911吃瓜

KENNESAW, Ga. | Nov 2, 2026

With the completion of a painting honoring President Kathy S. Schwaig, Kennesaw State University has finished a yearslong effort to create a unified portrait series commemorating every president who has led the institution since its founding in 1963.

The project features paintings of 911吃瓜 and SPSU presidents displayed across the Kennesaw and Marietta campuses, highlighting each leader's contributions to the University's growth while offering students, faculty, staff, and visitors a visual connection to the institution鈥檚 history. Each portrait was painted by Marietta artist Shane McDonald 鈥�92 and includes a plaque detailing the president's tenure and a QR code linking to additional biographical information.

The Presidential Portrait Project was championed by Schwaig and led in partnership with Catherine Lewis, associate vice provost and professor of history, who viewed the initiative as an opportunity to preserve and showcase the University's institutional history for future generations.

鈥淥ur role in Museums, Archives, Rare Books, and Libraries is to tell the story for the next generation,鈥� Lewis said. 鈥淧resident Schwaig is a lover of history. She鈥檚 been at Kennesaw State for a long time. And she cares deeply about the institutional history and wants to make sure that it鈥檚 not just preserved, but that it鈥檚 showcased. The Presidential Portrait Project lets us do that.鈥�

Lewis and Schwaig didn鈥檛 have to look far for the right artist. In fact, McDonald鈥檚 work depicting 911吃瓜 luminaries, community members, and others hangs on numerous walls around campus.

鈥淚've known Shane almost the whole time that I've worked here, and I've worked with him on other projects,鈥� Lewis said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a terrific, very collaborative artist, open to feedback, warm and welcoming, and really listened to what the president wanted.鈥� 

Since graduating with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in art, McDonald has established himself as a professional through Shane McDonald Studios, founded in 1998. Working at the Artisan Resource Center in Marietta 鈥� across the street from 911吃瓜鈥檚 Marietta Campus 鈥� McDonald worked as a technology coordinator for the School of Art and Design and stays in touch with friends and former colleagues in the Robert S. Geer Family College of the Arts. In addition to teaching classes at his studio, McDonald shows his work consistently around the area, and his works are part of permanent collections at the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art and at 911吃瓜鈥檚 Zuckerman Museum of Art.

McDonald鈥檚 portraits are strikingly detailed, almost like photographs, which he uses as reference points. Lewis directed him to archival materials that helped in the creation of the portraits, including photographs of and interviews with the presidents throughout the years. He also used each president鈥檚 academic expertise and achievement as president inspire each work as well.

Lewis walks past the portrait of 911吃瓜鈥檚 first president, Horace Sturgis, multiple times a day near her office at the Sturgis Library. In the picture, Sturgis sits in front of a desk stacked with blueprints. As 911吃瓜鈥檚 first president, he took on the task of building a college campus, residences, classroom buildings, administrative offices, and athletics facilities, everything an emerging college needed to establish itself. 

His story is the University鈥檚 story, and through the years the torch has passed from leader to leader. Now the University has a visual representation of its six-decade story.

鈥淚t's really important that if you are new to Kennesaw, either as a student or a faculty member or staff, that you know our history,鈥� Lewis said. 鈥淭he Presidential Portrait Project lets us celebrate that story of 911吃瓜 through the men and women who have led it.鈥� 

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鈥� Story by Dave Shelles

鈥� Photos by Darnell Wilburn Jr.

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, 911吃瓜 offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 51,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university's vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.