Samford University is a private, coeducational, Alabama Baptist Convention-affiliated university located in Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It includes the Howard College of Arts and Sciences, Cumberland School of Law, McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Brock School of Business, Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing, and Beeson Divinity School. In the 2011 report, Samford was ranked 104 out of 191 top tier doctoral universities by U.S. News & World Report. Samford was founded in 1841 at Marion, Alabama, when members of Siloam Baptist Church acquired land in the town and invited the Alabama Baptist Convention to build a new Baptist school there. They named it Howard College in honor of John Howard, known for his work in prison reform in England. The new college opened its doors to students on January 3, 1842. In 1887 the school relocated to the East Lake community of Birmingham. Women were first admitted to Howard College in 1895, and the college officially became coeducational in 1913. One year later the school established its Teacher Education Division. In 1920 the school joined the Southern Association of Colleges. In 1927 it added its pharmacy school.