Kennesaw State University - Wilson Building

The Wilson Building, formerly the Education and Performing Arts Building, opened in 1989 under Kennesaw State College. It was built by Chegwidden/Dorsey/Holmes (CDH Partners). The original design and use are similar to how the building is utilized today. It holds the Stillwell Theatre and the Fine Arts Gallery, as well as numerous classrooms, music studios, a theatre technology classroom, and the offices for the Deans of the College of the Arts, the Department of Music, and the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies. Its construction was part of an effort to expand Kennesaw State after the transformation to a senior university from a junior college in 1976. The Performing Arts Building was renamed the Wilson Building on October 5th, 1994, after Joe Mack Wilson, an advocate for the creation of Kennesaw State’s conversion into a four-year college. 

The Fine Arts Gallery and the Stillwell Theatre are both housed inside the Wilson building. As a center for student and contemporary exhibitions, the Fine Arts Gallery acts as a satellite gallery for the Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum of Art on campus. This space is used for exhibiting capstone projects, a requirement for seniors completing their Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees to showcase artwork of various disciplines. The Howard Logan Stillwell Theatre, as part of the Department of Theatre and Dance Studies, is a contemporary proscenium theatre that holds 320 seats for large performances. Some of these past shows include Ragtime, Heathers: The Musical, Spring Awakening, Into the Woods, Falsettos, and Cabaret.

Joe Mack Wilson (1919-1993) was a politician in Georgia who served on the House of Representatives from 1961 to 1985, as well as representing Marietta in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1990 to 1933. He was a Georgia native who grew up in Marietta, attending Keith School, formerly Hanes Street School, and the Waterman Street School. He graduated high school in 1936, and immediately after he traveled to South Carolina digging ditches, before returning to Georgia a few months later to work in typing and to return to school. He was married to Mary H Wilson (1924-1976). Joe Mack Wilson entered The Georgia Institute of Technology in 1939, while simultaneously owning the Wilson Brothers Jewelers, a business his father started and passed down. After serving on the House of Representatives, Wilson was active in Kennesaw State College in the 1970s, serving on the Foundation Trustee Board and advocating for Kennesaw State to become a senior status university, further construction of I-75 to battle rush hour traffic, and for the construction of an Atlantic Railroad bridge. Wilson’s ideas were widely supported within the university system and led to many significant improvements. He was elected Mayor of Marietta in 1990; during his term, he advocated for Black voices and representation, tax reform, and other relevant matters. His time in office was cut short by his death in May of 1933, ending a career of serving the state of Georgia. 

Additionally, Fred Stillwell was a longtime member of the KSU Foundation Board of Trustees and received an honorary doctorate from KSU. The Howard Logan Stillwell Stadium and Theatre are named in honor of his father.

Kennesaw State Archives

Scott, Tom. The History of Kennesaw State University: The First Fifty Years, 1963-2013. Kennesaw, Georgia. Kennesaw State University Press, 2013.

Kennesaw State University, Art Facilities, https://www.kennesaw.edu/arts/about/facilities.php

Joe Mack Wilson, Joe Mack Wilson Oral History Interviews, 6 vols., Georgia Government Documentation Project, 1988, Wilson, JM_19880401_P1988-16, Digital Collections - Georgia State University Library, https://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/digital/collection/ggdp/id/6070.

Jennifer Dickey