Elon University is a selective private liberal arts university in Elon, North Carolina. Formerly known as Elon College, it became Elon University on June 1, 2001. The 600-acre (240 ha) campus is a botanical garden and features oak trees, brick sidewalks, fountains, and lakes. Elon is ranked by the U.S.News & World Report as the second best Regional University in the U.S. South. Elon College was founded by the Christian Church, which later became a part of the United Church of Christ. The charter for Elon College was issued by the North Carolina legislature in 1889. William S. Long was the first president, and the original student body consisted of 76 students. In 1923, a fire destroyed most of the campus, including school records, classrooms, the library, and the chapel. The Board of Trustees voted to rebuild immediately. Many of the buildings that were erected in the years following the fire still stand and make up the bedrock of Elon's campus. In the early 1970s, Elon was an undergraduate college serving mainly local residents commuting from family homes, attracting "regional students of average ability from families of modest means.