Bernard M. Baruch College, more commonly known as Baruch College, is a constituent college of the City University of New York, located in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, New York City. With an acceptance rate of just 23%, Baruch is among the most competitive and diverse colleges in the nation . Baruch offers undergraduate and masters degrees through its Zicklin School of Business, the largest business school in the United States , as well as the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, and School of Public Affairs. Baruch is one of CUNY's flagship colleges, and traces its roots back to the founding of the Free Academy, the first institution of free public higher education in the United States. The New York State Literature Fund was created to serve students who could not afford to enroll in New York City’s private colleges. The Literature Fund led to the creation of the Committee of the Board of Education of the City of New York, led by Townsend Harris, J.S. Bosworth, and John L. Mason. The Committee sought the establishment of what would become the Free Academy, on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan.