Lindenwood University, often referred to as Lindenwood or LU, is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university located in Saint Charles, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1827 by George Champlin Sibley and Mary Easton Sibley as The Linden Wood School for Girls, it is the second oldest higher-education institution west of the Mississippi River and since 1990 the fastest growing university in the Midwest. Lindenwood offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees through nine colleges and schools and has current enrollment of 17,351 traditional and non-traditional students, including over 4,000 living on-campus. The 500-acre (2.0 km) main academic and residential campus is located 24 miles (39 km) northwest of St. Louis, Missouri in St. Charles, the Daniel Boone historic site in Defiance, Missouri 26 miles (42 km) southwest of the St. Charles campus, a satellite campus in Belleville, Illinois known as LU–Belleville, as well as various distance learning facilities throughout Greater St. Louis. Fielding athletic teams known as Lindenwood Lions, the university is in the process of transitioning athletics from the NAIA and member of the Heart of America Conference to NCAA Division II, at which time it will join the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The athletic program is known for its success in ice hockey and football. The LU official school and athletic colors are black and gold. Although the majority of Lindenwood's students are from Missouri, there is also a large number of out-of-state and foreign students. The university offers a large number of extracurricular activities to its students, including athletics, honor societies, clubs and student organizations, as well as fraternities and sororities. Alumni and former students have gone on to prominent careers in government, business, science, medicine, education, sports, and entertainment.