Bellarmine University is an independent Catholic university, located about five miles from downtown Louisville, Kentucky. Originally called Bellarmine College, the university was founded in 1950, by the Archdiocese of Louisville, and named for the Jesuit theologian and cardinal, St. Robert Bellarmine. In 1968, Bellarmine merged with Ursuline College, a Catholic college for women, thereby becoming a co-educational and independent institution under a self-perpetuating governing board. The college changed its name to Bellarmine University in 2000, when it attained the status of a Masters I university. The university offers graduate and undergraduate programs through its four academic units - the Home of the Arts and Sciences, Donna and Allan School of Nursing and Health Sciences, W. Fielding Rubel School of Business, and the Annsley Frazier Thornton School of Education. The School of Continuing and Professional Studies provides a series of certificate programs, with prime focus on adult learners. Unique courses for children and families also are conducted, especially during the summer. Spread over 135 acres, the campus features 29 buildings and has facilities for sports, athletics, recreation, and housing. The Norton Health Science Center, five residence halls, a chapel, fitness center, a nine-hole, par-3 golf course, sand volleyball court, and indoor and outdoor tennis courts, are on campus. W. L. Lyons Brown Library is the information hub of the university with online resources and instructional media services. The Thomas Merton Center, the official repository of Merton's artistic estate, is on the second floor of the library. Merton was a writer and Trappist monk with an interest in the university's well being.