Georgia Southern begins construction of engineering and research center

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal joined Georgia Southern University officials Wednesday for a ceremony to celebrate the start of construction of a engineering and research center.

The 135,000 square foot facility will be on the Statesboro Campus. The state budget approved earlier this year included $50 million for the center.

The center will focus on research and learning in areas such as manufacturing engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering.

With more than 26,000 students, Georgia Southern is the largest state university south of metro Atlanta.