Michigan State University

Michigan State University  is a public research university located in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. was founded in 1855 and became the nation's first land grant institution under the Act of 1862, serving as a model for future land-grant universities. The university was originally founded as the Agricultural College of

 the State of Michigan, one of the first institutions of higher education in the country to teach scientific agriculture. Following the introduction of the Act, the college became coeducational and expanded its curriculum beyond agriculture. Today, is the eighth-largest university in the United States in terms of enrollment and has approximately 540,000 living alumni worldwide.
 
pioneered the studies of packaging, hospitality business, plant biology, supply chain management, music therapy, and communication sciences. Michigan State frequently ranks among the top 30 public universities in the United States and the top 100 research universities in the world. U.S. News & World Report ranks 

 many of its graduate programs among the best in the nation including African history, criminology, industrial and organizational psychology, educational psychology, elementary and secondary education, osteopathic medicine, nuclear physics, rehabilitation counseling, supply chain
logistics, and veterinary medicine. is a member of the Association of American Universities, an organization of 62 leading research universities in

 North America. The university's campus houses the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, the W.J. Botanical Garden, the Abrams Planetarium, the Wharton Center for Performing Arts, the Broad Art Museum, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, and the largest residence hall system in the country.
 
s Division I sports teams are called the Spartans, which compete in the Big Ten Conference. 's football team won the Rose Bowl in 1954, 1956, 1988 and 2014 and six national championships. Its men's basketball team won the NCAA National Championship in 1979 and 2000 and has enjoyed a streak of seven Final Four appearances since the 1998-1999 season. Its men's ice hockey won national titles in 1966, 1986 and 2007.

The college first admitted women in 1870, although at that time there were no female residence halls. The few women who enrolled either boarded with faculty families or made the arduous stagecoach trek from Lansing. From the early days, female students took the same rigorous scientific agriculture courses as male

 students. In 1896, the faculty created a "Women Course" that melded a home economics curriculum with liberal arts and sciences. That same year, the College turned the old Abbot Hall male dorm into a women's dormitory. It was not until 1899 that the State Agricultural College admitted its first African American

 student, William O. Thompson. After graduation, he taught at what is now Tuskegee University. President Jonathan L. Snyder invited its president Booker T. Washington to be the Class of 1900 commencement speaker. A few years later, Myrtle Craig became the first woman African-American student to enroll at the

 College. Along with the Class of 1907, she received her degree from U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, commencement speaker for the Semi Centennial celebration. The City of East Lansing was incorporated in that same year, and two years later the college officially changed its name to Michigan Agricultural College .

Since the end of the Hannah era in 1969, Michigan State has shifted its focus from increasing the size of its student body to advancing its national and global reputation. In September 2005, current president Lou Anna Simon called for , one of the public ivy institutions, to become the global model leader for Land Grant

 institutions by the year 2012. Her plans include creating a new residential college and increasing grants awarded from the National Institutes of Health past the US$100 million mark. While there are over 100 Land-grant universities in the United States, she has stated that she would like Michigan State University to be the leader.

Michigan State, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University created the University Research Corridor in 2006. This alliance was formed to transform and strengthen Michigan's economy by reaching out to businesses, policymakers, innovators,

 investors and the public to speed up technology transfer, make resources more accessible and help attract new jobs to the state.

The oldest part of campus lies on the north bank of the Red Cedar. It includes Collegiate Gothic architecture, plentiful trees, and curving roads with few straight lines. The College built its first three buildings here, of which none survive. Other historic buildings north 

of the river include the president's official residence, House, and Beaumont Tower, a carillon clock tower marking the site of College Hall, the original classroom building. To the east lies Eustace Cole Hall, America's first freestanding horticulture laboratory. Other 

 candlelight vigils. On the northwest corner of campus lies the University's hotel, the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center. The university also has

landmarks include the bronze statue of former president John A. Hannah, the W. J. Botanical Garden, and the painted boulder known as "The Rock", which is a popular spot for , tailgating, and 

 a museum, initiated in 1857. Museum is one of the oldest museums in the Midwest and is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.