'That college experience': KSU opens new $37M dorm

KENNESAW — As Kennesaw State University continues to balloon in size, the university is adding 508 beds to its on-campus housing, bringing the school’s total housing stock to around 6,000 beds.

KSU cut the ribbon on its latest dorm, dubbed The Summit, on Friday morning. The $37 million, 105,000-square-foot facility will house freshman students, who will start moving in Wednesday.

President Kathy Schwaig said the new five-story dorm, located on Marietta Drive on the campus’ south side, is needed to keep pace with the growth of the university. As of last fall, KSU had about 43,000 students, the third-largest enrollment in the state behind Georgia State and Georgia Tech.

KSU over the past two decades has gone from being a commuter school to offering thousands of students the chance to live on campus, something Schwaig considers a key element of the college experience.

“When you’re leaving your family and you’re leaving your home where you’ve been for a number of years and you come into a new experience in college, and you have a beautiful place to move into, it can make such a huge difference,” Schwaig said. “And obviously, the friendships and the connections and the people that you meet during this time are such an extraordinary experience.”

Christian Kilgore is a KSU senior from Athens, majoring in percussion performance and music composition. As The Summit welcomes its first residents next week, Kilgore will serve as community assistant, overseeing a team of resident assistants.

Kilgore lived off campus his first year at KSU, driving to and from class, and having less interaction with fellow students.

“I felt isolated and it was hard for me to find community,” Kilgore said. “Now, if you’re living on campus, I can confidently say that I’ve met some of the most amazing and friendly people that KSU has to offer.”

Kilgore touted benefits of living on campus such as close access to campus resources, dining facilities, events and athletics. Plus, you can sleep in later, and walk to class without worrying about traffic.

“It is impossible to miss out on that college experience when you’re consistently surrounded by it,” Kilgore said.

Schwaig added that students who live on campus are 11% more likely to be retained, i.e., stay on at KSU the next year.

Steven Cadranel, chair of the KSU Foundation’s Board of Trustees, was asked to join the board in 2009 due to his experience working in commercial real estate. Helping the university develop its campus has been one of the most rewarding volunteer experiences of his life, he said.

“Standing here today, it’s hard to imagine what a quieter place this was just 20 years ago. That’s when the leadership of the university and the foundation dared to dream big dreams,” Cadranel said.

KSU opened its first residence halls in 2002. In the two decades since, it’s built several more, opened a dining hall and built a 8,300-seat athletic stadium. Along the way, enrollment has more than doubled.

“We care about you, we want you to have a safe, beautiful place to live, we want you to be able to connect with one another,” Schwaig said of the students. “We want you to be able to experience this educational time in your life, this college time in your life, in a very exciting and fun way. And so I know that it’s not just a physical space, it’s a space of memories and a space of experience.”