Tennessee Technological University, popularly known as Tennessee Tech, is an accredited public university located in Cookeville, Tennessee, US, a city approximately seventy miles (110 km) east of Nashville. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute (1915), and before that as Dixie College, the name under which it was founded as a private institution in 1909. It places special emphasis on undergraduate education in fields related to engineering and technology, although degrees in education, liberal arts, agriculture, nursing, and other fields of study can be pursued as well. Additionally, there are graduate offerings in engineering, education, business, and the liberal arts. It is operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents, and its athletic teams compete in the Ohio Valley Conference. Tennessee Tech is ranked among the Top 8 Public Schools in the South in U.S. News & World Report's 2007 edition of "America's Best Colleges." It was also ranked among the Top Public Schools in the South in the 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006 college guides. The Princeton Review also listed TTU as a "Best College Value" in 2006 and 2007.