DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul, who valued philanthropy. The student body consists of about 25,150 students (approximately 16,000 undergraduate and 9,100 graduate/law), making DePaul the largest Roman Catholic university and one of the 10 largest private universities in the United States; it is the largest private university in Illinois. DePaul is a member of the Big East Conference. DePaul University is a not for profit university. For 2010 and 2011, US News & World Report has ranked DePaul University in the Top Tier (Tier 1) of national colleges and universities. In recent years, US News & World Report has twice ranked DePaul University undergraduate students #1 in the USA (most recently in 2004) in terms of satisfaction with their college experience. The university's doctoral programs were ranked # 1 in the USA for small university research programs in the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index for 2005, produced by the State University of New York at Stony Brook.