Biola University is a private, Christian university, located in the city of La Mirada in Los Angeles County, California. The history of the university dates back to 1908, when it was founded by Lyman Stewart and T.C. Horton as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. The cornerstone of the original Bible Institute building was laid on May 1913. The following decades saw a tremendous growth in the development and outreach of the school. The institute began to offer four-year courses leading to degrees in theology, Christian education, and sacred music during the presidency of Dr. Louis T. Talbot (1932 to 1952). In 1945, the School of Missionary Medicine came into being laying the foundation for Biola's current baccalaureate nursing program. The Institute was renamed Biola College, in 1949. Dr. Samuel H. Sutherland became the president of the school in 1952, and with his leadership, the college obtained regional and professional accreditation. With the increase in the student enrolment and the evolving curricula, a new and much spacious campus became a necessity and as a result the present 75-acre site in La Mirada took shape. Biola moved to the new site, in 1959. The college acquired the graduate programs of Rosemead Graduate School of Professional Psychology in 1977, and relocated it to the La Mirada campus. Under the leadership of Dr. J. Richard Chase, the College became Biola University in July 1981. Presently, the Biola University campus consists of 95 acres with nearly 800,000 square feet of building space in 31 major buildings including nine traditional student residence halls, fully independent apartments, and special housing for both married students and graduate students. The rest of the buildings house classrooms, laboratories, auditoriums, offices, and students services. Among the major buildings are Soubirou Hall, Lansing Auditorium, the Rose of Sharon Chapel, a gymnasium-swimming complex, and a new production center for the Radio/TV/Film program. The Library Resource Center lies at the center of campus, and was designed to enhance the technology of a 21st-century library - combining the best of books and computers in a variety of beautiful and functional research spaces. The athletic facilities on campus include lighted soccer/track field, lighted tennis courts, softball diamonds, soccer fields, a baseball diamond, and lighted outdoor courts for basketball and sand volleyball.