The Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (German: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg within Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. MLU offers German and international (English) courses leading to academic degrees such as B.A., B.Sc., M.A., M.Sc., Ph.D., D.Sc., and Habilitation. The university was created in 1817 through the merger of the University of Wittenberg (founded 1502) and the University of Halle (founded 1691). The university is named after the Protestant reformer Martin Luther, who was a professor in Wittenberg. Today, the university itself is located in Halle, while the Leucorea Foundation in Wittenberg serves as MLU’s convention centre (and hotel) for seminars as well as for academic and political conferences. Leucorea also hosts the Wittenberg Centre for Global Ethics, founded in 1998 at the initiative of Andrew Young, former US Ambassador to the United Nations, and Hans-Dietrich Genscher, former German Foreign Minister. Both Halle and Wittenberg are about one hour from Berlin by ICE high speed train.