Santa Clara University is a private, not-for-profit, Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), whose members founded the school in 1851. It is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The first to open its doors to students, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university is situated in Santa Clara, California (2006 est. population 108,518), adjacent to the city of San Jose, California in Santa Clara County (population 1.8 million), which anchors the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Also known by the abbreviation SCU, its students and 71,000 alumni are called “Santa Clarans” and its athletics teams are called the Broncos. Official online and print publications promote the school as "The Jesuit University in Silicon Valley.