University of Louisiana at Lafayette, also known as UL Lafayette, is the oldest and largest public campus in the University of Louisiana system. The beautiful campus is located in Lafayette, Louisiana, 15 miles west of the Atchafalaya Basin and 35 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico. In 1900, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette began as Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute, which was located on the outskirts of Lafayette on 25 acres of donated land. Dr. Edwin L. Stephens was its first president. In September 1901, SLII opened its doors with 100 students and eight faculty members. Three years later, in 1903, the first batch of 18 students were graduated from the Institute. SLII was known as Southwestern Louisiana Institute (SLI) in 1921 when it became one of the state's institutions of higher learning. The institute achieved university status, the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL), in 1960. The university changed its name to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, in 1999, which reflects its status as the state's second largest university and an institution with statewide and national influence. The university grounds consists of a 137-acre main campus, the athletic complex and the Cajundome (a 12,800-seat multipurpose arena), which sits on 243 acres, 148 acres alloted to University Research Park, and the Center for Ecology and Environmental Technology, which covers 51 acres. In all, it has more than 200 campus buildings. A few of the tenants at University Research Park inlude the Center for Business and Information Technologies, Lafayette Economic Development Authority, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Regional Application Center, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Geological Survey National Wetlands Research Center. There is also a 600-acre farm/renewable resources laboratory with a 30-acre pond for crawfish and catfish culture in Cade, Louisiana. The University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s New Iberia Research Center, which sits on 48-acres in New Iberia, is one of the largest private non-human, primate breeding colonies in the world. A member of the Southeastern Universities Research Association, the selective admissions university has 11 colleges and schools, including the College of Nursing and Allied Health Professions - one of only seven universities in the nation to be designated as a center of excellence by the National League for Nursing. Students come from 53 states and possessions, as well as from 93 foreign countries. The current enrollment is approximately 17,000 including 1,500 graduate students. UL Lafayette has 565 full-time and 150 part-time faculty members. The Edith Garland Dupré Library, one of the most technologically advanced university libraries in the state, is open to students, faculty, staff, and the public. Situated on the main campus, it has almost 1 million bound volumes and 2 million microform units. Its holdings include U.S. and Louisiana government documents, materials pertaining to the history and culture of Acadiana, the university archives, the folklore/oral history collection, and the Louisiana colonial records collection. Published twice a year (in April and November) by UL Lafayette's Office of Public Relations and News Services, the La Louisiane is a biannual, full-color, award-winning magazine with a circulation of about 70,000. It enables the university to communicate with students, alumni, and other university supporters. The university offers comprehensive scholarship and financial aid programs, including out-of-state fee waivers to qualified students. The sport teams, Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns, which compete in the Sun Belt Conference, are classified as NCAA Division 1 in football, baseball, softball, basketball, golf, and track & field. Among the notables: The radio station on campus - KRVS 88.7 - was the first in its market to broadcast a digital signal. Accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the University offers 80 undergraduate degree programs, 29 master's degree programs, eight doctor’s of philosophy programs, and one post master's certificate program.