The University of Louisiana is located in Monroe, Louisiana, with the beautiful river Bayou DeSiard flowing through the 227-acre tree shaded campus. The university is a multipurpose institution of higher education assisted by the state. It extends high-quality education to a diverse student community from across the world. The University of Louisiana at Monroe has pursued a track of vigorous growth in its transition from a junior college to a high-class university. In September 1931, the university opened for its first session as Ouachita Parish Junior college. Following a change in legislature the university adopted the name of Northeast Junior College of Louisiana State University, in 1939. In August 1999, the university officially changed its name to the University of Louisiana at Monroe. The University of Louisiana Monroe offers undergraduate and graduate courses along with continuing education in a comprehensive range. The courses include: arts, science, business administration, health science, human development, education, and pharmacy. It is known for its excellence in providing a variety of academic areas and well-qualified faculty for the educational development of its students. The higher education courses of the university are accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The university has produced more than 50,000 graduates over the years. In addition, it has an annual enrollment of approximately 9,400 students, including 1,100 graduate students. Students from every parish in Louisiana, 44 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and international students from 47 nations are annually enrolled at the university. The Aerospace Education Resource Center, the Center for Business and Economic Research, the Climatic Research Center, the Computer Learning Center, the Doctoral Research Center, the Family Resource Center, the Institute of Corrections and Juvenile Justice, the Institute of Gerontology, the Institute of Law Enforcement, the Louisiana Drug and Poison Information Center, the Louisiana Institute of Toxicology, and the Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic are available for stdents. The main attraction of the university campus is the university library beside the bayou. It provides enough material for conducting cutting-edge researches in a wide range of disciplines, while bathed in the beauty of the surrounding ecosystem. The Bry Art Gallery, Museum of Natural History, and the Wesley Art Gallery are also of interest.