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Kennesaw State
University
A Profile
Kennesaw State
University is an active community of learners dedicated to student
success. The third largest and fastest-growing university in the
State University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State currently enrolls
more than 18,000
students from many different backgrounds, including 1,500
international students representing more than 130 countries.
Hallmarks of KSU’s vision include sustained civic engagement, a
focus on interconnected learning, a strong commitment to
diversity, and an emphasis on ethical leadership building.
Located in metropolitan Atlanta, in a rapidly developing area of
northwest Georgia, Kennesaw has made valued contributions to its
region, while rising in national stature.
Kennesaw State is
known for growth and innovation. KSU’s
history
ranges from opening as a junior college in 1963 to becoming a
four-year college in 1978, beginning to offer graduate programs in
1985, being recognized by U.S. News and World Report as a “rising
star” in education in the early 1990s, and achieving university
status in 1996. In 2005, U.S. News & World Report ranked Kennesaw
State University’s “First-Year Experience” as a “Program to Look
For” in its “America’s Best Colleges 2005” edition spotlighting
excellence in higher education.
While expanding
its focus on research, Kennesaw State has maintained its commitment
to teaching at the heart of the university’s
mission
throughout its dynamic history. Students who make KSU their
university of choice know they will work with dedicated faculty who
are outstanding teachers and researchers and who are committed to
community service. KSU is fully accredited by the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) with the Commission on
Colleges endorsement. Additionally, KSU programs hold many
national-level professional accreditations.
The seven
colleges which make up KSU’s academic units share a strong
commitment to the university’s mission, while exhibiting their own
unique strengths. In addition, a growing number of
centers and
institutes, such as the
Institute for
Global Initiatives, are dedicated to outreach and research
promoting KSU’s vision for civic engagement at the highest levels.
Kennesaw State’s
Continuing
Education program provides quality lifelong learning
opportunities that enrich personal and professional lives throughout
northwest Georgia and beyond.
As an engaged
member of the American Association of State Colleges and
Universities (AASCU), Kennesaw State is committed to providing a
quality education to students with a wide range of educational
goals. From its founding in the 1960s, KSU has served
non-traditional students, many of them the first in their families
to attend college. (Today, the average age of students attending
Kennesaw State is 26.) Increasingly, KSU is providing creative,
highly challenging
undergraduate programs for more traditional students, who
make KSU their university of choice. In addition, Kennesaw State is
offering an increasing number of innovative masters-level
graduate
programs, which draw high-achieving students from the local,
national and international professional populations. Consistent with
its maturing mission within the University System of Georgia, KSU is
developing targeted professional doctoral programs.
Recently, KSU has
begun to expand its student body beyond the commuters who are still
an active part of the university community to include a growing
group of approximately 2,000 on-campus residents. In
state-of-the-art,
apartment-style
housing, students can now become part of KSU's
living-learning communities. More than 100
student-led organizations and a highly successful
athletics program,
now competing in
NCAA
Division I, complement the strong academic experience at
KSU. In 2004, KSU teams won national championships in Division II
women’s soccer and men’s basketball. Kennesaw State’s competitive
cheer squad won national championships in Division II in 2004 and
2005.
Kennesaw State’s
ability to serve an increasingly diverse student body with a wide
array of academic programs is made possible by an award-winning,
growing
faculty from around the world. Consistent with KSU’s rising
enrollment, the number of full-time instructional faculty has
climbed from about 375 in 2000 to approximately 650 today,
and reliance on part-time faculty is on the decline.
Staff support of
KSU’s programs includes an array of
administrative
teams dedicated to student success, as well as to
professional and personal growth. In particular, KSU has made a
commitment to world-class leadership in
instructional
technology, evidenced not only in technology-based resources
and services provided directly to students and faculty, but also in
the array of technology-enhanced learning spaces operating on
campus, such as the
Presentation Technology Department and the KSU
Writing Center. Besides affirming this focus on new
technologies in its acquisitions strategies, the
Horace W.
Sturgis Library is also known for its Bentley Special
Collections and Rare Book Gallery. The newly founded
KSU Press
promises an innovative approach to academic publishing.
Crucial support
for the university’s mission comes from the
KSU
Foundation, which serves as an advocate for the University
by generating and serving as a steward of private gifts and
contributions in support of Kennesaw State. In recent years,
Foundation projects have included building on-campus housing and
parking decks, purchasing property to allow for campus growth,
developing an enhanced
faculty awards
program, and partnering to help bring the
Anne Frank in the World
exhibit to KSU. Kennesaw State also has an active and growing
community of alumni
making diverse contributions to the institution. Another important
aid to KSU’s increasing resource base is the university’s active
Office of Sponsored Programs,
which supports faculty interested in securing external sponsorship
for research, instruction, evaluation, and professional development
activities.
Since 1981,
Kennesaw State has been led by
Dr. Betty
Siegel, who was the first woman to head an institution in
the 34-unit University System of Georgia, and is among the
longest-serving university presidents in the nation. President
Siegel’s many
initiatives have helped guide KSU through dramatic stages of
growth to the threshold of a new era. The current Presidential
Search has identified characteristics for the next leader of the
university consistent with its proud, if youthful, heritage, while
looking ahead to continued advancement of its mission.
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