Nova Southeastern University, commonly referred to as NSU or Nova, is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian, research university located in Broward County, Florida, with its main campus in the town of Davie. The university is the largest independent institution of higher education in the southeastern United States and is the seventh-largest not-for-profit independent university nationwide. NSU operates three campuses in Southern Florida, the largest being a 480 acres (190 ha) campus located approximately 26 miles (42 km) north of Downtown Miami. The university was founded as the Nova University of Advanced Technology on a former naval training airfield offering graduate degrees in the physical and social sciences. Leo Goodwin, Sr. left a $16 million bequest to the university in 1971 which funded its expansion throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In 1994, the university merged with the Southeastern University of the Health Sciences and assumed its current name. NSU currently consists of 18 colleges and schools offering over 175 programs of study with more than 250 majors.