The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, University of Missouri–Columbia or simply Missouri) is a public research university located in the state of Missouri. In 1839 the university was founded in Columbia, Missouri as the first public institution of higher education west of the Mississippi River. The largest university in Missouri, MU enrolls over 30,000 students in 20 academic colleges. The university is the flagship of the University of Missouri System which maintains campuses in Rolla, Kansas City and St. Louis. MU is one of thirty-four public universities to be members of the Association of American Universities and the only one in Missouri. There are more than 248,000 MU alumni living worldwide, with almost half continuing to reside in Missouri.