Purdue University

Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University System. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university, accepted a donation of land and money from Lafayette businessman John Purdue to establish a college of science, technology, and agriculture in his name. The first classes were held on September 16, 1874, with three buildings, six instructors, and 39 students. Today, Purdue enrolls the second largest student body of any university in Indiana as well as the second largest international student population of any public university in the United States. 
Purdue offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in over 210 major areas of study. Purdue has produced multiple Nobel Prize winners, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, and NFL Super Bowl MVPs. The university has been highly influential in America's history of aviation, and Purdue's aviation technology and aeronautical engineering programs remain among the highest rated and most competitive in the world. In the mid-20th century, Purdue's aviation program expanded to encompass advanced spaceflight technology giving rise to Purdue's nickname, "Cradle of Astronauts". 
Purdue's tenured faculty comprises sixty Academic Deans, Associate Deans, and Assistant Deans; 63 Academic Department Heads; 753 Professors; 547 Associate Professors and 447 Assistant Professors. Purdue employs 892 non-tenure-track faculty, Lecturers, and Postdoctorals at its West Lafayette campus. Purdue employs another 691 tenured and 1,021 Non-Tenure Track Faculty, Lecturers, and Postdoctorals at its Regional Campuses and Statewide Technology.
Purdue University generated a record $333.4 million in sponsored research funding during the 2007–08 fiscal year with participation from National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the U.S. departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and Health and Human Services.