Vincennes University (VU) is a public university in Vincennes, Indiana, in the United States. Founded in 1801 as Jefferson Academy, VU is the oldest public institution of higher learning in Indiana. Since 1889, VU has been a two-year university, although baccalaureate degrees in seven select areas are available. Unlike most other two-year higher-education institutions, however, VU is a residential campus and has been since its inception over two hundred years ago.. VU was chartered in 1806 as the territory of Indiana's four-year university and remained the State of Indiana's sole publicly-funded four-year university until the establishment of Indiana University. From 1999 to 2005, Vincennes University was in a state-mandated partnership with what became the Ivy Tech Community College On October 23, 2009, ground was broken on the new $10 Million Center for Advanced Manufacturing located near Fort Branch, Indiana. Construction is set to get underway on November 3, 2009.