The University of Charleston ("UC") is a private university in Charleston, West Virginia, United States of over 1,300 students. The school was founded in 1888 as the Barboursville Seminary of the Southern Methodist Church. In 1901, it was renamed Morris Harvey College, after a devoted supporter who made his fortune speculating in coal property and other businesses. In 1935 the school moved to downtown Charleston and affiliated with the Mason College of Fine Arts and Music. In 1940, it became independent of the Methodist Church. Seven years later, the school moved to its present campus in the Kanawha City section of Charleston across the river from the State Capitol. In 1951, it purchased the Young-Noyes House as the home of the college president. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The college fell on hard economic times in the late 1970s and in 1978 changed its name to the University of Charleston to reflect both its addition of post graduate programs and its close ties with the local community. Beginning with the inauguration of the current president, Dr. Edwin H. Welch, the school has undergone a physical and academic transformation.