Oakland University is a public university co-founded by Matilda Dodge Wilson and John A. Hannah whose 1,500-acre (6.1 km) campus is located in central Oakland County, Michigan in the cities of Rochester Hills and Auburn Hills Michigan. It is the only major research university in Oakland County, from which OU derives its name. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has classified OU as a Doctoral Research University. Oakland University was created in 1957 when Matilda Dodge Wilson, widow of automobile magnate John Francis Dodge, and her second husband, Alfred Wilson, donated their 1,500-acre (6.1 km) estate to Michigan State University, including Meadow Brook Hall, Sunset Terrace and all the estate's other buildings and collections, along with $2 million. Main campus buildings were completed near Squirrel Road in Pontiac Township (now the city of Auburn Hills). Originally known as Michigan State University–Oakland, the university enrolled its first students in 1959 and was renamed Oakland University in 1963. The university has been officially independent since 1970. Wilson asked U.S.