The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (U of I, University of Illinois, UIUC, or simply Illinois) is a public research-intensive university in the U.S. state of Illinois. A land-grant university, it is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system. The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (founded, 1867) is the second oldest public university in the state (after Illinois State University), and is a founding member of the Big Ten Conference. It is a member of the Association of American Universities and is designated as a RU/VH Research University (very high research activities).