campus provides course offerings from KSU’s other academic programs. In total, over 450 different courses are available to the approximately 9,000 students, including nearly 1,700 residential students, who rely on the Marietta location.
“It’s important that both of our campuses meet the needs of our students, and this certainly involves offering quality courses and ensuring proper facilities, such as the one we are breaking ground on today, but it goes beyond that,” said Whitten. “The investments that we are making, both in our students and on our campuses, help provide the workforce of today and tomorrow for Cobb County, metro Atlanta and the state of Georgia.”
The Science Lab Annex was designed by the architectural firm Lord Aeck Sargent, which also designed the renovated mathematics building on the Marietta Campus. The contractor is New South Construction.
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