Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. Long Island's largest private university, Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College ? Hofstra Memorial of New York University at Hempstead, Long Island. It became independent Hofstra College in 1939 and gained university status in 1963. Comprising ten schools, including a School of Medicine and a School of Law, Hofstra is noted for a series of prominent Presidential conferences, as well as being selected to host United States Presidential Debates in 2008, 2012, and 2016.