This story was originally published by the Ledger-Enquirer.
The effort to build a new Columbus State University Coca-Cola Space Science Center has taken a major step forward.
In the University System of Georgia’s $3.6 billion state funding request for fiscal year 2026, which starts July 1, 2025, a line item shows the USG Board of Regents approved $12.2 million for design, construction and equipment to help CSU create a $22.2 million facility — and expand CCSSC’s scope into robotics engineering in collaboration with the Muscogee County School District. The money was approved during the board’s Aug. 14 meeting.
CSU plans to fill the project’s $10 million gap through $4 million in private donations, a $4 million federal allocation to the CCSSC, and $2 million in revenue from the 1% Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funding MCSD infrastructure, CSU Chief Engagement Officer John Lester told the Ledger-Enquirer.
The yet-to-be-designed new CCSSC is expected to comprise 36,000 square feet, nearly doubling the current size. It would be constructed on CSU’s main campus in midtown Columbus, across the parking lot from the Elizabeth Bradley Turner Center for Continuing and Professional Education.
To make room for the new CCSSC, buildings for the CSU Police and ROTC would be demolished. Where those units would relocate hasn’t been decided, Lester said.
The future of the current CCSSC, which opened 28 years ago on Front Avenue as part of CSU’s RiverPark campus in downtown Columbus, won’t be determined until funding for this project is fully secured, Lester said.
CSU must wait to see whether this line item ends up in the budget Gov. Brian Kemp presents to next year’s Georgia Legislature for approval, Lester said, and no timeline for the start and finish of construction has been set. But, for now, he called this step thrilling news.
“As we look to the future economic development opportunities for the Chattahoochee Valley and for the state of Georgia, we are convinced that robotics engineering, advanced manufacturing, and space science will be integral to our growth,” Lester said in an emailed interview. “This facility is needed to accommodate our expanding engineering program that has grown from six students when we first started a few years ago to over one hundred majors today.
“The Board of Regents’ inclusion of this project is a demonstration of their commitment to meeting the workforce needs of our state and their confidence in what we are doing at Columbus State University.”
CCSSC Executive Director Shawn Cruzen called this step validation for what the center has achieved and wants to do.
“We’re not past the finish line, but I’m very excited,” he said during an interview at the CCSSC. “We’re looking at this new collaborative facility where we’re all going to be able to put all these pieces together and inspire that next generation of space explorers, robotics engineers, science educators, science communicators, all because space is a gateway. Robotics is a gateway.”
Credit: Mike Haskey
Credit: Mike Haskey
What the new center would provide
CSU plans to collaborate with MCSD for the new CCSSC to provide:
- Additional classrooms and labs for CSU’s robotics engineering program
- A regional hub for robotics education, testing and innovation
- Enriched STEM education for MCSD as well as CSU students
- Site for MCSD robotics teams and competitions
- A boost in technology training for the local workforce
- More opportunities for robotics partnerships with Fort Moore and other local organizations
“I am extremely excited that after several years of collaboration and planning, this important project has made it to the next step in the process,” MCSD Superintendent David Lewis told the Ledger-Enquirer in an emailed interview. “We, along with our partners at Columbus State, value a collaborative educational ecosystem and believe that improving the direction of STEM/STEAM education requires innovation. This endeavor is a testament to both.”
Lester cautioned that this project isn’t a done deal.
“There’s still much work to be done before funding may be finalized,” he said.
Kemp is scheduled to release his budget recommendations in January. If this project survives the Georgia General Assembly’s consideration, it would get final approval with the governor’s signature, likely in May, Lester said.
If approved, this will be the first new academic building on CSU’s main campus since the Center for Commerce and Technology was built about 20 years ago.
“Throughout the legislative session, CSU will continue to tell the story of the significance and need for this new facility,” Lester said. “And we’re hopeful for a positive outcome.”
That’s why he considers USG’s recommendation “a significant milestone in the university’s history and reflects the system’s confidence in CSU and its belief in the pivotal role we can play in advancing robotics and science education in our region.”
Credit: Mike Haskey
Credit: Mike Haskey
A new CCSSC would enable CSU to expand its robotics reach with industry partners, such as the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce and CHIPS4Chips — the Chattahoochee Hub for Innovation and Production of Semiconductors — an initiative to fill the local workforce pipeline needed to attract and support computer chip fabrication and related businesses.
“The real benefit of this building is that it will meet the needs of so many other entities,” Lester said. “Not just Columbus State University and its students.”
Why a new space science center is needed
The CCSSC’s popularity has grown to the point where the staff sometimes must decline requests from groups to visit, Cruzen said, because the current facility can’t handle the demand. Doubling the size of the CCSSC would allow it to accommodate more visitors, which usually range from 35,000 to 40,000 per year, he said.
“I’m hoping to increase that number at least 50%, if not more (in the new facility),” he said.
Lester described this project as answering the needs of CSU’s growing robotics program and its expanding partnership with MCSD.
“This is all about developing a K-20 technology education pipeline, and nurturing a robotics ecosystem in our area,” he said. “To build a new facility for those purposes and include the much-needed expansion of the Space Science Center, a new building on our main campus made more sense so we can take advantage of existing labs, classrooms and other spaces that will complement what this building will provide.”
A new CCSSC would give more MCSD students and teachers more opportunities to benefit from “real-world applications” of science and engineering, Lewis said, and increase the chances of hosting more local, state and regional robotics competitions.
“That will better position our community at the forefront of robotics engineering and advanced manufacturing,” he said. “As a result, our district will expand career pathways for post-secondary education at CSU and Columbus Technical College in these high-skill, high wage areas that will further diversify the economic development of our region.”
Cruzen noted this project is the culmination of three significant accomplishments at CSU:
- From 2009-11, CSU responded to the need expressed by leaders at Fort Benning (now named Fort Moore) and in local industries for more workforce training in technology, particularly mechanical and electrical engineering. That’s when CSU started offering its first robotics classes.
- In 2014, CCSSC staff learned that a quarter-scale engineering prototype of the space shuttle was available. They applied, and with help from CSU Chief Facilities Officer Steve Morse, they won the bid for the artifact. It’s in storage because it’s too large for the current CCSSC to display it, but it will be the “iconic centerpiece” of the new facility, Cruzen said.
- And now, CSU offers the state’s only program for bachelor’s and master’s degrees in robotics engineering.
All of which has Cruzen envisioning a facility where children as young as kindergarten can visit during a field trip and be inspired to pursue a career in technology by watching MCSD and CSU students collaborate with soldiers from Fort Moore in robotics.
“Then we’re going to bring them into our programs, and we’re going to train them,” he said. “And they’re going to dwell here in this community as a highly trained technical workforce.”
Credit: Ledger-Enquirer
Credit: Ledger-Enquirer
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