Florida International University (FIU) is a state-run research university in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is one of America's most dynamic institutions of higher learning. Opening in 1972, the research university is renowned for its creative writing, hospitality management, international business, and management information systems programs. Florida International University has 18 colleges and schools, and several specialized centers and institutes, including those in database research, biomedical engineering, tropical biology, environmental technology, and hurricane research. The National Hurricane Center is at University Park. The university also operates the North Miami and Pembroke Pines campuses, and runs the Wolfsonian Museum in Miami Beach. FIU offers about 200 baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degree programs in accounting, arts and sciences, business administration, engineering, computer science, journalism and mass communication, architecture, continuing and professional studies, health and urban affairs, hospitality and tourism management, education, honors, public health, law, policy and management, music, nursing, and social work. Currently, the university enrolls more than 34,000 students, 1,100 full-time faculty, and 100,000 alumni, making it the largest public university in South Florida. Florida International University has two major campuses and several minor campuses around South Florida. University Park is the largest campus of the university and encompasses about 340 acres in the city of Miami. The Biscayne Bay Campus in North Miami is about 200 acres and is located close to the Oleta River State Park, which has developed a research partnership with the university. Access to park resources led to the creation of a marine biology program on the Biscayne Bay Campus. The founding of Florida International University began with state Senator Ernest "Cap" Graham - the father of former Florida governor and current U.S. Senator Bob Graham. In 1943, he presented the initial proposal to the Florida legislature to set up a state university in South Florida. But the legislature did not approve Graham’s project, until 1965. The governor signed the bill into law in June of the same year, and FIU was on its way to becoming a reality. In July 1969, the Florida Board of Regents appointed Charles "Chuck" Perry to be the first President of the university. Just 31 years old at the time, Perry thus became the youngest person in the country to hold such a position. University Park, was built on the site of the old Tamiami Airport, and opened its doors in 1972. A second campus was started on Biscayne Bay in North Miami, in 1977, under the supervision of the university’s second president - Harold Crosby. Over the years, the university has grown to become the largest university in the Miami region. In 2002, Florida International University opened the Florida International University College of Law, the first public law school in South Florida.