Georgia Southern University (GSU, Southern, or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, with additional campuses in Savannah (Armstrong Campus) and Hinesville (Liberty Campus). Founded in 1906 as a land grant college, Georgia Southern is the fifth-largest institution in the University System of Georgia. GSU offers over 140 different academic majors at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels. The university has a combined enrollment of approximately 27,000 students from all 50 states and over 80 countries. Georgia Southern is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and a comprehensive university by the University System of Georgia. Georgia Southern University's intercollegiate sports teams, known as the "Eagles", compete in the Sun Belt Conference. History Georgia Southern University began as First District Agricultural & Mechanical School, a land grant college under federal legislation and support. It opened in 1908 with four faculty members and 15 students. Founded as a school for teaching modern agricultural production techniques and homemaking skills to rural school children, First District A&M within two decades shifted its emphasis to meet the growing need for teachers within the state. Its name and mission were changed in 1924 to Georgia Normal School, as a training ground for teachers. Five years later in 1929, after development of a four-year curriculum, it was granted full-fledged senior college status by the state, and the school was renamed as South Georgia Teachers College. Ensuing decades found more name and mission changes: to Georgia Teachers College in 1939 and Georgia Southern College in 1959. The university finally integrated its student body in 1965, eleven years after the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). College President Marvin Pittman had been fired in 1941 by Georgia governor Eugene Talmadge for supporting racial integration; he was eventually rehired. Georgia Southern has continued its program and physical expansion. With the development of graduate programs in numerous fields and associated research, the institution was granted university status in 1990 as Georgia Southern University. Since then, the university has embarked on a massive upgrade of facilities, adding more than $300 million in new construction. Georgia Southern was named a Doctoral/Research University by Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 2006. The university is recognized in publications including U.S. News & World Reports "America's Best Colleges" and "Best Graduate Schools", Forbes'