Virginia Commonwealth University is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia General Assembly merged MCV with the Richmond Professional Institute, founded in 1917, to create Virginia Commonwealth University. In 2018, more than 31,000 students pursued 217 degree and certificate programs through VCU's 11 schools and three colleges. The VCU Health System supports the university's health care education, research, and patient care mission. Echoing his November 10, 1970 inaugural address, Dr. Warren W. Brandt, emphasized the University's commitment, which was unique in the country. "We are striving to be a strong institution with significant emphasis on being an urban university-serving the city, the state, and other institutions. We're not trying to be an elitist institution, but to be an institution which meets the needs of the Urban community by accepting a wide range of students into a variety of programs." VCU had a record $310 million in sponsored research funding in the fiscal year 2019 and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". A broad array of university-approved centers and institutes of excellence, involving faculty from multiple disciplines in the humanities, public policy, biotechnology and health care discoveries, supports the university's research mission. Twenty-eight graduate and first-professional programs are ranked by U.S. News & World Report as among the best in the country. VCU's athletic teams compete in Division I of the NCAA and are collectively known as the VCU Rams. They are members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The VCU campus includes historic buildings such as the Ginter House, now used by the school's provost.