Joe Mack Wilson Student Center, KSU Marietta

Located near the primary and west entrances of Kennesaw State University's Marietta campus, the Joe Mack Wilson Students Center is considered the primary vector of the local campus community. This student union contains various amenities, such as a ballroom, a stage, additional classrooms to be booked by whoever needs it, the campus bookstore, fast food restaurants (including Chick-fil-A), and the game room. Also featured are offices for various university services, including the veteran services, student disability services, career office, counseling, and the Marietta Activity Center headquarters. This building contains two floors and 86,000 square feet of space.

The Joe Mack Wilson Student Center was originally constructed in 1977, over a decade after the establishment of the Southern Technical Institute campus, and was first occupied the same year. Southern Technical Institute was founded in 1948 as an offshoot of Georgia Tech to facilitate the increased demand of STEM careers after the end of WWII. Southern Technical Institute was originally located at leased land from another college, but this scenario could not last, lest its own growth was ignored. So, in the early sixties, a newer permanent campus was being built, which was to be located in the city of Marietta, and opened in 1962.

Joe Mack Wilson (1919-1993) was a member of the Georgia State Legislature (1961-1988), mayor of Marietta (1990-1993), who had provided funds to secure SPSU's campus location, additional locations, and various upgrades to campus facilities. Due to his numerous contributions to the institution, in 1994 the student center was dedicated to his memory and legacy.

Various structural changes have taken place at the Student Center over the years. This includes entrances at the first floor being sealed off for further office space. Another example is the addition of a ramp entrance and a game room on the second floor.

When Southern Polytechnic State University was merged into Kennesaw State University, there were various modifications to the decor. The green color scheme was changed to KSUs gold and black color scheme. The SPSU branding was removed and replaced with KSU branding. A cage for PC gaming was added to the game room.

There was previously a cafeteria on the first floor before the opening of Stingers, the current cafeteria.

https://maps.kennesaw.edu/

https://web.archive.org/web/20080708003327/http://www.spsu.edu/home/life/food.html