The University of Houston is a nationally recognized doctoral degree-granting, extensive research university located in Houston, Texas. It is the third largest university in the state and is one of Texas's premier research and teaching institutions. It is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes, and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic, and governmental entities. Beginning in 1927 as Houston Junior College, it became a four-year institution in 1933, when Governor Miriam A. Furguson signed House Bill 194 into law. In 1934, the Houston Independent School District's Board of Education unanimously adopted a resolution extending the scope and services of the Junior College to include at least two additional years of college work and changed the name of the institution to the University of Houston. The university started its first session as a four-year institution at San Jacinto High School with a total of 682 students on the rolls. In 1934, the first campus of the school was established at the Second Baptist Church at Milam and McGowen. The next fall, the campus was shifted to the South Main Baptist Church, on Main between Richmond and Eagle, where it stayed for the next five years. The university acquired 560 acres of land - southeast of downtown Houston for a permanent campus, in 1936. The first building, the Roy Gustav Cullen Memorial Building, was opened in 1939. The university separated from the Houston Independent School District and started functioning as a private university with a Board of Regents in 1945. In 1963, the University of Houston became a state-supported institution. In 1977, state law officially established the University of Houston System - a public system of higher education - which now includes three universities and two multi-institution teaching centers. The largest and most comprehensive component of the UH System includes three other universities - UH-Clear Lake, UH-Downtown, and UH-Victoria - as well as two teaching centers such as the UH System at Sugar Land and the UH System at Cinco Ranch. The University of Houston was once known as University of Houston–University Park, from 1985 to 1988. Over the years, the University of Houston has grown into a major public research institution. The 560-acre campus is filled with lush greenery, fountains, sculptures, and recreational fields surrounding modern classrooms, high-tech laboratories, and study facilities. Campus landmarks include the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center, the Athletics/Alumni Center, the Moores School of Music, and the LeRoy and Lucile Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting, which houses KUHT-TV/Houston PBS (the nation's first educational television station), KUHF-FM (Houston's NPR station), the Center for Public Policy polling center, and television studio labs. The university offers 109 undergraduate, 131 masters, 51 doctoral, and three special professional degree programs through the university's 12 colleges. It conducts research in each academic department and operates many research centers and institutes on campus. The libraries at UH provide abundant resources for the research. The university's computer network links more than 10,000 workstations across campus which enhances learning, teaching, and research. The university campus activities include more than 300 registered student organizations, a film series, concerts, theatrical productions, art exhibits, and Division I-A NCAA athletics. The University of Houston is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools as a Level VI general postsecondary institution. The university lies at the intersection of I-45 and Texas Highway 35.