Argosy University is a for-profit university owned by Education Management Corporation, with 19 locations in 13 U.S. states and online. The university offers numerous programs at various levels, including certification; associates, bachelors, masters, specialist, and doctoral degrees, postdoctoral specialization, postgraduate concentrations, etc. Programs vary by campus. Argosy University was formed in 2001 by the merging of three separate academic institutions: the American Schools of Professional Psychology, the University of Sarasota, and the Medical Institute of Minnesota. Dr. James Otten was named the founding President. The American School of Professional Psychology was founded in the early 1970s by Dr. Markovitz and a group of psychologists, educators, and other professionals who called for a clinical psychology degree that emphasized teaching and practical training over the research-oriented approach of the traditional PhD degree. The University of Sarasota had for more than 30 years offered degree programs in business and education to working adults through a delivery format that mixed distance learning and brief, intensive on-campus study periods.