Wheeling Jesuit University is a private, co-educational Roman Catholic university in the United States. Located in Wheeling, West Virginia, it was founded as Wheeling College in 1954 by the Society of Jesus (also known as the Jesuits). Today, Wheeling Jesuit University is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Approximately 1,300 undergraduate students attend WJU. Wheeling Jesuit University competes in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a member of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC). The seeds of WJU's founding were planted as early as the 19th century. Bishop Richard Whelan, leader of the Diocese of Wheeling, lobbied the Society of Jesus to establish a university in the burgeoning city. Over a century later, Whelan's original vision came to fruition. After a donor, Sara Tracy, left her estate to the diocese, it was able to purchase land from the neighboring Mt. De Chantal Visitation Academy. Wheeling Jesuit University, then Wheeling College, was founded through a partnership of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston with the Maryland Society of Jesus.